Contemporary artists take center stage at SGA Shanghai

The Space and Gallery Association in Shanghai is hosting "Getting Along with It," a group exhibition featuring 11 renowned Chinese contemporary artists including Yu Youhan, He Saibang, Huang Yuanqing and Han Feng, along with Kishio Suga of Japan.

The exhibition aims to foster mindfulness and provoke thoughtful reflection about our chaotic world. It encourages visitors to filter and process the barrage of information they encounter daily.

It highlights concepts such as fragmentation, resetting, wrapping, restoration, and the interplay of light and dark. It also emphasizes the creative reuse of daily waste, challenging viewers to find order in chaos and uncover the true essence of things.

Yu's painting "Yimeng Mountain 2005" is a striking diptych that juxtaposes two styles and interpretations of landscape. On the left, the canvas is filled with lush, vibrant greenery depicted with a semi-impressionistic technique that captures the play of light and shadow among dense foliage, evoking the lively, organic chaos of natural growth. It emanates the vitality of life, where the brushstrokes and color palette create a sense of depth and texture, pulling the viewer into the verdant depths of the mountain.

The right side depicts bricks, adding a layer of tangible texture and formality. The bricks are presented in muted colors and simple shapes, stark and minimalistic against the vivid and complex natural landscape to the left. Although Yu is renowned for his abstract works, this piece showcases his unique handling and expression of common elements.

Suga, a pivotal artist within the Mono-ha (School of Things) movement in Japan, is known for his thought-provoking installations that emphasize the interrelationships among materials and the spaces they inhabit. His artworks frequently involve raw, industrial, or natural materials that are arranged in ways designed to challenge traditional views of form and function.

He invites viewers to witness the beauty and complexity of material interactions and to consider the broader philosophical questions about the nature of existence and the role of objects in space.

His installations at the exhibition explore the tension and balance between different elements — wood, paper, concrete, or painted panels. By doing so, he emphasizes their individual characteristics and the space they collectively define. Suga also plays with the ideas of ​​depth and perspective, using simplicity to draw attention to composition and arrangement.

Han's artwork titled "Clouds" emerges from a deeply personal process where he collects everyday items from friends, wraps them in canvas, and then molds them into cloud-like shapes. He then returns the objects to their owners.

But the molds remain, serving as the basis for further artistic exploration. Han continues to work on these forms, adding colors that reflect his interpretation and perceptions of the individuals who provided the items.

Each piece, varying in shape and color, captures the essence of cloud formations while embodying the personal narratives and memories associated with the original objects. The colors — ranging from soft pastels to more vibrant hues — add a dimension of emotional resonance and aesthetic appeal, hinting at the subjective and varied nature of memory and friendship.

The installation invites viewers to contemplate the interconnectedness of personal relationships, memory, and materiality, encouraging a deeper engagement with the ordinary items that populate our lives.

Other featured artists include: Tu Hongtao, Qiu Jia, Liu Yi, Feng Lianghong, Zhang Enli and Zhong Yunshu.

Exhibition info:

Date: Through August 8

Venue: Space & Gallery Association (SGA) Shanghai

Address: 3F, 3 Zhongshan Rd E1

Admission: Free