Initially delayed by the COVID-19 outbreak, which scuttled its planned
mid-March unveiling, it was then almost derailed by a June kidnapping
attempt on the founders of the Midea electronics empire – 78-year-old He
Xiangjian and his son, the museum’s founder 55-year-old He Jianfeng –
at a nearby villa complex.But with the drama behind them and China one
of the countries currently least-affected by the coronavirus, the He Art
Museum [HEM] opened its doors in the southern city of Foshan in October
– during China’s National Day.
Shao Shu, executive director of HEM, told Al Jazeera that the He family
hopes the venue can showcase a balance between Chinese, Lingnan –
roughly Cantonese – and Western artistic cultures and further develop
art and culture in the family’s hometown; a city better known at the
moment for its vast factory-scapes than for art.“HEM would like to turn
private enjoyment into public pleasure,” he said.
The family commissioned world-renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando to
design the glass-walled concrete building, which was inspired partly by
the region’s traditional earthen roundhouses.Tucked away behind trees –
opposite Midea’s headquarters and a small building housing offices,
restaurants and high-end tea shops – the 16,000 square metre (172,223
square feet) structure includes two sweeping staircases spiralling
around a light-filled central courtyard that forms the heart of the
museum.
The venue has begun to showcase pieces from the family’s own collection,
built up over the past 10 years and including about 500 works,
three-quarters of them either Chinese traditional or contemporary art
and the remainder from the west.
The opening exhibition, curated by Feng Boyi, is called Mundane World
featuring scenes and materials from daily life – coloured box rooms full
of light fixtures and a “mundane canteen” filled with artifacts from
Shunde culinary traditions. Other rooms include sculptures ranging from a
set of large tractor-like wheels made of everyday materials by artist
Yin Xiuzhen, to an installation by Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum – a
world map made from clear glass marbles that fills the floor.
There are also several rooms of Lingnan art pieces featuring snowy
landscapes and water buffalo.From the HEM collection itself is the
impressive PixCell Deer by Kohei Nawa, built out of clear and golden
glass bubbles and other materials, it stands on its own as visitors turn
a corner between gallery rooms.The museum adds to the growing number of
private and publicly financed art museums in China as the country
stakes its claim to become a global cultural powerhouse.
In the past 40 years, the number of art museums in China has ballooned
from just a few hundred to more than 5,000, according to statistics from
China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration.
“From my perspective, museum growth – both public and private sector –
is an exciting development and good for enriching community, culture,
education, and civic pride,” Meg Maggio, director of Pekin Fine Arts
gallery in Beijing and Hong Kong, told Al Jazeera from Boston.
