Exhibitions

Miguel Ángel Payano Jr.: Single-Celled Humans

13 Sep - 19 Oct 2024 Shanghai BANK is pleased to announce that Payano’s first solo show Single-Celled Humans in the VAULT. Payano’s visual arts practice spans his biographical imprints and multicultural heritages that rise to the surface of his “heavy collages” of visual renderings in painting, ready-made objects, image, collage and sculpture. Working between studios in... Read more

Geng Yini: The Dwarf Planet That Has Been Demoted

13 Sep - 19 Oct 2024 Shanghai Curator / Leo Li Chen Pluto was once considered the ninth planet in our solar system, but in 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefined the criteria for a “planet,” resulting in Pluto being downgraded to a “dwarf planet.”Geng Yini has titled one of her new works “Dwarf planet that... Read more

Shi Hui: White Meditation

2 Jun - 27 Jul 2024 Shanghai It is with great honor that BANK presents its first solo show of the contemporary living legend, Shi Hui. Running concurrent with Shi's presentation at the 2024 Venice Biennale, BANK celebrates Shi's longstanding contributions to the arts of China and the world with a cross-section of her creative output that... Read more

Andrew Chapman: Seeing in Normal Circumstances

2 Jun - 27 Jul 2024 Shanghai In Seeing in Normal Circumstances, an initial glance may appear to be the offerings of some type of collective: possibly, a group show of artists pivoting around a rolodex of thematic drivers. What belies this, however, is a particularly solitary and singular practice. One in which the artist’s hand, or... Read more

Bai Yiyi: Comet Drifting Away

23 Mar - 17 May 2024 Shanghai In those humble times, no one’s name will be remembered. Heart fulfilled, photos taken, and can we still murmur any memories? – Kidney 'Where is love?' BANK is honored to present 'Comet Drifting Away', Bai Yiyi's debut solo exhibition with the gallery and his first in Shanghai. In this fleet... Read more

Chico da Silva: Amazônian Legend

23 Mar - 16 May 2024 Shanghai BANK is proud to present Chico da Silva: Amazônian Legend, the first solo exhibition of this seminal Indigenous Brazilian artist in Asia. This historic show focuses on three of this late, self-taught master’s signature themes— fish, birds, and dragons. Chico da Silva (also known as Francisco da Silva, 1910-1985) was... Read more

BANK 10th Anniversary Show "Birthday Party!"

10 Nov 2023 - 24 Feb 2024 Shanghai BANK was born 10 years ago out of a happy mistake. It started with the discovery of a special space, a whim, and some hutzpah. It is now a global brand. Xianggang Lu No 59 was the address that gave us our name and original vitality. It was the former... Read more

TRI SOLO: LAWRENCE LEK, NIK KOSMAS, TIM CROWLEY

13 Mar - 21 Apr 2021 Shanghai TRI-SOLO： Lawrence Lek AIDOL Nik Kosmas BodyHunter Perspective Expand Tim Crowley Ballerina Moon Address：Building 2, Lane 298 Anfu Road, Shanghai, 200031 Lawrence Lek 'AIDOL' The willow tree shall weep The willow tree shall whine Wish I was in my A.I.'s mind Who stole the heart of mine When I was... Read more

The Legacy of Architectonic Futurism

15 Jun - 2 Sep 2018 Shanghai On the occasion of the 16th Venice Biennial of Architecture BANK presents 'The Legacy of Architectonic Futurism' - a group show in honor of the visionary and fantastical spirit of Lebbeus Woods (1940-2012). Woods was an artist, theorist, educator, and architect of the highest level whose politically charged and provocative... Read more

Petra Cortright & Marc Horowitz

22 Mar - 20 May 2018 Shanghai BANK is proud to present Petra Cortright and Marc Horowitz, marking the first time these married, LA-based artists are exhibiting their diverse but congruent creations together, and in Shanghai. Cortright is the poster-girl for ‘post-internet’ art, having come to fame with her lo-fi, webcam videos that, anticipated the rise of... Read more

0:00

27 Jan - 21 Feb 2018 Shanghai “0:00”- is both the beginning and termination of a clock’s cycle. “0:00” is an existing space-time that doesn’t belong to any single day and represents an infinite state of criticality. From evening to midnight, people take off their “normal” mask and return to their inner selves, thus “0:00” can be... Read more

PST/CST

9 Dec 2017 - 20 Jan 2018 Shanghai Los Angeles, a Spanish name that translates as “the angels,” is the largest city in the Pacific Standard Time (PST) zone. It is sixteen hours behind China Standard Time (CST) in the winter and fifteen hours in the summer. Originally part of Mexico until 1850, the city today is home... Read more

Chen Zhe: Flown Away Is the Gold of Days - Works from "Towards Evenings: Six Chapters"

