Myth_HistoryII-yuzm-Museum-Shanghai

Shanghai Perspective with an International Dimension

Following the inaugural exhibition Myth/History: The Yuz Museum of Contemporary Art, the Yuz Museum, Shanghai, will be presenting Myth/History II: Shanghai Galaxy on March 17.

This exhibition will again be curated by American Academy of Arts & Sciences member and famous art historian and curator Wu Hung. Aside from continuing the core concepts of “myth” and “history” from the inaugural exhibition, this installment will also combine group and solo exhibition methods to explore certain basic trends and ideas in contemporary art creation and narrative.

The “Myth” segment of the exhibition will focus on conceptual artworks and visually striking installation works by Chinese and international artists. The clash and tension between “life” and “death” run through many of the artworks to catalyze the entire exhibition space while provoking multiple angles of visual experience and conception. Other works touch on the relationship between contemporary art and art history, the significance of “imagination” to artistic creation and the relationship between new and traditional artistic mediums.

The “History” segment of the exhibition focuses on the museum locale, using four types of contemporary artworks to reflect the historical development and latest trends in Shanghai. This segment sifts through early works to look back at the beginnings of Shanghai contemporary art in the 1980s, presents works of many international artists to delve into the artistic experiments they have carried out since immigrating, and presents works that were designed specifically with Shanghai in mind. These different perspectives have enriched the concept of “Shanghai contemporary art,” and created more possibilities for the further development of its arts and culture.

The Chinese and international artworks featured in this exhibition span multiple periods, mediums and forms, presenting the expanding dimensions and imaginational space for contemporary art through the intersection of “Myth” and “History,” while also interpreting the character and cultural environment of the city of Shanghai through multiple perspectives. The goal of this exhibition is to draw the audience into a spatiotemporal dialogue, to allow them to perceive the glittering constellations that have been nurtured by “Myth” and “History,” and experience the shimmering stars and imagination that have resulted. Throughout the duration of the exhibition, the museum will be holding a series of cultural and educational events, giving audiences a chance to take the pulse of contemporary culture and society. A detailed list of events will be posted on the museum website shortly.