Friends in the Arts : Exhibition of Chinese Collectors’ New Contemporaries

Friends in the Arts

Chinese collector's new contemporaries

2023. 11. 8 – 2024. 1. 28

“Friends in the Arts” unites 56 new-generation collectors from China to present contemporary artworks acquired over the past three years. TANK Shanghai meticulously selects representative works in various mediums from these collectors’ global artist portfolios. This exhibition provides a unique opportunity to immerse ourselves in their stories, explore their relationships with contemporary art, and experience the resonance between their collections and our times.

In 2018, TANK Shanghai focused on a group of Chinese contemporary art collectors, presenting a comprehensive exhibition, “Art Patrons,” taking the lead in focusing on Chinese contemporary art collectors. Today, after a five-year hiatus, TANK Shanghai brings back the series of exhibitions “Friends in the Arts.” This time, we shift our focus towards the new-generation collectors, who are actively engaged in the contemporary art scene, aiming to present a more expansive portrayal of the diverse collector community at this juncture.

Most of our friends in the arts have a background of overseas study and actively participate in art and culture-related industries. Their cultural cognizance transcends traditional confines, and their fluid thinking and innovative lifestyles enrich their capacity for discerning judgments in art. This exhibition brings us a glimpse of the different approaches of collectors to contemporary art and collecting in this era. The new generation of collectors, driven by their profound understanding and passion for contemporary art, has emerged as the embodiment of “Friends in the Arts.”

“Friends in the Arts” constitutes a passionate cohort deeply immersed in contemporary art. Collecting becomes a testament to one’s discernment of the present, an expression of empathy with society, and a journey of self-discovery. These individuals are the archivists and nurturers of contemporary art, weaving their unique narratives, making the exhibition “Friends in the Arts” an extension of the “Art Patrons” exhibition.

Opening of "Friends in the Arts" , TANK Shanghai，2023

Collector List:

Bao Yifeng, Cai Jian, Cao Beichen, Cao Jixiang, Justin Chan, Delora Xuanqiao Che, Honus Tandijono, Vivian Chen, Chen Zihao, Cheng Cheng, Michael Cheng, Michael Cheng Sheung Chuen, Ding Zehua , Michael Guo, Vince Guo, He Juju, Ying Ying Hsieh, Hua Zihan, Tianze Jiang, Jiao Jingjia, Linyao Kiki Liu, Olivia Li, Ruby Li, Li Wendong, Richard Liu, Betty Liu, Jenny Liu, Luo Xudong, Pan Yang, Joy Shing, Minluo Su, Coobe Wang, Wang Shujin, Sylvia Wang, Tony Wen, Wu Meng, Wu Wei, Xi Tao, Cici Xiang Yejing , Alda Xie, Cherry Xu, Cindy Yan, Aria Yang, Yao Chien, Vivian Young , Yu Dan, Michelle Yuan Bing, Zhang Chang, Kairong Zhang, Joan Zhang, Sherry Zhang, Michelle Yunjia Zhang, Wenxi Zhao, Niklas Chou, Zhu Zhu, Zong Long

From left to right：Zhibing Qiao, Jingjia Jiao, Zhu Zhu, Bin Yuan, Tyra, Cheng Cheng

Artist List:

David Altmejd Hernan Bas

André Butzer Chen Yujun

Chen Xiaoyi Enzo Cucchi

Henry Curchod Ding Yi

Ding Shiwei Dong Dawei

Duan Jianyu Simon Fujiwara

Noémie Goudal Mona Hatoum

He Xiangyu Candida Höfer

Jia Aili Jiang Zhi

Jiū Society Izumi Kato

Tomasz Kręcicki Li Binyuan

Marilyn Minter Yuko Mohri

Oscar Murillo Ouyang Chun

Philippe Parreno Pu Yingwei

Qiu Xiaofei Daniel Richter

Gabriel Rico Pipilotti Rist

Simon Starling Sun Yitian

Vivian Suter Wolfgang Tillmans

Wang Yin Wang Guangle

Kiki Xuebing Wang Wang Jiajia

Wei Jia Issy Wood

Xia Yu Xiao Jiang

Hiroka Yamashita Yan Bing

Yang Fudong Ye Linghan

Anicka Yi Zhang Enli

Zhang Ji Zhang Zipiao

Zhang Ruyi Zhang Zhaoying

Zhang Yibei Zheng Guogu

“Friends in the Arts” exhibition space

Curators:

