［Press Release］
November 7, 2016, 1:30 p.m.
Onehome Art Hotel 2F, How Room I
Conference Speakers: Zheng Hao (Founder of HOW Art Museum)
Yun Cheagab (Director of HOW Art Museum)
On November 7, 2016, Mr. Zheng Hao, Founder of HOW Art Museum and Mr. Yun Cheagab, Director of HOW Art Museum are honored to announce that HOW Art Museum (Shanghai) will open to the public on Thursday, May 11, 2017. The long-anticipated inaugural exhibition will be Lettres du Voyant: Joseph Beuys x Nam June Paik.
HOW Art Museum (Shanghai) is located in Pudong New District of Shanghai. After over four-year preparatory work, HOW Art Museum (Shanghai) will open its doors next May as the first art museum regularly operated during night (regular opening hours: 13:00 – 22:00) in China. HOW Art Museum (Shanghai), together with Onehome Art Hotel, HOW Design Center, and HOW Sculpture Park will become a brand new arts complex and cultural landmark, which presents various arts exhibitions and cultural activities in Pudong New District of Shanghai.
HOW Art Museum invites Gregor Jansen, international renowned German curator and director of the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, and Kim Nam Soo, Korean art critic and former researcher of Nam June Paik Art Center to be co-curators of the inaugural exhibition, titled Lettres du Voyant: Joseph Beuys x Nam June Paik. The large exhibition will feature two of the 20th century’s foremost artists, Joseph Beuys, a leading German Conceptual and performance artist, and Nam June Paik, a Korean American artist widely credited as one of the most representative Asian artists and the founder of video art.
The exhibition title, Lettres du Voyant (‘Letters of the Seer’) derives from the works (letters) titled Lettres du Voyant by Arthur Rimbaud (1854 –1891), a French poet who is well known for his contributions to Symbolism and his influence on modern literature and arts, which prefigured surrealism. In Rimbaud’s letters, Voyant (‘the Seer’) indicates the visionary with an eye on the present reaches the unknown. Voyant (‘the Seer’) can perceive the things in the invisible future, so as to cultivate his/her own soul richer than others. Joseph Beuys represents one of the most explorative art approaches of Western contemporary art, while Nam June Paik is the outstanding representative of Eastern culture in the contemporary art world. Their works personify the context of the time and their personal experiences, and meanwhile, set the unexplored trend and explore the prediction. Lettres (‘Letters’) implies the inextricable relations between the works of Joseph Beuys and Nam June Paik, and also suggests the profound friendship between these two significant artists developed in the Fluxus art movement.
Furthermore, Director Yun Cheagab also announces the initiation of HOW Art Museum International Curatorial Residency Program, an essential program in HOW Art Museum’s academic system. The program offers residency opportunities for international curators, art historians, art critics, and art writers. The first residency cycle will start since March 2017. The year-round program aims at developing the communication and exchange between HOW Art Museum, international curators and art institutions, so as to establish more extensive and effective cooperation system of research and exhibition.
About the Inaugural Exhibition
Lettres du Voyant：Joseph Beuys x Nam June Paik
Curator： Gregor Jansen, KIM Nam Soo
Opening：May 11, 2017
Duration：May 11 – September 10, 2017
Venue：HOW Art Museum (Shanghai)
Address：2277 Zuchongzhi Road 1-3F (Shenjiang Road), Pudong New District, Shanghai
The inaugural exhibition of HOW Art Museum (Shanghai), titled Lettres du Voyant：Joseph Beuys x Nam June Paik will feature two of the 20th century’s foremost artists, Joseph Beuys, a leading German Conceptual and performance artist, and Nam June Paik, a Korean American artist widely credited as one of the most representative Asian artists and the founder of video art.
