The World Photography Organisation moved into the art fair market five years ago with the launch of PHOTOFAIRS. With editions in Shanghai and San Francisco, PHOTOFAIRS is the perfect place to discover and collect photography and moving image in all its forms - classic masterpieces, contemporary photography, large-scale installations, moving-image and the latest innovations in technology.
PHOTOFAIRS | Shanghai opens next week (September 21-23, 2018) and will feature 55 leading Chinese and international galleries and their artists, alongside a critically acclaimed public program of museum-quality exhibitions, talks, events and book signings.
Here are just a few of the artworks on offer:
Insights exhibition
Curator Victor Wang draws inspiration from the seminal exhibition, “The Same But Also Changed”, which was prematurely closed before it could open to the public in 1999 but proved to be a turning point in the recognition of photography in the Shanghai and Chinese art scene.
Wang’s re-imagining of the 1999 exhibition will feature original artists including Geng Jiangyi, Liang Yue, Chen Xiaoyun and Yang Zhenzhong, alongside a new generation of image makers.
Staged
The Staged exhibition platform explores the relationship between photography and other art forms such as installation art, sculpture, video and painting. Placed throughout the Fair space, the politically and emotionally-charged works by Cai DongDong, Seung Woo Back, Chen Chieh-Jen and Won Seuong Won each reflect on contemporary Asian society.
Spotlight
Japanese artist Hiroshi Sugimoto is the focus for the 2018 Spotlight exhibition and sees the Chinese debut of his work “Gates of Paradise”. The artist's striking works can be seen in major collections throughout the world.
Celebrating Chinese artists
The fair will feature some of China’s leading galleries and will shine a spotlight on contemporary Chinese artists including new works by Jiang Zhi (Blindspot Gallery, Hong Kong) and Yang Yongliang (Matthew Liu Fine Art, Shanghai) along with Pixy Liao (Chambers Fine Art, New York & Beijing & New York), Hai Bo (Pace Gallery, New York, Beijing, London, Hong Kong, Seoul & Geneva) and Liu Di (Pékin Fine Arts, Beijing & Hong Kong).
Masterworks
Works from the masters of photography run through the fair including Irving Penn, Marc Riboud, Robert Mapplethorpe, Jim Goldberg, Alec Soth and Valie Export amongst others.
Chinese debuts
Two galleries make their Chinese art fair debut at PHOTOFAIRS | Shanghai. Check out young Dutch artist Bas Meeuws who rejuvenates the traditional and very Dutch genre of flower still life painting through the modern medium of digital photography from Per van der Horst Gallery (The Hague & Taipei) and Japanese artist and photographer Yuki Tawada from rin art association (Toykyo)
