Two exhibitions highlight the district's richness
Chen Gukui works on a blank porcelain vase.
Chen Gukui is holding a solo exhibition at the Qingu Art Museum in Shanghai’s Jiading District.
The exhibition features around 130 sculptures and 50 works of oil paintings, Chinese paintings, porcelain panels and porcelain.
Chen, who was born in 1943 in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, has created iconic sculptures, including the giant relief in the lobby of the Garden Hotel Shanghai, the monument to the liberation of Shanghai at Longhua Martyrs’ Cemetery, and the giant decorative relief in the lobby of the Shanghai Library.
The Qingu Art Museum first visited the places that had Chen’s sculptures around the country, then analyzed, assembled and collated these works before publishing the “Compilation of Chen Gukui’s Sculptures.”
The book covers sculptures made by Chen from the 1960s to the present day, ranging from thematic sculptures to massive sculptures to urban public sculptures and celebrity statues.
Chen also dabbled in Chinese painting, oil painting, porcelain art and wood carving. Some of these works are included in this exhibition.
A painting named “A forest of pine trees turning into a dragon,” painted in 2011, is one of the exhibition’s centerpieces. The painting combines modern abstract art with traditional ink-wash, thus incorporating Western art with delicate brush strokes.
Exhibition Info:
Date: Through July 9 (closed on Mondays)
Venue: Qingu Art Museum
Address: 2888 Cao'an Highway
Xuhang straw weaving
Jiading Library is now hosting an exhibition featuring 14 categories of intangible cultural assets from Kunshan, Jiading, and Taicang, ranging from traditional crafts, food, and music to opera and folklore.
Jiading in Shanghai, and Kunshan and Taicang in Jiangsu Province are not only geographically near but also have strong ties. For thousands of years, the shared “cultural genes” of the regions south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, known as Jiangnan, have given birth to a rich and diverse intangible cultural heritage.
Visitors are drawn to Jiading’s steamed dumplings, Kunshan’s Aozao noodles, and dried pork floss, among other gourmet specialties.
While bamboo carving, Kunqu Opera, and Jiangnan stringed and woodwind music are also essential parts of Jiangnan culture, they not only carry the historical memory and heritage of the region but also show the beauty of Chinese traditional culture.
Exhibition Info:
Date: Through July 10
Venue: Jiading Library
Address: 1288 Yumin Road S.
