MAM Shanghai’s 2024 calendar packed with exhibitions from David Hockney, Marina Abramović, Robyn Ward, and contemporary Chinese artists
In the Chinese calendar, 2024 is the Year of the Dragon. The mythical creature represents strength and good fortune, and MAM Shanghai’s upcoming programme exemplifies these characteristics.
The Modern Art Museum (MAM) Shanghai will embark on one of its most ambitious and groundbreaking years yet, with a diverse calendar designed to inspire and educate.
Featuring globally renowned icons including David Hockney, Marina Abramović and Robyn Ward alongside an array of Chinese artists, MAM Shanghai is set to be a ‘go to’ destination for art lovers the world over
From interactive, participatory sculptures to paintings, immersive installations and contemporary Chinese art, MAM Shanghai’s forthcoming exhibitions are guaranteed to widen our understanding of the modern world and to challenge our views of it, while offering new experiences and perspectives.
The 2024 programme 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. Following on from highly-acclaimed runs in New York and London, the experiential exhibition features abstract paintings and freestanding sculptures inspired by Ward’s own nomadic lifestyle, driven by a need for both escapism and avoidance. Walking in the Dark asks questions such as “Why do people roam?” and “What is the aftermath of perpetual movement?”
Ward’s exhibition runs until May 2024 at MAM Shanghai, and the following month sees the hugely anticipated opening of David Hockney: Paper Trails, the largest ever exhibition of the acclaimed British artist’s prints. Hockney is renowned for his distinctive approach to printmaking, mirroring 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.
From September 2024 through January 2025, MAM Shanghai will host conceptual and performance art pioneer Marina Abramović’s first Chinese museum exhibition with her Transforming Energy series. The Serbia-born artist has earned widespread acclaim over the past 50 years as a pioneer of performance art, bringing post-war European avant-garde to the mainstream via sheer endurance and dedication to her work. Focusing on interactive, participatory sculptures, Transforming Energy is inspired by one of Abramović’s most iconic performances, her walk across the Great Wall of China with German performance artist Ulay in 1988. Engaging with various materials such as 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.
“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,” said Shai Baitel, MAM Shanghai’s Artistic Director.
MAM Shanghai is keen to celebrate talented 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.
