Established in late 2016 by Italian gallerist and long-time influential figure of the Shanghai art scene Enrico Polato, Capsule Shanghai is a self-described ‘gallery and art laboratory’ based in Shanghai’s central Xuhui District. Situated on the first floor of a picturesque 1930s garden house in the idyllic greenery of the former French Concession, the gallery works primarily with emerging Chinese and international artists who push the boundaries of contemporary art. Its special focus has been on artists who have personally and professionally migrated between regions, creating unique trans-national and trans-regional links.
Read MoreThe gallery opened with the group show When We Become Us (2016), which brought together the works of eight international artists working in different mediums. Several of those artists—most notably Pixy Liao, Alice Wang, Feng Chen, Huang Hai-Hsin and Sarah Faux—remain with the gallery, continuing to build their international profile. Utilising the works in the show, which were broadly poetic in nature, the exhibition was designed to challenge the viewers’ perceptions of their relationship to art.
In its first full-year programme, in 2017 the gallery ran a full six shows in order to establish a strong early impression of the gallery’s overall programme and its artists. The year’s exhibitions included a show that brought together the work of esteemed teacher and student Qin Jin and Chen Dandizi, as well as solo shows by artists such as Gao Yuan, Feng Chen, and Alice Wang. The gallery continues to support the developing careers of its artist while creating a space for both artists and viewers to experiment and explore new ideas.
From its inception Capsule Shanghai sought to work with artists near the beginning of their careers, particularly those who those have migrated across borders. Amongst the gallery’s roster of artists are several who are now gaining attention around the world and exhibiting internationally: artists such as Shanghai-born and Brooklyn-based intimate autobiographical photographer Pixy Liao, or Gao Yuan, whose animations are receiving critical reception across Asia and Europe. These artists are joined by other internationally exhibiting artists such as Leelee Chan, Alice Wang, Feng Chen, Sarah Faux, and Maya Kramer, most of whom are either from China or have established a professional foothold in the country. The gallery continues to work with emerging contemporary artists destined for the international scene, exhibiting artists such as Huang Hai-Hsin, Ivy Haldeman, Cai Zebin, Douglas Rieger, and Wang Haiyang.
From the outset the gallery has looked to art fairs as a means of promoting its artists internationally. While remaining selective the gallery has participated in major international fairs such as Artissima, Turin; Art Shenzhen; Paris Internationale; Frieze New York; Art Basel in Hong Kong; and West Bund Art & Design, Shanghai.
Ocula Insight Artissima XYZ: Artist Highlights By Stephanie Bailey, Online We introduce some of the artists showing with Artissima XYZ, an online platform being staged for the fair's 2020 edition.
Ocula Feature Shanghai Art Week: Exhibitions to See By Tessa Moldan, Shanghai With Art021 and West Bund Art & Design taking place in November, we recommend 17 shows to see in Shanghai this winter.
Ocula News Leelee Chan Awarded BMW Art Journey 2020 Hong Kong, 18 June 2020 Pandemic permitting, the Hong Kong artist will visit destinations in Europe, Japan and the Americas to explore the past, present and future of materials.
Ocula Insight Holy Mosses: Queer Eco-Aesthetics at Blindspot Gallery, Hong Kong By Emily Verla Bovino, Hong Kong Group exhibition Holy Mosses imagines a boundless future through the queer eco-aesthetics of eight artists.
Related Press Dancing around Shanghai 4 November 2019, ArtReview In Production: Art and the Studio System, Yuz Museum, 7 November – 1 March Every week is art week somewhere, but not every week is art week in Shanghai. So you'll be wanting to be there during the first week of November, when the city's twin art fairs, Art021 and West Bund Art & Design are on view. But the fun of the fairs is not the only...
Related Press Doron Langberg: Likeness 7 October 2019, The Brooklyn Rail The possibility of a queer visuality unfettered by ideas of representation is at the forefront of Doron Langberg's debut exhibition, Likeness, at Yossi Milo Gallery. The Israeli-born artist's large-scale canvases are occupied by sitters in demure postures as well as possibilities for a future and traces of the past, hidden in details that appear...
Related Press Beer with a Painter: Doron Langberg 17 August 2019, Hyperallergic I first encountered one of Doron Langberg's paintings at a group show at Danese Corey in 2015. The exhibition, 8 Painters, was under review for the "Review Panel" (a monthly discussion of current exhibitions) when I was a panelist. Recently I came across my notes for the talk. I had written about "the ghosts hovering" in the...
Related Press what pixy liao’s photography tells us about love 13 August 2019, i-D If it wasn't for the film Blow-Up, Pixy Liao may never have become a photographer. Working as a graphic designer in Shanghai and deeply dissatisfied with the lack of creative control she had over her own work, after watching Michelangelo Antonioni's cult classic about a fashion photographer loosely based on David Bailey, she was inspired to make...
Related Video & Audio Miranda Fengyuan Zhang | A World Without Us | 2021 29 January 2021, Capsule Shanghai Magnifying familiar traditional techniques through the union of knitted wool and cotton fabrics, Zhang's work deals with her familial history of undoing woolens to form new ones and wielding processes of centuries-old weaving methods. Incorporating strange shapes, warm colors, and soft materials with poetic sentimentality, the work depicts lush...
Related Video & Audio Yan Xinyue | Summer Mist 25 August 2020, Capsule Shanghai As a young artist, Yan Xinyue continuously dedicates her creativity to exploring painting through in-depth investigations of a scope of different themes. From office workers in suits and deformed motorbikes, to figures wandering the streets, Yan resituates moments of struggle and anxiety within a dramatised setting, infusing them with a dose of...
Related Video & Audio Cai Zebin | A Revisit at 2 bis rue Perrel 30 May 2020, Capsule Shanghai The title of the exhibition, A Revisit at 2 bis rue Perrel draws from Victor Brauner's (1903–1966) eponymous painting whose work paid tribute to Henri Rousseau while living in his former residence.
