Catching up here.
Last weekend saw the tremendous opening of Yang Fudong- Parkett wonder boy, Marian Goodman sweetheart, international art star- who is Finally having his first solo show at Shangart, his first and only mainland China gallery. “No Snow on Broken Bridge” is a dazzling 8 channel 35mm film>video transfer depicting a bunch of beautiful, some slightly androgynous, youth in turn-of-the-Chinese century costume (a sexy mix of traditional east and debonair west). The group wander aimlessly around stunning landscapes (shot along Hanzgou’s West Lake), sometimes arm in arm, sometimes in rowboats, some tend sheep it’s all very hypnotic as it unfolds across the eight panels, like a scroll, some 40+meters long. (for those that are following Stateside it was the same piece shown at Marian Goodman's and in London- see article)
Outside the opening crowd sipping wine from glasses (you know it’s a fancy event when there’s actual wine glasses) is very jovial, international, celebratory. Yang, the shy guy that he is, gravitates to his buddies and crew but a collector and gallerist from Holland tug him into a group photo because hey, they just bought this photo here for quite a bit of Euro, YA… The gallerist, Rob Malasch, I find out later once kidnapped a bunch of Fang Lijun pieces from a solo show at Amsterdam’s Stedelijk museum that took a great deal of surveillance and perseverance on the part of Shangart’s mastermind, Lorenz Helbling to safely rescue. Zhang Peili, China’s father of video art- a title which he is very tired of because it doesn’t really sound all that hip and exciting, and PiLi, Universal Studio partner recently pictured and profiled in a NYTimes magazine article from which his ego is still reeling, compare each others fattening waist lines in front of one Yang Fudong’s very nice, very large production stills. Amidst the art going public Sally (fashion designer and curatorial partner of Christopher Phillips in the Shanghai exhibition in Toronto- see Christopher a few days ago) and Garth (sweet and fashionable fashion laborer) look for a model to use in a Helmut Lange Shoot happening the next day for which there is no budget (editorial thing- it’s a labor of love) and which the premiere Shanghai modeling agent, Mr. Dao will charge more than most NYC rates for his overflowing stable of “super models”. China's premiere abstract painter Dingyi, who runs a very cool Shanghaiese period Art deco furniture store in M50 shines a smile our way. I run into Gao Jiasuo (Chinese for Picasso) a guy I knew from ‘95, whom I haven’t seen in ages. He’s one of the tallest and skinniest Chinese people I know. He is someone everyone knows but doesn’t really pay attention to.
The after after party was on at Valor, another Philippe Starck designed showcase (the man runs wild in China) that juxtaposes Victorian kitsch with a virtual Hiphop street dive-ification thematic (there’s something that loosely resembles NYC graffiti painted carefully in select areas of the club). Huang Liaoyuan and Zhou Tiehai had been warming up the seats since they had already eaten at the MoCA opening (Zhang Jian opened at the neighboring Shanghai Art Museum for which a tribe of Beijing art folk came to town: Liu Ye, Qi Zhilong, etc.) and skipped the after party dinner. By the time we arrived a bottle of Johnny Walker mixed with green tea (drink of the month here- used to be Chivas with Green tea now JW) had been consumed. Even though just me and my baby were the only ones who danced … A good time was had by all.
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