HOW Art Museum is the only contemporary art organization in China which possesses a systematic collection of Joseph Beuys, the renowned performance artist’s works and archive. For the inaugural exhibition, HOW Art Museum cooperates with international acclaimed art museums and curators to present Beuys retrospective exhibition, in which includes HOW Art Museum Beuys collection. The exhibition will systematically present the art concept and social influence of Beuys. As the most successful and most representative video artist in Asia, Nam June Paik utilized technology in his contemporary art creation that make a path for new media art.
Nam June Paik and Joseph Beuys had developed a profound friendship through their collaboration in the Fluxus art movement, the most radical and experimental art movement of 1960s. At the level of art exploration and social activity, Beuys and Nam June Paik have deep relations. Joseph Beuys represents one of the most explorative art approaches of Western contemporary art, while Nam June Paik is the outstanding representative of Eastern culture in the contemporary art world. The exhibition will emphasize the collision and exchange of Eastern and Western arts and cultures, and will also demonstrate the concentration and direction of HOW Art Museum collection in the future.
About the Curators of the Inaugural Exhibition
Gregor Jansen
International curator, director of the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf
KIM Nam Soo
Korean art critic, former researcher of Nam June Paik Art Center
Curated Paik Nam June Groove, a special exhibition at Sejong Center, Korea commemorating the 10th anniversary of Nam June Paik’s passing
About the International Curatorial Residency Program
HOW Art Museum International Curatorial Residency Program aims at developing the communication and exchange between HOW Art Museum, international curators and art institutions, so as to establish more extensive and effective cooperation system of research and exhibition. International Curatorial Residency Program will become one of the essential programs in HOW Art Museum’s academic system. The program offers residency opportunities for international curators, art historians, art critics, and art writers. The first residency cycle will start since March 2017. Current work of each curator, art historian, art critic, and art writer in residence is required to be presented during his/her stay by organizing a public event such as a lecture, workshop or film screening. HOW Art Museum will cover the accommodation and provide working space at museum for the successful candidates.
About HOW Art Museum
HOW Art Museum (Shanghai), located in Pudong New District of Shanghai will open to public in May 2017. As a brand new art institution which contains multiple functions including contemporary art collection, exhibition, research and education, HOW Art Museum (Shanghai) spreads over 3 floors, and covers a total area of 7000 square meters. The exhibition hall area reaches 4200 square meters, and the museum office, storage and service areas are up to 2800 square meters. As the museum opens its doors, HOW Art Museum (Shanghai) will develop comprehensive communication and exchange with domestic and foreign artists, art institutions, and art projects. High-quality contemporary art exhibitions will be held, so as to build an international exchange and display platform, and to promote the prosperity and development of Chinese contemporary art in the context of globalization.
HOW Art Museum was founded by Mr. Zheng Hao in 2012, and Mr. Yun Cheagab was appointed to the Director of HOW Art Museum in November of the same year. HOW Art Museum consists of two museums – HOW Art Museum (Shanghai) and HOW Art Museum-Wenzhou. HOW Art Museum-Wenzhou opened to public in 2013 has already held more than 20 significant art exhibitions, including 1.62M: Lin Tianmiao Solo Exhibition, Misinterpret: Zhou Xiaohu Solo Exhibition, Chinese Expression, The Moment We Awe: Contemporary Art from Korea, Tour Exhibition in China’s Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale, HOW NOW • Chinese Young Artists Collective Exhibition, and Facebook. Meanwhile, HOW Art Museum develops extensive cooperation with other arts and cultural institutions and co-organizes significant exhibitions, such as Social Sculpture: Beuys in China.
As an important art museum with emphasis on contemporary art, the HOW Art Museum collection comprises over 2000 works, encompassing painting, sculpture, installation, and new media. Some of the notable holdings include works by Joseph Beuys, Damien Hirst, Markus Lüpertz, Anish Kapoor, Darren Almond, Carsten Nicolai, Yayoi Kusama, Chun Kwang Young, Xu Bing, Zhang Xiaogang, Lin Tianmiao, Zhang Huan, and Ai Weiwei.