Global Diversity Shines at West Bund Art & Design’s Largest Edition Yet
Exterior view of West Bund Art & Design, 2023. Courtesy of West Bund Art & Design.
On November 12th, West Bund Art & Design concluded its 10th edition with its largest event to date. Taking place next to the Xuhui River in Shanghai, the fair gathered 185 galleries and comprised four main venues: Hall A and Hall B of West Bund Art Center, West Bund Dome, and the newly constructed ORBIT. On its opening day, despite the heavy rain, a stream of international visitors descended on the fair, providing proof that global art exchanges had returned to normal.
In 2014, the first West Bund Art & Design was held at the West Bund Art Center, a converted aircraft manufacturing factory, with just over 30 galleries and art and design organizations, including AIKE, WHITE SPACE, ShanghART Gallery, Hauser & Wirth, Pace Gallery, and White Cube. At the time, West Bund was one of eight art fairs being held in Shanghai, including the inaugural Photo Shanghai, ART 021, and the Bologna Shanghai International Contemporary Art Fair (SH Contemporary). Since then, the West Bund district has blossomed into an important cultural hot spot in the city of Shanghai, with its group of galleries and museums.
Installation view of ShanghART Gallery’s booth at West Bund Art & Design, 2023. Courtesy of West Bund Art & Design.
This year’s fair featured a 50/50 split between local and international participants. Works on view covered a variety of media such as painting, sculpture, video, and digital works, presenting a rich picture of global artistic creation. Several key highlights of the show came from returning international blue-chip galleries, such as Lisson Gallery, Perrotin, and Thaddaeus Ropac; those booths echoed with many concurrent exhibitions taking place at the same time, including at the 14th Shanghai Biennale.
For its first time participating at both West Bund and ART021, Gladstone Gallery presented three pieces of colorful sculptures by Ugo Rondinone at its West Bund booth, while presenting artists who have had significant exposure in the region at ART021. Rondinone’s works were also noticeable at the booths of Esther Schipper and Sadie Coles.
“We wanted to return to Shanghai in a meaningful way by presenting at West Bund a solo presentation of Ugo Rondinone, who also returned to Shanghai this year with a solo show at Fosun Foundation—Rondinone previously also had a solo exhibition at Rockbund Art Museum,” said Paula Tsai, partner of Gladstone Gallery.
Some galleries have participated in West Bund for 10 consecutive years and developed unique perspectives on being a part of China’s contemporary art system. “West Bund showcases cutting-edge artwork from both local and international artists and designers, and its focus on contemporary art and design sets the fair apart from other more traditional fairs,” as Wendy Xu, White Cube’s general manager in Asia, observed. “The location of the fair is also unique. The many galleries and art institutions in the surrounding create an atmosphere where art, culture, and life merge together.”
White Cube presented nearly 30 international artists in its booth, including photographs by Andreas Gursky and paintings by Georg Baselitz. On the first VIP day, the gallery’s sales included works by artists such as Tracey Emin, Magnus Plessen, Marina Rheingantz, and Minoru Nomata. “In addition to masterpieces from the gallery, we also try to present works by artists shown in local exhibitions to collectors,” Xu mentioned. Since her first time participating at the fair, Xu noticed that “the Asian market, especially China, has had an increasing impact on the global art scene. More and more collectors grew interested in Chinese contemporary art, and Chinese collectors were active at international fairs and exhibitions.”
Installation view of DE SARTHE’s booth at West Bund Art & Design, 2023. Courtesy of West Bund Art & Design.
Pascal De Sarthe, founder and owner of DE SARTHE, also shared his view on the fair this year. “West Bund Art & Design plays a crucial role in providing a platform for our artists and draws a significant audience of dedicated art aficionados, including collectors, curators, and professionals deeply engaged in the art world,” he told Artsy. “The fair’s commitment to excellence in curation sets it apart and ensures its relevance in the global art scene.”
Founded in Paris in 1977, DE SARTHE then opened spaces in the U.S. in 1981 and Hong Kong in 2010, and operated a space in Beijing from 2014 to 2018. The gallery is dedicated to promoting Asian contemporary avant-garde art and brought a group exhibition of young artists to West Bund. Titled “System Update,” the gallery’s booth featured works of Lin Jingjing, Mak2, Caison Wang, Wang Xin, and Zhong Wei. The presentation framed a contemporary dialogue between artists that contemplated the prevailing as well as hypothetical capabilities of human beings amid technology, and how it has affected the existing structures and systems of society, spirituality, and humanity at large.
Installation view of Blindspot Gallery’s booth at West Bund Art & Design, 2023. Courtesy of West Bund Art & Design.
Female artists were also spotlighted across the fair. Works by Anne Imhof, Megan Rooney, Zadie Xa, Shubigi Rao, Lee Bul, Tammy Nguyen, and Noa Eshkol were seen at booths including Sprüth Magers, Thaddaeus Ropac, Rossi & Rossi, Lehmann Maupin, and neugerriemschneider.
The fair also welcomed more than 50 first-time exhibitors from various countries and regions, highlighting its continuously expanding influence and importance to the Chinese art market. Among them was the prominent Blindspot Gallery from Hong Kong, which brought works by Chen Wei, Xiyadie, Wai Kin Sin, Un Cheng, Wing Po So, Trevor Yeung, and Haozhong Zheng. “The artists we have brought with us comprise Chinese Mainland artists, Hong Kong artists, as well as diasporic artists,” Mimi Chun, founder and director of the gallery, told Artsy. “Some of these artists may be familiar to local audiences but some have less exposure in China. We want to give these artists a stage to engage with new audiences from the region, and are eager to converse with viewers regarding their works.”
On its first time taking part in West Bund, Chun expressed excitement to connect with Chinese collectors, institutions, and art enthusiasts. “Collectors in China are open-minded in learning about new artists, and we often find ourselves engaging in deep conversations with them regarding artists and their practices,” said Chun. “Possessing a broad worldview and having an unquenched curiosity to see and know more, they bring in new angles and approaches, often bold in venturing into collecting new artists, genres, and themes.”
