Masterpieces from the Centre Pompidou

The exhibition “Masterpieces from the Centre Pompidou” is scheduled to be staged at Shanghai Exhibition Center from October 11, 2016 to January 15, 2017, presenting a visual feast with 71 pieces of the authentic work by great modern artists from the collection of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France.

One/person/ Year

Following the criterion of “one piece by one artist per year,” the exhibits are displayed chronologically, dating from 1906 to 1977. One masterpiece by a different French artist completed in each respective year is on display.

The year 1906 marked the birth of fauvism, a modern art school that became in vogue during the era. In 1977, the Centre Pompidou was completed and opened to the public. A total of 71 masterpieces were chosen to cover a time span of 72 years and touch every master almost throughout France’s 20th- Century art history.

The exhibition endeavors to create enough space to present a comprehensive, complete timeline of the progress of modern art in France as well as around the world. Almost every influential Western art school in modern times is represented, ranging from fauvism and cubism to Dadaism, surrealism, abstractionism, expressionism, and pop art. Other styles such as Orphism and op art may not have exerted a huge impact on later generations but continue to represent artists’ persistent innovative efforts.

“We endeavored to present a sketch of the contours of a century of modern art across the globe,” asserts Serge Lasvignes, president of the Centre Pompidou. “It’s a textbook-grade exhibition of the modern art of the world. These masterpieces not only outline art history—they illuminate the social changes across a century through the eyes of these artists and their works.”

A glaring void of work from 1945 is particularly worth noting. The blank place on the wall is serenaded by “La Vie en Rose” by Édith Piaf (1915-1963), an iconic French singer and symbol of freedom, hope, and love. It’s a special, soulful way to commemorate the end of World War II.

Gathering of Masterpieces

The event has been dubbed a great gathering of works by many master artists and representatives of new art schools that emerged in the 20th Century. Featured pieces include The Muse by Pablo Picasso and Double Portrait with a Glass of Wine by Marc Chagall.

One of the most representative practitioners of Dadaism and surrealism, Marcel Duchamp produced groundbreaking and trailblazing work. His Bicycle Wheel created in 1913 was one of the first times a “found object” went on display in an art museum.

Henri Cartier-bresson, hailed as the “father of modern photojournalism,” founded Magnum Photos and is considered one of the greatest photographers of the 20th Century. His “decisive moment” theory has influenced photographers ever since his introduction. His Behind the Gare Saint-lazare (1932) is displayed among the 71 masterpieces.

Richard Avedon, a leading photographer in the fashion circles, shot a portrait of Coco Chanel, a distinguished French fashion designer, in 1958. Countless stars and photographers emulated the photograph’s composition in subsequent years.

Along with masterpieces of modern Western art in the 20th Century, the exhibition also showcases a study model for the Centre Pompidou. In 1977 when it was completed, the Centre received heavy criticism due to its uncanny structure. After many years, the structure is considered a major cultural landmark and scenic spot. Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, young designers of the building, went on to prolific careers and won the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1998 and 2007 respectively.

Red Army’s Long March

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the Red Army’s Long March. This exhibition was organized to celebrate the soul-stirring, heroic episode of Chinese revolution history and promote the Long March spirit. Centered on a theme stressing that “the Long March was a great expedition of human spirit and will,” the exhibition presents moving stories and depicts historical figures with cultural relics that survived the event. The Long March spirit is characterized by sacrifice, discipline, teamwork, hard work, and faith. The exhibition employs a great variety of cultural relics including weapons, notices, comics, maps, lyrics, textbooks, manuscripts, letters written by soldiers of the Red Army, and nearly 300 pieces of fine art from the National Museum of China to capture scenes of the Long March from various perspectives.

Chen Linggang Solo Exhibition: On Reading and Writing

Chen Linggang creates sculptures using tiny square boxes. Although his works often appear very similar, sculptures all differ slightly. He creates people, buildings and even cities in dynamic fashion, with scenes lasting a second, a day or even a year. He employs slips of paper, pages from the book, paragraphs of history, and other innocuous items. As the patterns repeat, the pieces become individual, yet co-dependent. The works are composed within a fluid, grid-like structure allowing each element to converse with each other. They feature constantly changing, pulsing rhythm. This facet not only brings more meaning to the works, but also inspires reflection on culture and self-identity.

Ten Thousand Things

This exhibition’s title was inspired by the influential book Ten Thousand Things: Module and Mass Production in Chinese Art (2000) by German art historian Lothar Ledderose, an investigation into the use of modular or standardized production systems throughout the history of Chinese art in bronze, porcelain, and architecture. While refraining from referring to the book directly, Chinese artist Wu Jian’an pinpointed a striking parallel between his own working methods and Ledderose’s perceptive commentary on procedures used by Chinese artists and artisans over thousands of years. As Wu explored the most experimental reaches of paper cuts, single units or groups of related units continued to provide the building blocks from which his dazzling individual works or installations evolved. This approach characterizes the four major works in the exhibition, each conceived in a different medium.