Artist: ZHOU Tiehai

Project Name: Shall ShanghART go to Art Basel?

Project Idea:      

"To exhibit the works of the artist of China's most influential gallery, ShanghART, at the most famous art fair in the world, Art Basel. No doubt, that is exciting and also full of challenge. The meaning will be UNLIMITED.

The role, ShanghART had for the arts in its short four years, can not be ignored anymore.
It has a top ranking on the list of the Chinese art.

The way, how ShanghART is run, is unique and creative in concept and form. At Art Basel it can exchange experience with other galleries in the search for the possibilities of Unlimited-ness of a gallery. That will surely benefit the future development of the gallery.

From the point of view of the ShanghART artists, although most of them have participated at different exhibitions in the West, I still truly believe that participating at Art Basel will certainly  help the development of the artists.

The dawn light of the 21st century has brightly lit the Huangpu River. It is time that the ShanghART aircraft carrier weighs the anchor. "


Zhou Tiehai
Shanghai, Feb. 20000


"Let the world know ShanghART,
Let ShanghARTIST understand the UNLIMITEDness of art."



THE ARTIST

Zhou Tiehai (born 1966 in Shanghai, living and working in Shanghai) has recently participated in many international exhibtions (Venice Biennale, Cities on the Move etc.) and he will show his PLACEBO series at Art Basel STATEMENTS this year.

Solo-Exhibitions in the Hara Museum (Tokyo) and Schloss Morsbroich are scheduled for this year.

More information on Zhou Tiehai can be found on www.shanghart.com



THE GALLERY

ShanghART, initiated 1996 in Shanghai, is dedicated to promote contemporary art in China.

We regularly organize exhibitions and publish catalogues. We maintain also an extensive website on Chinese art (www.shanghart.com).

ShanghART and ShanghART artists have been cooperating with many museums, institutions and galleries from all over the world, including: Shanghai Art Museum, 1996; Asia Pacific Triennale/Queensland, 1999; Biennale of Lyon, 1997; Biennale of Maya 1999; Biennale of Venice 1993, 1999; Biennale of Sydney 1998; PS 1, NY, 1998; Secession, Vienna, 1997; Shisheido Gallery, Tokyo, 1997; Louisiana Museum, Danmark, 1999; Haywarth Gallery, London, 1999; Queens Museum, NY, 1999; Kunsthal Rotterdam 1998, 1999; Art Berlin 1998; Art Basel 1998/9, Art Cologne, 1999; An Other Long March, Breda, Holland, 1997, MoMA 1998 etc.



THE WORK: "Shall ShanghART go to Art Basel?"

To exhibit ShanghART Gallery at Art Basel - Art Unlimited.

ShanghART will be exhibited at ART Basel and is for sale. It is living and interactive project.

ShanghART (with stock, staff, office etc.) will move to ART Basel and will be going on working in Art Unlimited as it has been in the last few years here in Shanghai. Pieces of the gallery, resp. the individual artpieces from all the artists represented by the ShanghART, will be on sale.

But most important, the gallery itself will be for sale. It is the most radical work by Zhou Tiehai until now. A complex Ready Made.

"Shall ShanghART go to Art BASEL?"is a living being. If anybody is going to buy the work "Shall ShanghART go to Art BASEL?", ShanghART will move to the new place (and going on to work from there, promoting the artists it represents and doing all the work it was always doing as good as it can).

"Shall ShanghART go to Art BASEL?" it's questioning the sellablility (and buyability) of art and proposing an elegant solution. It is pushing the limits of ART, but not only at Art Basel.

Being a gallery in a place with a very limited art infrastructure and at the fringe of the (Western) art world, i.e. far away, art critics, power and money, ShanghART has created in Shanghai its own microcosmos with a diverse mixture of art. Inkpaintings, oils, photo, video and internetprojects are all linked together and support each other at ShanghART in an unique way.

"Shall ShanghART go to Art BASEL?" is also about putting artworks from the fringe, without any protection, in the harsh centre of the artmarket.


TECHNICAL  DETAILS

We would need a desk with working space for two people, a phone/fax line, storage space, a few walls and a TV monitor. ShanghART's form and space requirements are not very fixed. We are flexible and used to work out from different spaces. Around 5x8 meters or 40 square meters should be good to work.