this article just appeared in italian publication, domus, and explores the art and vision of the little victories project space founders and the exhibitions held in shanghai recently.
see the article below with my own work mentioned near the end.
the online version is also available on the domus site just here.
696 weihai lu | in remembrance
fellow artists and old friends, susanne junker (founder of stageBACK project space), barbara anna hussar and zwolf schnifis are giving a talk at the bavarian rivieratonight – doing their part to keep 696 immortal by focusing their discussion on this special community, formerly located in an abandoned gun factory in shanghai’s busy city center.
to touch on the good memories that still abound for so many people, i’m including below a few images and highlights from an article “shape of the city,” [originally published in 2011] which i discovered today while perusing the talk’s itinerary [thanks to barbara anna husar].
“initially, one may mistake the weihai lu 696 artists community for a government-sanctioned ‘creative cluster,’ like m50, red town [shanghai sculpture space], tianzifang, or beijing’s 798 arts district… what these creative clusters lack, however, is the real sense of danger, experimentation, and freedom that is still present at artist communities such as weihai lu, not to mention the lower rents that allow working artists to afford studio space in the center of the city.”
well put.
artists were evacuated from the area by, ahem, the you-know-what around 3 years ago … about the time this article was written. it is still touching though to see this place referenced fondly by people that used to work in its much-loved walls, as in the case of the former 696 artists speaking in bavaria this evening.
this space, now vacated for some time, still remains an iconic testament for me to both the transformative power of creativity and its ability to unite and inspire communities that choose to work together. the 80 something foreign and local artists that used to make up this community are now scattered all over the city/country/world, each making their work somewhere else now. it was special, but too good to last it seems.
missed but not forgotten: RIP, 696.
A SHOT IN THE DARK | Strictly Studio images
thank you for everyone that came to the little victories solo exhibition to see my recent work, A SHOT IN THE DARK, at strictly designers united last thursday. the one-day pop up exhibition was a nice success. in spite of the high temperatures outside, strictly kept everything cool until late - as usual. thank you strictly team/
special thanks to matthew waddick and savinder bual for their photographs, strictly designers united, and to little victories gallery – and the brilliant artists behind it – for their direction and drive [quite literally, as the mobile space was transported to the cool docks on the day of the show].
strictly is also moving locations soon – support them in their new space, and stay tuned for future projects we may work together on in the next few months.
A SHOT IN THE DARK | Little Victories Gallery | Strictly Designers Studio
thursday, july 25, sees little victories gallery navigating all its attitude and force to the cool docks for A SHOT IN THE DARK, featuring my recent drawings, in the guerilla-pop-up gallery’s exhibition next week.
the little victories gallery has teamed up with the mad genius minds of strictly designers united for this one day solo show, while also celebrating strictly’s last days in its current location with their new location to be announced during the evening.
read the randian article about little victories here.
the opening runs from 7 – 10 pm with djs to be announced soon. entry is free to all.
coming soon | Little Victories Gallery
shanghai’s newest mobile gallery space is artist-powered [literally, as the artist owners will be using their leg muscles to keep the space mobile] and was founded by artists katie surridge, julian palacz and stefano ogliari badessi who met in shanghai through a residency program. the crew of international artists found their inspiration for the showspace through the idea of censorship and its continuous presence in china.
little victories was established in 2013 in shanghai, china with the objective of running a thought provoking exhibition program of dedicated group and solo shows.
secret vii footage | ICS
so thanks to the team at ICS, we now have a copy of the footage aired a few weeks ago on shanghai’s largest local network which featured a great interview of all the artists of the secret vii.
this last exhibition, THE ESSENCE OF RANDOM, is to be our last guerilla pop up exhibition for some time. and just in time, as it looks as if the secret vii aren’t so secret anymore.
see the inteview footage on youtube here [mainlanders, we’ll need our vpns as usual].
secret vii | THE ESSENCE OF RANDOM
secret vii did its last pop-up exhibition as a group this last week at shanghai art space. some photos taken by susanne junker from the night are here.
the ICS crew were there conducting interviews which are planned to air on june 15, 8:30 pm.
see more information on stageBACK’s website here.
