NONO at The Long March Space, different than YEAYEAH but same as SAMESAME

NONO at the Long March- A curatorless, themeless show, that while not pretending to be anything ends up being a pretentious survey of curious new work by China's latest greatest: Yang Zhenzhong (Venice darling-only one of two Chinese artists in the Biennial's selection exhibition curated by MoMA retiree, senior art dude, Robert Storr) had this very simple video where he filmed phallic edifices that dot the skyline of Shanghai on a see-sawing tripod so it looks like them architectural marvels are poking the abyss of the sky- in the background we hear orgasmic sex sounds-pounding, grunting, whining, very funny … almost titillating.
Xu Zhen- Mr Art Forum, prized prankster of the Shanghai scene makes a very PHAT, expensive, large, tongue-in-cheek nod to the legacy of Damien Hirst with a dinosaur in a fancy formaldehyde filled fish tank. The muther must be 5 meters long, 3m high with a split in the middle so one can walk through the cross section of the dinosaur’s guts (convincingly made of insulation, plastic bags and a bunch of unidentifiable over the counter crap). In the end the piece is one big, expensive, wasteful one-liner, But that’s the intention anyway. Har har ho hum
Shi Qing made one of the more mature of pieces I’ve seen of him yet with a theatrical, red carpeted room containing a large video projection of a traffic cop on a stage waving a big red flag. Inside the room are articles of the production: traffic cones and the like. Somehow the whole piece is elegantly tied together and hard to leave. Shi Qing was always trying to say too much in his work – here less is definitely more. Wangwei makes a four room installation that resembles a zoo where large nocturnal reptiles from around the world appear to have escaped in this dark-room like labyrinth.
Liu Wei muses heavily on those funny, very po-mo, exercise machines that give endless amusement and physical benefit to old folks in parks around China. I love these brightly colored machines. Here he cages them and spreads cookies and banana peels on the floor. Yet another prime example of reality being much more interesting than art. How does one –in an art context -mystify that which is already mystified in reality? He An displays a bunch of Internet picture stuff, apparently a search for a lover like thing– If I see another female infatuated Internet piece I’ll poop.
Kan Xuan (also appearing at The Venice Biennial - in Hou Hanru's China Pavilion) makes some new video work- one that sucks so bad I’m not going to mention it - The other, both stylistically and thematically completely different, takes up a 4m high back wall of the gallery and shows a famous brand hot sauce icon graphically intercut with African nature films and a very funny soundtrack. Very fun but that’s about it. NONO still on view while the rest of you art lovers migrate around Europe.

Weekend Past: Yang Fudong @ Shangart, Picasso, Helmut Lange and Johnny Walker don't dance

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.