SHANGHAI.- PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai, the contemporary art fair for photography, announces today its gallery and exhibitor line-up, alongside programming highlights for its forthcoming ninth edition, including a collaborative showcase with PHOTOFAIRS New York.

Reaffirming its position as Asia Pacific's leading fair dedicated to photo-based and digital artworks, the forthcoming edition of PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai welcomes 46 exhibitors, comprising local and international galleries, leading arts organizations, and esteemed cultural partners. Showcasing the work of more than 150 artists, from well-established figures to emerging talents, PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai continues to be the meeting point for photography in China, convening a highly-curated selection of exhibitors from Asia Pacific and beyond.

Fan Ni, Director, PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai, said: ‘We are delighted to return to the Shanghai Exhibition Centre next month and to provide a platform to showcase the best of contemporary photography to audiences here in China. We are very happy to welcome back our collectors, exhibitors, institutions, and visitors for this ninth edition, and to provide the wider Asia Pacific region with a dedicated space to explore and appreciate this richly varied and rapidly-evolving medium.’

GALLERY HIGHLIGHTS

Representing more than 20 cities, PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai features a curated selection of exhibitors in its Main and Platform sectors, from established photography dealers to emerging contemporary galleries presenting innovative work in the photographic medium.

Highlights from this year’s presentations include leading artists and galleries from the Asia Pacific Region, such as Robert Zhao Renhui (ShanghART Gallery); Anastasia Samoylova (UP Gallery); Luo Dan (M ART CENTER); Tian Lin, Xu Guanyu and Ma Hailun (Gaotai Gallery); Candida Höfer, Valery Katsuba, Flor Garduño, and Yang Yongliang (Matthew Liu Fine Arts); Li Weiyi and Jiang Zhi (X Contemporary Art); (see+ Gallery); Meng Minsheng and Xu Haifeng (RUIPIN Gallery); Mo Yi (C14 Gallery); Lu Yanpeng and Taca Sui (HART Gallery); Koo Bohnchang and Yin Yunya (Three Shadows +3 Gallery); Maleonn and Hirotaka Sato (Shun Art Gallery); and booths by see+ Gallery and A Thousand Plateaus Art Space.

Highlights from international galleries presenting at the fair include a solo show by JR, presented by Galleria Continua, and a group presentation by ATLAS Gallery of classic and contemporary photography from some of the medium’s most celebrated artists, including Hiroshi Sugimoto, Elliott Erwitt, Marc Riboud, and William Klein. Three new international galleries exhibiting for the first time at the fair are also joining this year’s line-up: Galerie Bacqueville, presenting Thomas Devaux and David de Beyter; Green On Red Gallery, presenting Alan Butler and Aoife Shanahan; and MICK Galerie, showcasing works by Carlie Consemulder, Lotte Ekkel and Nanda Hagenaars.

PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS

Complementing the booth shows are special presentations by leading cultural institutions and fair partners, alongside a vibrant public and satellite program, offering an expanded view of the photographic medium.

For this year’s Insights sector, entitled Softness, four galleries from the United States are brought together by PHOTOFAIRS New York Director Helen Toomer to present innovative and multidisciplinary works united by themes of malleability and softness. Ranging from portraits focusing on the delicate forms of the human body and the tenderness of interpersonal interactions, to landscapes highlighting the gentle beauty of the fauna and flora, the exhibition evokes ‘the power of art to bring comfort and reprieve through a multi-sensory experience’. The audience is invited to reevaluate the importance of softness in helping us to make sense of the world around us. Participating exhibitors are bitforms gallery (New York), Chela Mitchell Gallery (Washington, D.C.), Elijah Wheat Showroom (Newburgh), and Fahey/Klein Gallery (Los Angeles). This exhibition is the first collaboration between PHOTOFAIRS’ editions in Shanghai and New York, facilitating cultural exchange between the fairs to offer audiences an expansive, cross-border view of the photographic medium.

PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai is additionally delighted to welcome back four leading cultural organizations that have contributed to the development of photographic art in its dedicated Culture Spaces sector: Miguel de Cervantes Library, presenting a solo show by Spanish multimedia artist Pilar Albarracín, Shanghai Doland Museum of Modern Art, showcasing their Annual Report of Chinese Contemporary Photography and Video Arts, Swatch Art Peace Hotel, presenting an exhibition featuring several emerging photographic and video artists who have participated in their residency program, and Fotografiska, showcasing works by Swedish-based duo Cooper Gorfer.

Organized by Creo and its majority shareholder Angus Montgomery Arts, the fair returns to the Shanghai Exhibition Centre April 25-28, 2024.