post mortem on shanghai

last week, i went to shanghai to supervise shanghai tang's participation in the opening festivities of the ShContemporary art fair. it all went swimmingly well with our sponsorship of wen hui, a celebrated performing artist from beijing, who staged a fantastic dance piece loosely themed around the Silk Road, during the opening night party. the fair was incredible. curated at the highest level by the legendary pierre huber, who was one of the original founders of art basel, arguably, the most influential art fair in the world. this inaugural show of ShContemporary is the opening salvo in a new era of art appreciation on the mainland, i hope. the best thing was the number of international galleries and visitors in attendance, something completely lacking in hong kong, especially in the art scene. the crowning crazy moment took place at pearl lam's sit down dinner for 250 at her g's club. replete with drag queens, dignitaries, luminaries and, generally, all manner of characters larger than life, it was a moment when the international world let its hair down for at least 2 hours! as for the art, because of huber's demanding curatorial perspective, it was truly world class, with the best of chinese art on show rather than the nakedly exploitative commercialism and mediocrity one sees on, say, hollywood road! i'm not sure whether i'm sad about this at all, but only 2 hk galleries and about 15 mainland galleries were invited to participate, out of 120. it goes to show at what level most art dealers are operating in greater china: in the long run, their unapologetic commercialism will come back to slap them in the face. and rightly so! part of me is absolutely revolted by the bubble gum aesthetic of chinese contemporary art, but part of me is also absolutely fascinated by its open worship of pop culture and easy ideas.  after all, chinese art is the looking glass through which to examine the modern chinese psyche, cankered with materialism and ambition in every walk of life. as lorenzo, the founder of ShContemporary said, it's pointless to judge art. it just is. it's a reflection of society more than anything else. i tend to agree with him that it's a waste of angst to feel sad about the passing of art as we knew it. but being an avowed purist and champion of things old fashioned, i continue to seek redemption through art. silly silly me.... when i write something like that, i have to ask, at the same time, what the fuck am i doing in hk?

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i actually find that my times in shanghai are the most taxing of my life. it's the result of being surrounded by diehard workaholics in need of nightly relief. the latter inevitably assumes the form of all-night bacchanals! by the end of three days, i tend to be a trembling, sleep-deprived, cigarette-toting wreck. hard to believe but, whereas i retire by 11 oclock in hk most nights, i have trouble going home before 3 am when in shanghai! what keeps me hooked is the anonymity and desperation of the partying. hk is so self-conscious and pretentious in comparison. believe it or not, when in hk, i'd take dusk til dawn, a dive bar in wanchai with a great cover band, any night over kee club! i say that despite the fact that i only go to kee and am a good friend of christian, the owner. but i know he'd forgive me because he's a genuine buddhist who disavows exactly what he's selling anyway! The Paradoxical Club Owner. (nb. he's now building a healing spa in austria!) it's all too hong kong for words!

me, with dan feng, who is starting her own gallery in beijing, standing at the entrance to the fair. me with insane friend, philippe koutouzis, who is in charge of marlboro gallery's chinese contemporary art business. (marlboro is the biggest private gallery in the world and represents francesco clemente, balthus, francis bacon, etc.)