Artist's work a driving force for vintage vehicles display
"The Blooming" exhibition which combines vintage cars collected by Shanghai Auto Museum and 60 paintings created by Shen Shun'an has raised its curtain and will be on display through June 20.
Through a combination of the Chinese people's traveling culture and the retrospective of Shen's creative career, the curator aims to present the fruitful results since the founding of the People's Republic of China and sing a song of praise from a different perspective.
In addition, the collision between traditional Chinese painting and modern automobile culture shows the resonance of art and machinery, aiming to reflect the vicissitudes of the new era and spread traditional culture.
Visitors who came for the cars also enjoy the paintings on display.
Shen's paintings portray a prosperous city view through different angles, colors and brushes which are popular with viewers. Most of the paintings, including water ink and pen sketches, have won national prizes or have been collected by renowned art galleries.
Shen created a large ink-wash painting – "Delivering Spring Breeze for 20 Years" – as a gift to the museum to mark the 20th anniversary of the launch of Shanghai International City, where the museum is located.
Highlights include three vintage cars, Ford Model A (1931), Hongqi CA72 (1959) and Shanghai SH760 (1964). These three cars were not only milestones in the history of the car industry, but also witnessed the fast development of the Chinese auto industry, from nothing to today's precision manufacturing.
As the first professional auto museum in China, Shanghai Auto Museum is devoted to spreading and driving communication of car culture.
The curator hopes more youngsters can visit the museum to pay more attention to tradition, think about the future, drive the creation of science and education and raise cultural awareness through the exhibition.
The curator also believes the crossover exhibition will mark deep cooperation in the cultural industry, which will bring new inspirations and lead to a new vision of culture, innovation and ways of living.
"China owns the world's most creative and exciting auto market, but not many vintage cars are seen on the road. Luckily, I saw so many cars here, and most of them are uncommonly seen. Here is a paradise!" said one visitor.
A visitor takes a picture of a Hongqi CA72 which took part in a National Day parade in 1959. Paintings by Shen Shun'an are on display alongside vehicles in the exhibition presenting a special combination of vintage cars and art.
Shanghai Auto Museum is the first museum in China to focus on cars. It opened to the public in 2007. Covering an area of 28,000 square meters, the museum aims to tell interesting stories about the development of cars over the past 100 years.
'The Blooming' exhibition
Date: Through June 20 (closed on Mondays)
Venue: Shanghai Auto Museum
Ticket: 60 yuan (US$9.3)
Address: 7565 Boyuan Rd
博园路7565号
