Shanghai, fed by the Huangpu River, is building a world-class waterfront area with global influence and shaping a waterfront with connotations of cultural life. As an important node, in July last year, the Pudong Art Museum in Lujiazui Riverside C opened its doors on the "last feng shui treasure land on the banks of the Huangpu River".
On February 28, the Pudong Art Museum, which is related to "water", launched the first new exhibition "Water Domain" in 2022. The theme of the exhibition revolves around water, the core of human life, and presents more than 100 exhibits from the Museum of Quebranly in France and the François Schneider Foundation. This is also the first time that the Pudong Art Museum presents historical relics, some of which can even be traced back to a thousand years ago, and the exhibition tells the world story of cultural unity in the form of ancient and modern dialogue, using water as the medium.
Sometimes it is as agile as the blue clouds, and sometimes it is as quiet as the turquoise sea, and the whole exhibition seems to be in the blue waters. The "Water Domain" is divided into five parts: "Landscape Making of Water", "Daily Life of Water", "Liquid Imagination", "Sacred Territory" and "Geographical Transition of Water", and the exhibits of antiquities are mainly provided by the Kai Branley Museum, and the contemporary art exhibits are mainly provided by the François Schneider Foundation. However, the exhibition does not emphasize the distinction between ancient and modern exhibits, but places them in the same field, allowing the audience to immerse themselves in how different civilizations view "water" and understand "water".
Animal sculptures from the Inuit people of Greenland, green jade necklaces, heirlooms of the Maori people of New Zealand, and aqua animal masks made by the Icho people of southern Nigeria symbolizing kindness and happiness... Precious artifacts and works have come to unravel the mystery of the Aztec civilization in the Americas hundreds of years ago, trace the historical origins of kayaking, and decipher the different uses of fish baskets of different shapes around the world in the 19th century.
Dialogue between ancient and modern civilizations also brings extraordinary artistic experiences to the audience: the "mirror space" in the depths of the sea resonates with ancient masks that resemble marine life; the fish hooks and wood carvings of the Inuit span hundreds of years and echo the photographic works of Greenland; the thriving bathing culture of the Middle East more than 100 years ago contrasts with the images of the current drought of the Iranian river; the fragments of Mexican urns more than 1,000 years ago, exquisite ancient African clay pots and canoes from the Pacific Islands, hand in hand with the "Crystal Wall"" Salt Planet" and other contemporary art works. The "Water Domain" demonstrates the universal value of "water" to human civilization in an interdisciplinary manner.
"Water is the source of life, the cradle of civilization, and the link of communication. A century ago, many young Chinese people crossed the ocean on the banks of the Huangpu River to France to study and exchange. Ji Bowei, Consul General of France in Shanghai, said that it is of great significance for the Pudong Art Museum to hold the annual first exhibition with the collections of French art institutions. Li Minkun, deputy general manager of Lujiazui Group and chairman of Pudong Art Museum Company, introduced that under the epidemic situation, more than 100 precious exhibits from overseas were introduced, and the museum overcame considerable difficulties, and it was not until the eve of the Spring Festival that all the exhibits arrived at the museum. The organizers of the French side could not come to Shanghai, so they switched to the form of "cloud exhibition", which was remotely guided by the French side, so that the exhibition could be presented smoothly.
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The Land of Water - Exhibition of the Collections of the Museum of Keblancly and the François Schneider Foundation, France
Duration: 2022.2.28-2022.6.5
Text: Cao Zhiguang
Partial photography: Zheng Feng, Wang Yumeng
Editor: Wang Yumeng
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