The Shanghai Daily covers the opening of two new museums devoted to Chinese Contemporary Art:
While the future of the Chinese contemporary art market remains uncertain, the opening of two art museums demonstrates faith in its future. The new Rockbund Art Museum in Waitanyuan on the Bund, which opens on May 4, will feature “Cai Guoqiang: Peasant Da Vincis” and the Minsheng Art Museum in Red Town on Huaihai Road W. presents “Three Decades of Contemporary Chinese Art: Painting (1979-2009)” opening on Sunday. […]
Minsheng Art Museum, after two years of soft opening, has declared its official inauguration through a systematic review of Chinese contemporary art in its ambitious “Three Decades” exhibition of 100 pieces. Most artworks are on loan from either museums or private collectors in China and overseas. Some are in Shanghai for the first time. Big names include Luo Zhongli, Zhou Chunya and Wei Guangqing with their representative works over 30 years. […]
The geographic location of Rockbund Art Museum is unparalleled. It is situated in the Waitanyuan area, in the triangle where Suzhou Creek flows into the Huangpu River. It is housed in the building of the former Royal Asiatic Society, previously the Shanghai Art Museum. Adjacent to the former British Consulate General, the neighborhood was one of the first settlements of expatriates and a prosperous cultural and commercial center.“As the only contemporary art museum on the Bund, the Rockbund Art Museum benefits from its rich cultural tradition and mainstream location,” Lai says. “It works to integrate art, design and innovation into an aesthetic space for a new Shanghai lifestyle.”
Unlike Minsheng Art Museum, the Rockbund Art Museum doesn’t plan to build its own collection.