This old building on the Bund in Shanghai is full of artistic atmosphere and is now a contemporary art center, a financial company from a century ago
In June this year, two new art spaces were added to the art institution cluster in the historical and scenic area of the Bund in Shanghai. On the occasion of its 10th anniversary, the Beehive Contemporary Art Center has expanded its artistic landscape to the Bund. The main space, "Beehive Shanghai," is located in one of the century old buildings, blending classical and contemporary elements; A hundred meters away, it is a "honeycomb generation" space specially prepared for young artists.
The Zhongyi Building is located on the second facade of the Bund, on Beijing East Road, which was once known as the "Chinese Financial Street". It is adjacent to famous historical buildings such as the Salt Bank Building, Siming Building, China Reclamation Bank Building, and Shamei Building. It was founded in 1924 and is a building that falls between neoclassical and postmodern styles. The main space of the Beehive Contemporary Art Center is located on the first floor, which used to be the business hall of the headquarters of Zhongyi Trust Company. In this renovation process, in addition to some necessary renovations to adapt to contemporary art exhibitions, its original architectural and stylistic features have been well preserved, allowing citizens and tourists to appreciate high-quality contemporary art while also feeling the unique and elegant style and taste of the century old historical building itself.
Pushing open the solemn copper door and entering the beehive contemporary art center, it feels like walking into a classical and contemporary "white box". The space is extremely high, spacious and bright, with two rows of ancient Roman giant columns arranged on both sides. Looking up, there is a stunning colored glass dome composed of plant elements and circular patterns, surrounded by intricate and delicate gypsum line patterns, showcasing the unique elegance and taste of historical buildings. The founder of the Beehive Art Center, Summer Breeze, told reporters that large-scale domes made of such materials are extremely rare throughout the country, which is also one of the reasons why the Beehive Contemporary Art Center was ultimately selected as the first building.
"During the site selection period, I visited many places, but I always felt 'almost at a loss'. Pushing open the door of the Zhongyi Building, a heavy sense of history rushed in. At first glance, I hardly hesitated for half a second before deciding. The space of the beehive in Beijing is a factory renovation, with a more rough feel; it is very classical, especially in line with the characteristics of Shanghai's unique architecture in my mind, and the spatial conditions are also very suitable. The core geographical location and the surrounding art industry clusters provide a window for a superior international perspective, making it easy to create an ecological system suitable for the development of contemporary art." Summer Wind said.
The reporter learned that the first exhibition of the main space of the Beehive in Shanghai, with the symbolic theme of "land boating", invited representative artists of the "70s generation" to participate in the exhibition. Based on this, a group exhibition of "Brilliant Contour: Artists of the 80s Generation" and "Artists of the 90s Generation" was launched, attempting to systematically showcase the development of contemporary young Chinese artists.
It is worth mentioning that the art space inside this building is not limited to this. On the second floor of the Zhongyi Building, there is "Huayi International", one of the founders of the Chinese art auction industry, and the "New Art Space" of the contemporary art gallery.
Huayi International Art Auction covers dozens of categories including Chinese calligraphy and painting, modern and contemporary art, porcelain, jade, handicrafts, famous breweries, aged tea, health preservation, jewelry, watches, postage, coins, and ancient books. "New Art Space" is one of the most influential and early galleries in southern China, dedicated to exploring modern and contemporary art works with independent, profound, and mature connotations, and cultivating young and middle-aged artists with potential.
At present, the "New Art Space" is showcasing a group exhibition of selected works by contemporary artist Fang Lijun, titled "Trio - Fang Lijun and His Students". Taking Fang Lijun and his students Gong Jiandong and Zhang Lin as observation points, this paper presents three intergenerational and mentoring artists who, based on their own era, transform their concepts of generating painting images from different perspectives.
The organic unity of protection and utilization, the perfect integration of tradition and modernity, Shanghai Zhongyi Building - this century old building, injected with new vitality and energy through art as a carrier, is shining with infinite vitality.
