The first season of the Next Cultural Producer programme, and a series of exhibitions, is on view until 5 February 2023
Photography courtesy of Power Station of Art and CHANEL Culture Fund
A creative partnership between Shanghai-based contemporary art museum Power Station of Art (PSA) and CHANEL Culture Fund sees the launch of the Art of Craft, the first season of the Next Cultural Producer programme, which provides creatives with an opportunity to showcase the future of Chinese design and architecture.
Taking the form of parallel exhibitions at PSA’s 2F exhibition hall up until 5th February 2023, the project invites the public to debate Chinese crafts and the possibility of their revival. The two winning projects of the season are Hill of the Madman, curated by FENG Lixing and WU You, and Back to the FUTURE: Breaking the Time Barrier, curated by ZUO Jing and WANG Yanzhi.
Tracing the origin of craft in Eastern and Western philosophy, Hill of the Madman endorses the idea of crafting as the ability to “know” and to “see”. Through the exhibition, the curators explore the art of craft as both a daily routine and a way of connecting their bodies with the material world to present a collection of exquisite artworks.
Photography featuring Li Gang, Sphinx, Burglar bars, Plaster, Hair, Size varies, 2016. Courtesy of the Artist and from Hill of Madman
Meanwhile, Back to the FUTURE: Breaking the Time Barrier, examines craft within the framework of a production system. The project explores how the concept of making and the spiritual heritage of traditional crafts could be applied in contemporary manufacturing and modern life.
Committed to long-term practice and research, the two projects aim to bridge craft and making in a digital world through unique approaches, and to revive these in a series of intimate yet inspiring cultural experiences. The group also seeks to overcome the problems faced by the industry, reconstructing the relationship between hand and craft, as well as between crafting, individual spirit, and the material world.
‘The purpose of a retrospective on traditional craftsmanship at Power Station of Art in Shanghai,’ says Gong Yan, director of the museum, is to ‘gain a sense of determination to go against the trend. It can not only be an anchor point to look back from the future, but also must give power to bravely imagine a different future.’
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