Ancient papyrus from Egypt, the 7-meter-long Chinese rubbing painting “Five Thousand Years”, the lacquerware from Japanese Living National Treasures... All these spectacular works from around the world will appear at the 7th International Invitational Exhibition of Traditional Fine Arts at Shanghai Art Collection Museum.
Beautiful papyrus painting from Egypt (sponsored by Consulate General of the Arab Republic of Egypt in Shanghai)
“Five Thousand Years” large-scale rubbing painting (by Chinese Art and Craft Master Chen Hailong)
The exhibition is supervised by the Intangible Cultural Heritage Division of Ministry of Culture of China, Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture, Radio, Film and TV, Shanghai Municipal People’s Government Foreign Affairs Office and Shanghai Changning District People’s Government, hosted by Shanghai Creative Industry Association, and organized by Shanghai Art Collection Museum and Shanghai Art & Design Academy. It is an upgrade for the previous 6 sessions of the Chinese-Japanese-South Korean Art Exhibition as well as a major commemorate event for China’s 12th Cultural Heritage Day.
The exhibition is themed “The Quintessence of East and West”. On the basis of Asian countries in past exhibitions, the “International (Shanghai) Invitational Exhibition of Traditional Fine Arts” involves artworks from more countries in order to demonstrate the cultural essence of both East and West, thus further expanding the exhibition’s global influence. The exhibition selects artworks by famous artists, arts and crafts masters and intangible cultural heritage inheritors with outstanding achievements in their fields. It also provides an international platform for display and exchange for culture and art with the hope that cultural exchange will further strengthen the understanding and trust among the people.
Upgraded Exhibition of Spectacular Art
“International Invitational Exhibition of Traditional Fine Arts” is an exhibition brand with significant social impact as well as a large-scale platform of international cultural communication. The 7th exhibition continues its high standards in previous years. As the exhibition’s organizer, Shanghai Art Collection Museum has sent specialists multiple times to Japan, Korea, Central and Eastern European Countries and related provinces in China to meet face-to-face with artists, institutions and local governments, in order to maintain the high level of exhibits.
Different from previous exhibitions, this year’s exhibition not only continues to include artists from China, Japan and South Korea, but also is actively participated by artists from Spain, France, Russia, Hungary, Austria, Slovakia and Egypt. About 100 famous painters, art and craft masters, inheritors of intangible cultural heritage have participated in the exhibition, demonstrating the exhibition’s theme “the Quintessence of East and West”, while also building an international platform for cultural display and exchange.
The exhibition includes many artworks from Central and Eastern Europe and Africa, such as the ancient papyrus painting from Egypt, eastern-style ink painting from Polish artist with Sci-fi themes, as well as creative white porcelain works by Austrian artist.
Ink painting works by Polish artist Wieslaw Borkowski
Porcelain works by Austrian artist Uli Aigner
The Japanese works are directly sponsored by Kyoto Prefecture. 27 artists include 2 Living National Treasures, 1 National Person of Cultural Merit, 3 Members of Japan Art Academy, representing the highest level of Japan’s art and craft, with a variety of forms including metal art, lacquer, dyeing and pottery.
Pottery work by Imai Masayuki, Japanese Person of Cultural Merit
Lacquerware work by Ito Hiroshi, Member of Japanese Art Academy
Sponsored by Jeonju, Korea’s historic cultural capital, the Korean artworks feature young artists who bring creativity into traditional techniques, including Hanji (Korean paper) and leather painting.
Hanji works by Korean artist Jeon Byeong-Nam
“Recalling”, leather works by Korean artist Cho Min Jeong
The Chinese exhibits feature a wide range of artists in many generations. Xu Chaoxing and Xia Houwen, the inheritors of the world cultural heritage Longquan Celadon Porcelain, join the exhibition with a group of younger porcelain artists. Other exhibits include painting by Zhu Gang, curator of Liu Haisu Art Museum, metal pot works of Lai Qingguo, Chinese Art and Craft Master, large-scaled rubbing painting by Chen Hailong, as well as creative works combining embroidery and silverware from China’s minorities and the artist group from Shanghai Art & Design Academy.
Celadon porcelain work by Xu Chaoxing, inheritor of intangible cultural heritage
Creative metal works by Lai Qingguo, Chinese Arts and Crafts Master
Painting of traditional opera character by Zhu Gang, curator of Liu Haisu Museum
Sculpture work by Yu Yang from Shanghai Art & Design Academy
Creative works of embroidery-inlaid silver jewelry by Liu Yiyi and Zhang Yuewei
International Forum on ICH Protection
The 5th International (Shanghai) Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Forum will also be held with the exhibition, themed by “Commonality and Difference - the Implementation and Vision of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention”. The forum invites experts and scholars from 11 countries, including Chang Shana, member of the Expert Committee for Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection, Mohamed Sultan, Governor of Alexandria Governorate in the Arab Republic of Egypt, Kyung Hwan Kang, General Director of National Intangible Heritage Center of South Korea, Eszter Csonka-Takács, President of the ICH Expert Committee of the Hungarian National Commission for UNESCO, and Noboru Hata, President of Kyoto Arts and Crafts Artists Association. The forum will focus on the commonalities and differences in ICH protection methods facing the current opportunities and challenges since the adoption of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Through exchanges in common issues, experiences and methods, the forum provides new inspirations and opportunities to the development of ICH protection and cultural exchanges among states.
Joint Development of Culture and Business
In order to further promote the collaboration of culture, business and tourism, the 3rd International (Shanghai) Cultural Tourism Program Promotion Conference will be held with the exhibition. The promotion conference includes not only China, Japan and South Korea like the previous conferences, but also Hungary, Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Ukraine, Slovakia and Egypt with representatives from the Consulate Generals, including Mr. Khaled Youssef, Consul General of the Arab Republic of Egypt in Shaghai and Mr. Dmytro Ponomarenko, Consul General of Ukraine in Shanghai.
The “International (Shanghai) Invitational Exhibition of Traditional Fine Arts” is an exhibition of vast social impact and an international platform for high-end cultural exchange. The past 6 exhibitions have received strong support from all sectors of the society, including governments, artists and social organizations, with over 600 total participants. The 1st to 5th “International (Shanghai) Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Forum” and the 1st and 3rd “International Cultural Tourism Program Promotion Conference” held during the exhibitions have been also widely praised for the level and quality and widely reported by several hundred global media, including CCTV, NHK, KBS and Consulate Generals of multiple states in Shanghai.
The exhibition will last till June 25 at Shanghai Art Collection Museum; a tour exhibition will be held at Shanghai Art Collection Museum - Takashimaya Art Space from June 28.