The exhibition "Clutch" is held from September 6, 2013. The show displays for the first time the brand new look of ShanghART H-Space after the recent renovation. The exhibition invites BIRDHEAD, CHEN Xiaoyun, DING Yi, GENG Jianyi, HU Jieming, JI Wenyu and ZHU Weibing, KAN Xuan, LIANG Shaoji, SHEN Fan, SUN Xun, TANG Maohong, XU Zhen, YANG Fudong, YU Youhan, YANG Zhenzhong, ZHANG Ding, ZHANG Enli and ZHOU Tiehai to show individual as well as collective works from both earlier and more recent years. Many of those works were seldom accessible to the public before. The audience is allowed the chance to judge the difference between old and new works and to discover the deeper context within, hence the exhibition title "Clutch".

The word "Clutch" refers to a mechanical device that helps a car run smoothly by providing the transmission of power from one component to another. However, it is easy to likewise find the so-called "Clutch Phenomenon" in the art world. From an intermediate perspective, it can be observed in the relationship between the artists and the gallery. The power transmitted promotes the artists’ creations, while at the same time lifting the gallery to new heights. Meanwhile, one can also find the phenomenon to be present in different periods of each of the artists’ works, as well as in the contrast or links between their old and new pieces. Through each transmission of motion and power the connection forms a clear relationship between the various works.


In Exam YANG Zhenzhong illustrates a complicated dynamic between two unexpected topics. The subjects of the video are two young women wearing nothing but suggestive silk undergarments. The way in which they interact is intimate and nearing erotic. They share laughs and seem to play around in a childish nature, and do so on a bed. The camera assures the audience of the erotic nature as it films the bare legs, full lips, and other such highly feminine parts of the women. Still, among this pleasant and questionable scene, YANG places a strikingly surprising topic: politics. The two women play as they read aloud from a standardized political textbook. The highly serious and standard narration seems to clash with the playful interaction. One is left amused by the coupling of such topics, yet wondering why. It is possible that YANG has created a politically powerful video, in which he illustrates the relationship between modern Chinese politics and the youth of a nation. It is also possible that one may appreciate the video in its simplicity, and find complacent amusement in YANG’s ability to once again alter our perception of a common theme by degrading a heavily serious topic with a jovial scene.

Unlike what the title seems to suggest, TANG Maohong A Part of Classics is a series of black and white photographs presenting six portraits in an unconventional way. Three men and three women of various ages perch on a wood pedestal, wearing normal clothes which border on social stereotypes. Captured in almost the same pose against the same background, all the characters show the back of their torsos to the viewers, with one hand pulling at the clothes so that the waists and upper part of hips become exposed to the audience’s gaze, as if waiting uneasily for a medical injection. The uncovered skin is carefully centralised in the frame to be the focus of a network of vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines, giving stability and geometry to the composition. Viewed from a distance, the pose they hold confers a sculptural and solitary appearance. Up close, the bare flesh delivers a sense of defencelessness and vulnerability. Bathed in an elegant shade of grayness, the images are inherently tinged with classic qualities whose underlying fragility is further emphasised by the small and intimate size of the photographs.

Sachiel Yuu in August 2013

YANG Fudong, Manifold Little Hills: Wandering in the bustling streets, old-fashioned lanes and ruins of diverse-style architectures, two young man were performing singing(chang, 唱), dialogue(nian,念), acting(zuo, 做), acrobatics(da,打), in good order and well arranged. Though living in a daily and routine scene, what they were experiencing was unique and different "enjoyable dream life".