Dan Qiao, in charge of TANK Shanghai. She holds a degree from School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) and co-founded the non-profit space in Chicago “Gallery no one.” She joined TANK Shanghai after graduating in 2019, and has since helped organize the exhibition “Theaster Gates: Bad Neon,” as well as events such as” TANK ART FESTIVAL,””TANK NYE PARTY,” etc..

Evonne Jiawei Yuan is a writer and curator based in Shanghai. She graduated from Fudan University with B.A. in Museology, The Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London with M.A. in History of Art, and the Architectural Association School of Architecture with M.A. in History & Critical Thinking. Recent curations: “By Virtue of Situated Compromise” (ASE Foundation, Shanghai, 2023), “A Tie to All the Earth” (Perrotin in collaboration with teagan:, Beijing, 2023), “Steadfastly Revise For the Standards in Nonproductive Construction (Part I: Solid Molds; Part II: Liquid Circulates)” (Long March Independent Space, Beijing, 2022–23), “Entangled, Ensnared, Entwined – Carol Bove, Hu Xiaoyuan, Alicja Kwade” (Longlati Foundation, Shanghai, 2023), etc. Co-curations: “Friends in the Arts: Exhibition of Chinese Collectors’ New Contemporaries” (TANK, Shanghai, 2023), “New Moroism – Michael Ho, Chris Huen Sin-Kan, Timothy Lai, Su Yu-Xin” (White Cube, Hong Kong, 2023), etc. Current research interests include the architectural media in-and-of contemporary art, (post)modern spatial concepts, border aesthetics and its geopolitics. She was Guest Curator of Longlati Foundation and Head of its Writers’ Acquisition Committee from 2021 to 2023, leading the launching of solo exhibitions “Ma Qiusha: The Mirror(-scape) of Your Skin” (2022), “Laure Prouvost: Theatergarden and A Be(a)stiary of the Anthropocene” (2022), etc. In 2022, she co-founds totalab, an independent curatorial office and art space in Shanghai with artist-curator Julian Junyuan Feng, where she curated “Going Viral: Zombies, Pluribiosis, and Love of the Living Dead” with works from the Soil Collection (2022).

Sponsor:

About DIOR

In 1947, Christian Dior, founder of the House of DIOR, presented his first collection at 30 Avenue Montaigne, inciting a fashion revolution with his “New Look”. Over 70 years, his visionary spirit never ceased to glorify women all over the world. Season after season, this exceptional heritage is reinvented by the singular creative passion, force and modernity of the House’s Creative Directors who make the DIOR magic live on with audacity, excellence of savoir-faire and its unique beauty of the gesture. Today, DIOR continues to design dreams, with product categories encompassing Haute Couture, Womenswear, Menswear, Baby Dior, Jewelry and Watch, Dior Maison, Skincare, Makeup and Fragrance, whilst continuously exploring the fields of art, culture and social responsibility.

About CUPPAR

Beijing Cuppar International Auction Co., Ltd. (CUPPAR),founded in 2020, is a comprehensive auction company specializing in the auction of cultural relics and works of art.Its headquarter is located in Gateway Plaza, Beijing with offices in Chinese Hong Kong, Chinese Taiwan, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Qinhuangdao, Kunming, Changsha, North America, Japan, Australia, the UK and other countries and regions.

Since the Inaugural auction in 2021, CUPPAR has carried out multiple businesses including online and offline auctions, theme exhibitions, art fairs, and cross-border cooperation. CUPPAR has already held four Spring and Autumn auctions in Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou by planning twenty sessions with a total sales of more than 1.9 billion yuan, and created more than fifty new auction records.

In addition to the traditional Auction Business line, CUPPAR has presented diverse and in-depth cultural and artistic experiences through lectures, forums, exhibitions, short videos and other forms of activities and events. At the same time, we will gradually carry out private negotiation, consulting services, art-financing services and other comprehensive services for the related industry.