9 Sep - 19 Nov 2017 Shanghai BANK is proud to present Chen Zhe's Flown Away Is the Gold of Days - Works from 'Towards Evenings: Six Chapters', the artist's first show at the gallery. Chen's international notoriety stems from her epic series Bees & The Bearable, which posited photography as a catalyst for examining the psychology... Read more

NOW IS THE SUMMER OF OUR (DIS)CONTENT

14 Jul - 30 Aug 2017 Shanghai Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. —— Sonnet 18 by Shakespeare Summer is the season of infinite possibilities, unbridled play, and paradox. The blazing sun, threatening storms, and sweltering cities have historically been stimuli for sweet serenity as well as for... Read more

Lin Ke: Like Me

17 Dec 2016 - 20 Feb 2017 Shanghai The exhibition Like Me continues Lin Ke 's long-term interest in the behavioral science of our computer age by turning himself into his own guinea pig. Having converted his laptop into a studio, Lin mines the mundane actions of software operations and Internet surfing as the fodder and form of... Read more

Austin Lee: Light Paintings

8 Nov - 17 Dec 2016 Shanghai In 2016, BANK moved from Hong Kong Road to Anfu Road, and this first solo exhibition 'Light Painting' by Artist Austin Lee marks a new chapter for BANK in this new space. As one of the first artists to explore and adopt digital technology in his practice, Austin Lee uses... Read more

Daily Formalism

18 Mar - 15 Jun 2016 Shanghai Formalism implies an emphasis on an artwork's form over its content. It is often associated with abstraction or minimalism - art that is devoid of language outside itself or pure art. “Daily Formalism” showcases artists practicing in a tenacious yet provocative relationship with the legacy of formalism. Whether cynical, playful,... Read more

Zheng Haozhong: Lee Cha

16 Jan - 12 Mar 2016 Shanghai Who is Lee Cha? Without a doubt, this character “Lee Cha” should be the protagonist of this exhibition. Although storyboard or comic strip-like formal separations often appear in artist Zheng Haozhong’s paintings, they offer no clear or logical narrative. From these linearly divided compositions, we can only intermittently discern certain... Read more

Maryn Varbanov: Relics

20 Nov 2015 - 12 Mar 2016 Shanghai Maryn Varbanov (born 1932, Bulgaria – died 1989, Beijing) was a powerful but often overlooked fixture of the China ’85 New Wave Movement. He actively contributed to the greater Avant-Garde dialogue both as a prolific artist and a beloved teacher, influencing artists such as Gu Wenda, Liang Shaoji, and Shi... Read more

Jin Shan: Divine Ruse

20 Nov 2015 - 16 Jan 2016 Shanghai BANK is honored to present Divine Ruse, Jin Shan’s much-anticipated first solo exhibition at BANK as well as his first solo exhibition in China since 2009. Divine Ruse features a series of new sculptural works constructed out of the artist’s own secret resin concoction. Conflating references as diverse as ancient... Read more

Zhao Gang: Cocksucker Blues

6 Sep - 1 Nov 2015 Shanghai Using the historical BANK building as his inspiration Zhao Gang’s debut in Shanghai forms a ballad to the possible pasts of this city. Like the infamous, unreleased Rolling Stones’ single that this exhibition borrows its title from, Zhao’s paintings moan with a destitute sense of an unfulfilled, dirty romance. While... Read more

Oliver Herring

6 Sep - 1 Nov 2015 Shanghai Oliver Herring’s multi-disciplinary, globe-trotting, performative project Areas for Action makes its Shanghai debut at BANK with an on-going, open archive of new, tailor-made work in tandem with video and photo documentation of past events. Through an open call for volunteers in Shanghai Herring will create a situation for creativity in... Read more

Hito Steyerl

18 Jul - 30 Aug 2015 Shanghai “My conviction is that, now more than ever, real life is much stranger than any fiction one could imagine. So somehow the forms of reporting have to become crazier and stranger, too. Otherwise they are not going to be ‘documentary’enough; they are not going to live up to what’s happening.”... Read more

The Body Poetic

10 Jul - 30 Aug 2015 Shanghai Read more

Geng Yini: God Loves Whatever

30 May - 10 Jul 2015 Shanghai “God loves whatever: be it drunkards, illiterates or the uneducated, grandparents, uncles or aunties, the conceited or the shameful, people with status or those without reputation ... they are everywhere and they are capable of anything. God loves them all!” – Geng Yini Intertwining her way through multiple mediums Geng... Read more

Heidi Voet: 500 Years

30 May - 10 Jul 2015 Shanghai “The plastic bag is a vessel for an ever-changing content” It is predicted that it will take approximately 500 years for a disposable plastic bag to fully decompose. This demarcation of time is a catalyst for Belgian artist, Heidi Voet’s first solo exhibition at BANK. Through flags, figurative sculptures, and... Read more

