ShContemporary 09

　　DISCOVERIES: Discovering Contemporary

　　Since its first edition in 2007, the aim of ShContemporary has been to serve as a catalyst for the dynamic exchange between the Western and Asian art worlds, by supporting and cultivating the interaction between the rising Asian and global art scenes.

　　In its third edition ShContemporary embarks on an extraordinary initiative to integrate two new components into DISCOVERIES, at the moment when shifts in the global economic landscape have dramatically transformed the patterns of buying and selling art: a curated exhibition to showcase works by some of the most significant international artists who came to international attention during these past two decades as well as some of the most promising emerging art; and a forum of international experts to address, through a series of public lectures and round tables, the urgent question being currently discussed throughout the centers of international art world: What is Contemporary Art?

　　During the twenty years that passed since the China/Avant-garde exhibition at National Art Gallery in Beijing and the Magiciens de la Terre exhibition in Paris, the sphere of Contemporary Art has seemingly expanded to all corners of the world. With over 70 art biennials around the world, hundreds of Museums and Centers for Contemporary art presenting more then a thousand exhibitions each year; collections, foundations, academic journals and magazines, art academies training generations of artists in this genre, it is safe to say that Contemporary Art is no longer an emergent field, but is a fully developed cultural project in its mature form. And yet, it is still a field that largely refuses categorization: unlike the history of art that precedes it, contemporary art cannot be understood through movements, mediums, or geographical/national regions. In this sense we are looking at two distinct approaches to contemporaneity - one that has already been fully institutionalized, and another that still evades definition.

　　The DISCOVERIES section of ShContemporary will address this question as a departure point for an exhibition curated by Mami Kataoka, Wang Jianwei, and a lecture series organized by Anton Vidokle.