The Modern Art Museum (MAM) Shanghai will experience one of its most ambitious and groundbreaking year to date. As the largest contemporary art museum in Shanghai, this year sees MAM Shanghai set to become a “go-to” destination for art lovers with a line-up that includes globally renowned artists including David Hockney, Marina Abramović and Robyn Ward alongside an array of Chinese artists. With public participation and engagement with art at the museum’s core, forthcoming exhibitions are already in the works and will include everything from interactive, participatory sculptures to paintings, immersive installations and contemporary Chinese art. Each activity is intended to broaden visitors’ perception of the modern world and to challenge their views of art while offering new experiences and perspectives.

In reference to the plans for the year ahead, MAM Shanghai’s artistic director Shai Baitel said “With a global and multidisciplinary approach, MAM contributes to the education, knowledge, and enjoyment of art, its values, and message through the presentation of exhibitions and programming of extraordinary quality in an immersive and engaging experience. In keeping with our mission, the 2024 exhibitions will be intriguing explorations in contemporary art and design”.

The 2024 program begins in March, when contemporary Irish artist Robyn Ward opens his first exhibition in China with the launch of his immersive solo show, “Walking in the Dark”. What guests can expect to see in the experiential exhibition are abstract paintings and freestanding sculptures inspired by Ward’s own nomadic lifestyle. Driven by both escapism and avoidance, “Walking in the Dark” asks questions such as “Why do people roam?” and “What is the aftermath of perpetual movement?”

Read More: Irish Artist, Robyn Ward’s New Solo Exhibition “Walking in the Dark” Launches On the Eve of Frieze London Art Fair

Ward’s exhibition runs until May 2024 at MAM Shanghai, and the following month sees the highly anticipated opening of “David Hockney: Paper Trails”, the largest exhibition of the acclaimed British artist’s prints. Renowned for his distinctive approach to printmaking, Hockney mirrors the vibrancy and diligent indexing seen in his broader body of work.

The works in this exhibition – which runs from June to August 2024 – speak to Hockney’s ongoing dedication to capturing and indexing his life through intimate portraiture and snapshots from daily life.

Finally, from September 2024 through January 2025, MAM Shanghai will host performance art pioneer Marina Abramović’s first Chinese museum exhibition with her “Transforming Energy” series. The Serbian artist has earned widespread acclaim over the past 50 years as a pioneer of conceptual performance art, bringing post-war European avant-garde showcases to the mainstream with her sheer endurance and dedication. Focusing on interactive, participatory sculptures, “Transforming Energy” is inspired by one of Abramović’s most renowned performances — her walk across the Great Wall of China with German performance artist Ulay in 1988. Engaging with various spiritual materials like quartz, amethyst, tourmaline, copper, iron and wood, Abramović invites the audience to directly interact with her works and to receive their energy as a means of transit to a meditative state of consciousness.

MAM Shanghai aims to celebrate artists closer to home as well. Beginning in March 2024, “Multiply!!!: Power In Numbers in Contemporary Chinese Art” will feature 12 modern Chinese artists and their work. Curated by Barbara Pollack, this inspiring exhibition includes watercolours from Wu Jian’an, a series of cyanotypes from Ma Qiusha, oil paintings from Yuan Yuan, and a mural from Wang Qingsong.

Click here to find out about what MAM Shanghai has lined up.

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