On my third day in Shanghai, I decided on art appreciation, so I went to the China Art Museum. Just like with other modern Chinese infrastructure, it was an impressive looking building with an distinct and unmissable red roof.
Admission was free and there was free cloakroom to leave my bag. I started on the ground floor and noticed there were helpful lit arrows on the floor to guide you to the various rooms in the correct sequence.
Naturally the exhibition spaces focused on modern Chinese artists. It seems incredible that in even during the turbulent years of modern China, Chinese artists were still able to produce thought provoking work. Like all exhibitions some of the pieces were videos and were played in small dark rooms with a bench for the viewer.
The entrances of the individual exhibitions did have an English introduction but English did not appear often with the actual artworks. Anyway I focus on the art work rather than the description in an art gallery anyway.
I spent most of my time in the ground floor at the “Beyond the Unexplored” exhibition featuring Fang ZengXian. Not being an modern art buff, I found his work rather dark and unnerving.
All in all, it was an enjoyable day out, looks like it would merit a repeat visit.