HUSTLE | art on the bund
i’m really happy that my work will be involved in this weekend’s upcoming art of the bund walk, saturday, 4 may.
the HUSTLE exhibition at studio rouge on the bund will be one of the sites visited on this route [if you are interested in participating, rsvp to artonthebund@126.com].
for more information on studio rouge on the bund, visit their gallery website here.
HUSTLE | Studio Rouge [vernissage]
thanks to everyone who came to the HUSTLE vernissage last saturday and made the night so memorable.
i’m including some of my favorite images from the evening below, courtesy of ART LINK ART. You can visit ART LINK ART’s website for more images here.
the show lasts until 15 may for anyone that may have missed the opening or would like to drop by studio rouge for a second look.
HUSTLE exhibition | Studio Rouge
HUSTLE | Studio Rouge [13 april – 15 may]
here are the details for my solo exhibition at studio rouge on the bund, which opens this saturday, april 13, from 6 – 9 pm, featuring my mixed media series, Hustle.
The hustle series is based on the concept and structure of traditional chinese mountainscapes, but with a modern take. more images from this series can be found on my website here.
more information on studio rouge here.
studio rouge is located at 17 fuzhou lu near zhongshan dong yi lu.
BLUE | secret vii
we’ve blown a hole in the concrete separating us from the old space and now – low and behold – the artists of the Secret vii are reclaiming our old place in the lanes behind taikang lu.
this third group exhibition showcases everything blue…
come be blue with us this evening for the group guerrilla opening from 6 – 9 pm, lane 248 #48 taikang lu.
DRAWING AND WHAT? | ifa gallery [vernissage]
thank you to everyone who came to view the DRAWING AND WHAT? group exhibition on its opening night at if a gallery last weekend.
i’m including some images from the evening here.
alternately, you can see the ifa gallery website for more details on the show.
DRAWING AND WHAT? | ifa gallery
i am very honored to announce my work’s participation in the group show, DRAWING AND WHAT?, at ifa Gallery. the show opens this sat, 9 march at 5 pm.
some of my recent work will be shown alongside the 17 other talented artists whose drawing-related creations are being featured in this exploration of the concept of illustration.
see the ifa gallery website here for more details.
hope to see you there.
year of the snake 2013
happy year of the snake.
food for thought in this article here on five big ideas in the year of the snake.
studio days | shanghai
so the year of the snake is, by far, the most productive year so far ever. with paint literally everywhere.
most of this sewn text compilations are from a secondhand book of collected chinese jokes I found in a bookshop here. they are assembled in such a way that the jokes are still readable …
winter | shanghai
some advice on how to survive winter in shanghai …
…. eat spicy food …
… lots of it …
… stay inside – out of the cold weather – as much as possible …
… but bundle up if you must go outside …
… avoid the zombies – we have them underground now, too …
… only come out once it is warm again … it may be quite a while.
RUBY ROXY RHINO ROUGE | Studio Rouge [hong kong]
thanks for everyone who came to this group exhibition vernissage a few evenings ago.
the show is still going on. here is the detailed info for all in the hong kong neighborhood that would like to drop by while the exhibition is running.
GUERILLASHOWERPROJECT | shanghai
the GUERILLASHOWERPROJECT is now underway. these are a few film stills below.
the noise strikes first – the rush of it
the personal and primitive ‘you’ seeking, ashamedly and humbly as you approach a metallic idol, another generous transformation:
overwhelming and meditative: the sound of the universe in a shower.
more on the GUERILLASHOWERPROJECT soon.
moving studios | 111 liyang lu
all good things must come to an end … the studio on the 2nd floor of the creative community of 111 liyang lu is being passed on to good friend – and fellow painter chick – wang yuhang, as we relocate my studio to the former french concession area in an old lane house building.
in the meantime, please enjoy this photo documentation on my blurry camera of all the paintings, musical instruments, books, brushes and miscellaneous collected odds and ends that are part of my life as a creative in this city.
I love this chair so much.
above image lothar spree documenting the move for a short film of his. also special thanks to good friend and fellow artist, konstantin bayer, for his help with the move.
somehow it all fit into two dazhong taxi trucks.
goodbye 111, you will be missed.
excited to share images of the new studio on south shaanxi lu soon.