Shanghai Biennale

The Shanghai Biennale showcases the work of renowned international artists. It attracted more than 300,000 visitors in 2010 and in 2012-2013 visitor numbers were expected to top 800,000.

Vincent Ward was the first New Zealander invited to participate, and his exciting solo exhibition titled Auckland Station: Destinies Lost and Found resided in a former cathedral on the Bund. It was a truly immersive experience, where birds took flight and figures were submerged in a stream of cinematic vignettes that played alongside imagery of women suspended, swimming and falling on silk scrolls that hung from the cathedral’s rafters.

In the past year Ward has had three major solo exhibitions of cinematic installations and mixed-media prints and paintings. His work has been described as “intense… stunning… virtuosic” (Anthony Byrt, NZ Listener/ Art Forum). Ward’s video work will also receive a special showing at the Shanghai Film Festival in 2013, and a showcase of his feature films will be part of festival hosted by the UCCA gallery in the 798 arts district in Beijing.