Recognizing photography as an evolving and developing art form, the Fair presents moving images, installations, video, digital art, sculptures and performances alongside classical masterpieces and works still in progress. This is clearly reflected throughout the Fair 2019 public program which emphasizes the experimental characteristics of photography, encouraging new approaches and ideas through special exhibitions, installations and new commissions from some of the most exciting artists working in the medium today.
INTERNSHIP
Staged is a curated initiative that spotlights artists working at the cutting edge of photography. Placed throughout the Fair, Staged 2019 is powered by Ocula and features:
● Chen Dazhi (Three Shadows +3 Gallery, Beijing & Xiamen), whose photography evokes the visualization of spirits across the dimensions of time and space.
● Johannes Wohnseifer (König Galerie, London and Berlin), whose “Polaroid Paintings” challenge the functional use of Polaroids as a social and aesthetic means of documenting everyday reality.
● Michael Najjar (BANK, Shanghai), as a pioneer artist fusing science, art and technology into visions and utopias of future social orders emerging under the impact of cutting-edge technologies.
● Leila Alaoui (Galleria Continua, Beijing, Havana, Les Moulins, San Gimignano), with La Marocians brings together larger-than-life portraits made by the artist while traveling in Morocco.
● Li Binyuan (Ren Space, Shanghai), whose performance “Room” (2019) brings together video art and live sculpture.
FURTHER INFORMATION: WORK FIELD
In a recently commissioned exhibition, Para Site (Hong Kong) will bring together a diverse collection of artists from across East Asia / Asia-Pacific who use photography and new media to challenge the conventional theme of landscape including Yang Yuanyuan, Lau Wai and Tan Lijie.
Entitled Fieldwork, the exhibition reflects on ideas around territory, culture, identity and offers a direct response to history and a very contemporary reflection of the times we live in. Featuring artwork never before seen in mainland China, each artist will examine moments in history that have previously been overlooked or deliberately left out to offer commentary on the current geopolitical situation. Works include:
● Intensely personal pieces like the Sim Chi Yin One Day series that they will understand. The work captures the complexity of family history in relation to the Cold War era in Southeast Asia and examines hidden histories, silenced memories and contested narratives.
● Particularly relevant against the backdrop of the Hong Kong protests, the interior / exterior of Siu Wai Hang illustrates the same waters that separate Hong Kong from the mainland, a reminder of those who have swum to Hong Kong's shores for refuge, including the artist's own father and the complexity of distilling 'us' from 'them'.
● Motoyuki Shitamichi's Torii project in which the artist photographs the Japanese torii outside Japan's national borders. Torii gates represent a symbolic form in Shintoism and outside of Japan torii gates lose their meaning and turn into simple objects.
COLLECTORS EXHIBITION: “TAKING THE LEAP”
Artworks from the UK's University of Salford Art Collection, which focuses on digital and contemporary Chinese art, have been selected by renowned Hong Kong curator Ying Kwok for the 2019 Collectors Exhibition.
Under the theme Taking the Leap, Kwok challenges collectors and the public to step outside their comfort zone and demonstrates how to collect digital artworks by showcasing exciting artists such as Cao Fei, Sun Xun, Mishka Henner and duo Jon Thomson and Alison Craighead. The exhibition also hopes to inspire collectors to commission artists to create new work. Proving this point, leading, and often censored, female multimedia artist Lu Yang has been commissioned to create a new photographic lightbox which will be shown in the Collectors Exhibition and which will then enter the University of Salford Art Collection after the Fair.
Spotlight & Exposure Award
As announced earlier this year, the 2019 public program will also see two debuts in mainland China: Marina Abramović's legendary series “The Lovers” (1988) in the Spotlight exhibition and a solo presentation of French artist Noemie's work Goudal (Galerie Les Filles du Calvaire, Paris), winner of the inaugural exhibition prize of the Fair created by MODERN EYE.
The participating galleries
PHOTOFAIRS | Shanghai this year is 50 galleries from all over the world, committed to showcasing the best of contemporary photography.
Include: 10 years ago (Toronto), Alter Gallery (Shanghai), Arario Gallery (Cheonan, Seoul and Shanghai), Art Labor (Shanghai), ArtCN Gallery (Shanghai), artspace AM (Tokyo), BANK (Shanghai), bitforms gallery (New York), Brownie Project (Shanghai), Cipa Gallery (Beijing), Galleria Continua (San Gimignano, Beijing, Les Moulins & Habana), Danysz Gallery (Paris, Shanghai & London), Galerie Dumonteil (Paris & Shanghai), Galerie F16 (Paris), Flowers Gallery (London, New York & Hong Kong), Gaotai Gallery (Urumqi), Christophe Guye Galerie (Zurich), Harmony Art Gallery (Shanghai), Sean Kelly Gallery (New York & Taipei), Klemm's (Berlin ), König Galerie (Berlin & London), Leo Gallery (Shanghai & Hong Kong), Les Douches La Galerie (Paris), Galerie Les Filles du Calvaire (Paris), Ami Li Gallery (Beijing), Matthew Liu Fine Arts ( Shanghai), M Art Center (Shanghai), Mohsen Gallery (Tehran), Nine Art (Shenzhen), Nine Art Space (Shanghai), Anna Nova Gallery (Saint-Petersburg), Ostlicht. Gallery for Photography (Vienna & Shanghai), Pan – View Gallery (Zhenzhou), Christine Park Gallery (New York), Pékin Fine Arts (Beijing & Hong Kong), ), Galerie Photo 12 (Paris), Rén Space (Shanghai) , Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac (Paris, Salzburg & London), see + gallery (Beijing & Shenzhen), ShanghART Gallery (Shanghai, Beijing & Singapore), Three Shadows +3 Gallery (Beijing & Xiamen), Timeless Gallery (Beijing), Time Space Gallery (Beijing), Up Gallery (Hsinchu City), Per van der Horst Gallery (The Hague & Taipei), View Art Gallery (Lanzhou) and University of Salford Art Collection (Salford).
PHOTOFAIRS is a joint venture between Angus Montgomery Arts and the World Photography Organization and is part of a larger network of leading contemporary art fairs including Taipei Dangdai, Sydney Contemporary, India Art Fair, Art Central Hong Kong and Art Düsseldorf .
