SHANGHAI, May 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Photo Shanghai, Asia's premier art fair dedicated to photography returns this September to the Shanghai Exhibition Centre. The fair will open to VIPs on 10 September and to the public from 11-13 September.
Since launching in 2014, Photo Shanghai has quickly established itself as mainland China's most international art fair and is already shaping the relatively untapped market of photography collecting in China and across Asia. It is today a key date in the art calendar for those wishing to establish and extend their network across Asia. Photo Shanghai has set a new benchmark for fine art photography in the region and achieved huge success both in terms of sales and visitor numbers.
The 2015 edition, once more directed by Alexander Montague-Sparey, will offer a highly curated and elegant exhibition of vintage and contemporary masterworks featuring 50 of the world's leading photography galleries from Asia-Pacific, Europe and the United States.
Photo Shanghai is dedicated to presenting museum quality shows alongside the fair. As such, the 2015 edition will include a special museum scale exhibition of 190 works by celebrated American artist Taryn Simon, presented by Gagosian Gallery.
Taryn Simon is known for her unique weaving of photography, text and graphic design and is widely regarded as one of the finest contemporary photographers working today. A retrospective of her work is currently on view at the Jeu de Paume Museum in Paris. Gagosian Gallery will present the full series of Simon's seminal Birds of the West Indies. Photo Shanghai will therefore be a unique opportunity for curators and collectors alike to see all 190 works from the series in Asia for the first time.
Other confirmed galleries include: Blindspot Gallery - Hong Kong; CAMERA WORK – Berlin; Flowers - London and New York; Gagosian Gallery - New York, London, Paris, Athens, Geneva, Los Angeles, Rome and Hong Kong; Magnum Photos; MD Gallery – Shanghai and Paris; Pékin Fine Arts – Beijing; ShanghART Gallery – Shanghai, Beijing and Singapore; Taka Ishii Gallery – Tokyo, New York and Paris, and The Wapping Project Bankside – London.
The galleries will present a wide range of artists, from the iconic to the emerging, including: Nobuyoshi Araki; Birdhead; Guy Bourdin; Henri Cartier-Bresson; Elliott Erwitt; Yang Fudong; Candida Hofer; Horst P. Horst; Axel Huette; Andre Kertesz; Steven Klein; Gustave Le Gray; Daido Moriyama; Vik Muniz; Helmut Newton; Erwin Olaf; Irving Penn; Paolo Roversi, and Hiroshi Sugimoto, among many others.
Since its first edition, Photo Shanghai has established itself as the leading platform for international collectors to find strong emerging work from Asia, locally. It is also the only opportunity for collectors from the region to buy leading household names in the field of fine art photography.
In addition to the special exhibitions, leading experts in the field will host a curated talks and events programme including:
Photo Shanghai was created by the World Photography Organisation and Montgomery in 2014. It was launched in direct response to the increasing demand by audiences from across Asia-Pacific, and beyond, to discover emerging and collectable photography.
Fair Director Alexander Montague-Sparey comments:
"After last year's unprecedented success, we are delighted to bring to Shanghai an even stronger hand-picked selection of works by the world's leading galleries for the medium. Photo Shanghai will offer once again a unique opportunity for collectors and curators alike, to experience the best in fine art photography by the key international players in the field."
Sandy Angus, co-founder of ART HK (now Art Basel Hong Kong) and Chairman of Montgomery and the World Photography Organisation adds:
"We launched Photo Shanghai last year as we sensed there was a gap in the market for the collection of fine art photography in China. Following the huge success of our inaugural year, we have been delighted by the sheer appetite for photography in the country and are looking forward to return to Shanghai this September with an even more impressive roster of galleries and artists. Photography is an easy entry point into the world of art collecting and Photo Shanghai makes it possible for those in China and across the Asia Pacific region to access the very best contemporary and vintage masterworks from both the East and West."
On being involved in Photo Shanghai Meg Maggio, Owner of Pékin Fine Arts in Beijing, comments:
"We are very pleased to be returning again this year to the second annual Photo Shanghai, Asia's leading contemporary art fair focusing on photography at this level. With a decidedly contemporary slant, Photo Shanghai is redefining and re-establishing the critical importance of Chinese photography and video-based contemporary works. Mainland museums are increasingly looking to contemporary photography and video forms for exhibit, and this fair affirms photography's rising art critical and art market status."
Photo Shanghai is supported and advised by a board of international industry professionals including: Wang Huangsheng, Director, CAFA Art Museum, Beijing; Christopher Phillips, Curator, ICP, New York; Francis Hodgson, Financial Times Photo Critic and co-founder of the Prix Pictet, London; Lise Li, Founder and Owner, Vanguard Gallery, Shanghai; Jeffrey Boloten, Co-Founder & Managing Director of ArtInsight Ltd, UK; W.M Hunt, Photography Consultant & Collector, New York; Zelda Cheatle, Portfolio Manager & Curator, London; RongRong, Photographer, Founder & Director, Three Shadows Photography Art Centre, Beijing; Wang Zhonglei, President, Huayi Brothers Media Corporation; Lisa Botos, Curator and Art Consultant.
The Wall Street Journal is the fair's principal international media partner and Modern Media is the Chinese media partner.
Photo Shanghai is part of Shanghai Art Week, a new collaboration between the fair and West Bund Art & Design (8-13 September) and Art in the City Festival (11-14 September) in which the very best in contemporary art takes over the city in the second week of September.
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* Please note, all the images must highlight the photo caption at the bottom of each photography including the artist name and photo details, no photography can be changed for any purpose. All image usage must comply with Photo Shanghai 2015 terms and conditions.
Notes to editors
Dates: Photo Shanghai, 11-13 September 2015
VIP and Preview day: Thursday 10 September
Venue: Shanghai Exhibition Centre, 1000 Yan'an Rd, near Tongren Rd
Website: www.photoshanghai.org