The Bank Show

29 Mar - 24 May 2015 Shanghai It is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of the current order of capitalism. – Fredric Jameson “The BANK Show, Vive le Capital” explores, celebrates, and critiques the omnipresent power of global finance through its site-specific venue, the former Bank Union building (est. 1925). From... Read more

Jin Feng: I can’t be part of your revolution

24 Jan - 15 Mar 2015 Shanghai 'I Can’t be Part of Your Revolution' is a special collaboration between artist, Jin Feng and contemporary theatre director, Huang Fengling that deploys Mount Everest, the highest place on earth, as the definitive metaphor for human aspiration. Whether it is political conquest, late-capital sport, or pure status, Mount Everest has... Read more

Teach us To care and noT To care Teach us To siT sTill

15 Nov 2014 Shanghai (Did you learn more than you have been taught?) What are the effects of education, organized society, and communication technology on individual creativity and expression? How has social media, smart device dependency, and the ceaseless flow of information not only shaped emotional subjectivity but human behavior, faith, and notions of... Read more

Fang Wei: Assassin

15 Nov 2014 - 11 Jan 2015 Shanghai Assassin marks Fang Wei’s first solo show in two years with a survey of ambitious large scale works on canvas as well as an array of works on paper and other objects that help to define his distinct oeuvre. Taking the stealth character of the assassin as his departure point... Read more

Ouyang Chun: DETRITUS

16 Sep - 16 Nov 2014 Shanghai “Mud is the building block of our world... it is a repository of human memory” -Ouyang Chun BANK is proud to present Detritus, Ouyang’s first solo exhibition at BANK and his first solo show of sculptural work in Shanghai. Ouyang Chun’s expressive, childlike paintings helped to position him as one... Read more

Wang Jiaxue: Tired Romantic

19 Jul - 31 Aug 2014 Shanghai Wang Jiaxue spent her last year in the ‘New Classicism’ studio under the direction of Liu Renjie. Her work is the result of an exacting technique, intense concentration and a morbid imagination. Wang’s canvases look like they could’ve been unearthed from the Middle Ages with their gothic imagery, and smoothly... Read more

Chen Tianzhuo: PICNIC PARADISE BITCH

19 Jul - 31 Aug 2014 Shanghai Chen Tianzhuo latest, multi-screen, video works presented here are elements that inform the artist’s long-format, staged opera epic ADAHA, which will be released next year. In PICNIC, a work made in collaboration with dancer Beio, a strange, possessed spirit that comes alive through a psychedelic hallucination, contorts against an alter... Read more

Xu Bing: Reading Room

18 May - 19 Jul 2014 Shanghai Reading Room: Launching The Book about Xu Bing’s Book from the Ground MABSOCIETY is honored to launch The Book about Xu Bing’s Book from the Ground, edited by Mathieu Borysevicz and published by MIT Press / Mass MoCA (English) and Guangxi Normal University Press (Chinese). On this occasion BANK’s project... Read more

Liao Guohe: Instant Morality

18 May - 19 Jul 2014 Shanghai BANK is pleased to announce the opening of Instant Morality, Liao Guohe’s second solo exhibition in Shanghai featuring new paintings and installation works made specially made for this occasion. Liao Guohe continues to expound obscure, satirical criticism about contemporary culture through his signature, discordant yet enchanting painting style. The title... Read more

Topophilia

15 Mar - 24 May 2014 Shanghai As cultural identity becomes more and more malleable in the age of globalization, what makes one “Chinese” or any other ethnicity for that matter? Cultural identity has become dependent not only upon where one is from, but also where one is now, and in what company. Many artists have made... Read more

Ground Floor Up

24 Jan - 15 Mar 2014 Shanghai Red is the warmest of all colors, the color of prosperity and joy but also of temper or anger. Red is the color of Mars, known as the God of War. It symbolizes passion- ate love. RED brings you enthusiasm and interest, energy, action and confidence, it makes you go... Read more

Geng Yini, Marx Lafia & Ma Daha: DYSTOPIA AND ITS CONTENT(MENT)S – 3 Solo Projects

14 Dec 2013 - 16 Feb 2014 Shanghai In his seminal book, Civilization and its Discontents, Sigmund Freud enumerates what he sees as the fundamental tensions between civilization and the individual. The primary friction, he asserts, stems from the individual’s quest for instinctual freedom and civilization’s contrary demand for conformity. The proliferation and currency of information in today’s... Read more

Paint(er)ly

27 Sep - 1 Dec 2013 Shanghai PAINT(erly) |ˈpeɪntəli| adj • of or appropriate to a painter; artistic: she has a painterly eye. • characterized by qualities of color, stroke, and texture rather than of line. This exhibition flushes out the notion of the “painterly”- that inherent and seductive quality of paintings that has not only helped... Read more