Art Economies beyond Pattern Recognition

Osage Shanghai is pleased to present Art Economies beyond Pattern Recognition, an exhibition that attempts to explore new possibilities within and for the art economy. Curated by Biljana Ciric, participating artists include Bird Head, Gao Mingyan, Hu Yun, Jin Feng, Li Mu, Lu Jiawei, Lu Pingyuan, Tang Dixin, Anton Vidokle and Julieta Aranda, Yu Tianzhu, Zhang Lehua, and Zhao Zhao.

For centuries, the art market system has provided a relatively stable framework, defined by the relationships between patrons and artists, and which later developed into one in which galleries, collectors, and auction houses became the major players. In this system was, for a long time, based on the materialism of the art object and the possibility of bodily involvement. In our current situation, however, art is increasingly being produced and reproduced through technological means, pushing the commoditisation of art to new heights. This resulted in a shift in the notion of ownership and the material presence of an artwork where preservation and authenticity no longer assured the stability of art market channels.

This exhibition of artists and their works attempts to introduce new possibilities and proposals for the changing roles of artists in the art economy as their activities blend into those of collectors, conservators, and entrepreneurs. Through their individual strategies, artists take into consideration how the works will circulate within the art market; how a project that strategically includes other artists and works might extend beyond the existing scope of art market activity: engaging with issues such as notions of collectability and new ways of collecting; material preservation and conservation, and other possibilities for such; new channels within the art market that go beyond existing gallery services; and new proposals for gallery and institutional systems.

A publication will also be produced to accompany the exhibition. As an extension of the issues explored in the exhibition, artists and art professionals are invited to contribute new formulas, ideas, and suggestions for new models for an economy of art through written descriptions, drawings, instructions, etc. Contributors include David Chan (Shanghai Gallery of Art, Shanghai), Colin Chinnery (ShContemporary), Dinh Q Le (San Art, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam), Lorenz Helbling (ShanghART, Shanghai), Meg Maggio (Pekin Fine Arts, Beijing), Hu Fang (Vitamin Creative Space, Guangzhou), Steven Rand (Apex Art); curator Han Ulrich Obrist; and artists such as Lin Yilin, Liu Jianhua, Sean Raspet, Susanne Winterling, Xu Zhen, Yang Zhenzhong, and Zheng Guogu.