Shi Jinsong was hanging out on AT CAFÉ’s patio sipping a coffee and juggling phone calls while basking in the glory of his new show across the lane at Marella Gallery. A huge window carpeted with mock Luis Vuitton logos stared back at this dynamic artist. Deeper inside the shadowy space a few white horses were poised with Gucci sunglass- wearing little boys on their backs. As serendipitous as things may seem I am now the Shanghai correspondent for ART FORUM, which doesn’t mean too much save my name in the paper 3 times a year if I’m lucky, but on the website to which I have more access they have a Critic’s Pick column and Shi Jinsong’s show would be one of my picks had I had the job earlier. The show entitled “The Long Wei Elite School” plays off the phenomenon of private schooling for China’s upper class children. The one family policy coupled with an accelerated upward and outlooking population has the private school business rearing in China. While the importance of a better education has been slapped down on a bunch of unsuspecting video gaming tots it’s still a lot of brand recognition and pretense that paves the way for their brighter future. Hence “The Long Wei” like long way to go (a nod to internationalism), or the dragon’s tail, as it means literally in Chinese (which also conjures up notions of military academy might- y’know China the sleeping dragon). Blue prints of the school’s actuall buildings in thick golden frames line the astro-turfed floor of the gallery. The Baroque designs are flanked by fountains and capped with domes catering to China’s burgeoning middle class obsession with bling-bling. The white horses decor take their licks from a combo of Chinese supra kitsch, Matthew Barney, Jeff Koons and Donatella Versace. Overall Shi Jinsong passes the torch of China’s often-misguided excess down to the next generation and displays his own carefree versatility.
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