[WEBCAST] Art over Lunch: Qiu Shihua – Empty / Not Empty
VIEW EVENT DETAILSVirtual Gallery Tour With René Meile and Zhao Mengzhuo, Live From Beijing
In the exhibition “Empty / Not Empty”, Galerie Urs Meile in Beijing exhibits Qiu Shihua’s works spanning 25 years of his oeuvre. The exhibition opened in March and not only offers a celebration for the 80th birthday of Qiu Shihua – who is deeply connected with the gallery and its owners – but it also shows that the 798 Art District is slowly returning to normalcy after coronavirus.
How did Qiu Shihua’s art evolve over time? What is his connection to the Galerie Urs Meile? And how did the dialogue between artists, gallerists and art lovers change during the lockdown? The crisis creates many challenges for the art scene, but what about new opportunities?
René Meile, Partner at Galerie Urs Meile, and Zhao Mengzhuo, Artistic Director at Galerie Urs Meile Beijing take us on a virtual tour through the exhibition of Qiu Shihua’s works and the gallery itself located in the 798 Art District in Beijing. We will explore the impact that the coronavirus crisis has not only on the gallery, but also on the 798 Art District and on the art scene as a whole.
In preparation for this special Art over Lunch, we recommend a “pre-viewing” the gallery’s online viewing room and a documentary about Qui Shihua’s solo exhibition at the Nationalgalerie im Hamburger Bahnhof Berlin in 2012.
This event is for Asia Society Members only. How to become a member?
Zhao Mengzhuo is Artistic Director at Galerie Urs Meile in Beijing. She has graduated from King’s College London with a Master Degree in Cultural Creative Industries in 2007, followed by a 2-year work experience at The Red Mansion Foundation in London specialized in contemporary Chinese art and the cultural communication between the UK and China. In 2011, Mengzhuo joined Galerie Urs Meile Beijing as Artistic Director in Beijing.
René Meile is Partner at Galerie Urs Meile. He is a graduate of University of Zurich and Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) with a degree in Business Administration and Mandarin. Since 2005, René has spent most of his time in Beijing and joined the gallery in 2009. He is now in charge of the gallery’s Asian Business and divides his time between China and Switzerland.
Qiu Shihua was born in 1940 in Zizhong in the Chinese province of Sichuan. He studied painting at the Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts, training first and foremost in traditional Chinese painting techniques. Since the 1990s Qiu has been exhibiting in the West: his work was shown at Galerie Urs Meile in Lucerne in 1998, followed by the Venice Biennale in 1999 and in 2013 his work was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
About Art over Lunch
Art over Lunch is a monthly event series for members of Asia Society Switzerland. Each time, we visit an exhibition or a special part of a collection with artists, curators and experts for 45 minutes followed by a small lunch. The tours are designed to give members a different view on the vast troves at the museums and galleries in the city of Zurich and provide an opportunity to mingle and discuss. Currently Art over Lunch is available online.
Art over Lunch is made possible with the support of Bergos Berenberg.