Fendi booth at Art021
While almost all art fairs in Europe and the US are cancelled or postponed this winter, two art fairs in Shanghai, Art021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair and Westbund Art & Design Fair, played a strong game in Shanghai last week and rocked with surprising results, mobilising local collectors, art enthusiasts and industry players.
Shanghai’s November art week seems to have become the new stage for fart and brand collaborations and it doesn’t surprise that major luxury brands acted shifted events and product launches to coincide with the art buzz.
Launch of new SuperElle art issue during Edge ball
While due to the current pandemic, some of visitors and exhibiting gallerists had to spend two weeks in mandatory quarantine before strolling across the fairs, the effort seems to have paid off.
So what did you miss? A recap:
In collaboration with Judy Chicago and additional art world power names, such as Song Dong, Bharti Kher or Claire Tabouret, Dior rolled out the fifth instalment of its Dior Lady Art artist collaboration series, while LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton’s Fendi and Dior took up space at Art021 fair, housed at the neoclassical Shanghai Exhibition Center just right at the city center.
Artist Liu Wei with Louis Vuitton Artycapucines PM limited edition bag
Chanel invited VIPs to an exclusive preview of “Design and the Wondrous: On the Nature of Ornament,” an exhibition at West Bund Museum, where the brand committed being one of the main sponsors.
And just a short walk from the exhibition center, Prada offered an interpretation of American artist Alex Da Corte’s video work “Rubber Pencil Devil” at Rong Zhai — a Western-style mansion and once the residence of Chinese industrialist Rong Zongjing that the Milanese brand spent six years restoring to its former glory — with the support of Fondazione Prada.
Alex Da Corte at Prada Rong Zhai
But the most-talked party of the week was co-hosted by fashion publication SuperElle. Partnering with UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Edge Ball served as a preview for UCCA Edge, UCCA’s brand new museum Nr. 3, opening in Shanghai in spring 2021 and took place on the top of the same-named building, featuring performances by singer Akini Jing and DJ Chace.
UCCA x SuperElle hosted the party of the week, Edge Ball
Live performance by Akini Jing during UCCA x SuperElle Edge Ball
Furthermore it kicked off the inaugural ART ISSUE capturing the trend of confluence of art, fashion, youth culture and pop culture, and has no one less than mega art collector (one of his favourites: Gerhard Richter) and singer Jay Chou gracing the cover. Feature stories include write ups on artists Liu Wei, Zhang Ding, Li Shuirui, Chen Tianzhuo and Guan Xiao under the theme “ART & FUTURE” and entrepreneur across creative industries, Zong Han, guest-edited the special issue.
Sujia Zhuge, editor-in-chief of the SuperElle said the magazine takes the Chinese younger generation’s fast-growing love for art very seriously and therefore responds with this special project.
Singer and mega collector Jay Chou gracing the cover of SuperElle
Shhhh, sidenote: TheArtGorgeous is excited to announce that due to our shared passion for art x brand collaborations and our mutual belief in the rising role of art and culture for millennials, SuperElle and us have some extremely exciting projects in the make together…. More to be revealed later this year.
Images via WWD, Art021, SuperElle, UCCA
