ShContemporary | Show Report
Positive sales in a rejuvenated Asian market.
Over 30,000 visitors and more than 500 registered collectors from Europe, North America, China and the rest of Asia made the third edition of ShContemporary a great success
ShContemporary 09 ran between 9-13 September, and saw five exceptional days of activity on the show floor. Collectors came to ShContemporary this year in greater numbers than ever before, creating sales exceeding even 2007, and confirming that Asian collectors have bounced back into the market with renewed vigour.
Quotes from ShContemporary exhibitors
Long March director Lu Jie told us he thinks “the scale, quality, and look of the fair will have a major impact on the Asia Pacific market.”
Collectors were also impressed by the quality of the art displayed at the fair and were purchasing major works. Ota Fine Arts (Tokyo) sold four pieces by Kusama - all to Asian female collectors - for a total of approximately US $800,000.
Reflecting that ShContemporary has created a solid and sustainable platform, Arthur Solway of James Cohan Gallery pointed out that “the general feeling of everyone at the fair is that ShContemporary is a resilient fair”.
The Art Destination in Asia
Top artists, galleries, private museums, and major art projects all came together to mount serious exhibitions in Shanghai during ShContemporary 09 to make it the most important and dynamic art destination in Asia. The quality and diversity of the projects on offer all over Shanghai surprised many curators and critics, and gave collectors an unforgettable VIP programme. There will be even more to experience in 2010 with the world’s most spectacular show – the World Expo 2010.
Experimentation and Dialogue Takes Centre Stage
The “DISCOVERIES” Exhibition explored the question “What is contemporary art” and took centre stage in this year’s fair, bringing artists such as Anri Sala, Fiona Tan, and Martha Rosler into dialogue with top Asian emerging artists such as Xu Zhen, Teppei Kaneuji, and Feng Mengbo. The same question was explored in depth by 10 speakers including Boris Groys, Hans Ulrich Obrist, and Gao Shiming over four days in an environment designed by Liam Gillick.
The successful launch of the Asia Pacific Collector Development Programme (CDP)
- A unique initiative promoted by ShContemporary
In 2009 ShContemporary launched the Asia Pacific Collector Development Programme (CDP) to engage with emerging collectors in China and create fresh networking opportunities. Through our partners who represent China's fast emerging affluent sector of society, ShContemporary actively reaches out to potential and emerging collectors. The CDP was successfully launched on September 10th with a magnificent Gala Dinner presented by The Singapore FreePort at which nearly 300 collectors participated.
Proving that CDP had already started to take effect, Jeffrey Ian Rosen of Taka Ishii Gallery (Tokyo) was quoted as saying “we’ve participated at this fair for three years in a row and this year we saw the most Chinese collectors ever.”
See you in Shanghai for ShContemporary 2010 during the world's most spectacular event, World Expo 2010!