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Art museum on the Bund explores the new while celebrating the past
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ESTABLISHED in September 2018, Shanghai Jiushi Art Museum Community consists of three venues, all located in historic buildings on the Bund.
Sited on the sixth floor of the Jardine Matheson Building, Shanghai Jiushi Art Museum is the main venue, which organizes comprehensive and international art exhibitions.
The museum’s aim is to explore new modes of visual art expression while inheriting the tradition, giving new vitality to the century-old buildings on the Bund.
Since its opening, the museum has hosted many quality exhibitions showcasing heavyweight names in art history such as Edvard Munch, Giorgio Morandi and Marc Chagall, as well as some renowned Chinese artists including Fang Lijun and Ding Yi.
Architecture style
The century-old building was one of the first batch of excellent historical buildings in Shanghai.
In 1843, Jardine Matheson opened a branch in Shanghai. The Hong Kong-based Scottish firm acquired the land on Beijing Road E. a year later and built a two-story building in the English country style.
In 1861, a brick building facing the Bund was renovated, making the old Jardine Matheson Building the largest among the complexes on the Bund at that time.
The construction of the current building, now at 27 Zhongshan Road E1, was launched in 1920 and completed in November 1922. It started as a five-story building. In the 1930s, an extra floor was added.
The six-story structure was one of the earliest reinforced concrete buildings in Chinese history.
Its architectural style was modeled after the British Renaissance, with Corinthian columns decorating the facade. The width of the building facing Huangpu River is more than 50 meters — the second-widest on the Bund — providing a splendid view from its balcony.
As one of the most representative buildings on the Bund, the Jardine Matheson Building is rich in facade, complete in layout and exquisite in material and decoration, with important historical, cultural and architectural value.
Café and restaurant
The museum doesn’t have a cafeteria, yet an alternative is provided at the House of Roosevelt. Scenes from famous movie “Lust, Caution” directed by Ang Lee were shot in this restaurant. Sitting on the balcony outside, the Huangpu River scene in stretch is said to be one of the best views on the Bund. The unique scene is also reflected in the recent popular TV series “Blossoms Shanghai,” directed by Wong Kar-wai.
Best-sellers at gift shop
There are various art derivatives sold at the gift shop based on the exhibitions held by the museum. The best-sellers are:
The Morandi fridge magnet
The fridge magnet featuring a work of Morandi is the shop’s best-seller, reflecting the charisma of the master to his Chinese art fans. The everyday objects under the brushstrokes of Morandi such as bottles and jars create a quiet, harmonious and elegant atmosphere. Through subtle changes in color, tone, proportion and composition, the artist engaged in a dialogue with the depicted objects to reveal the inner nature of things.
Ice cream
The ice cream is inspired by the century-old building where the museum is now housed.
Fragrance of the Autumn on the Bund
It is a co-branded collaboration with Risocial, a high-end natural and organic fragrance brand. The bottle applies the architectural elements of the Bund complex, with a hard and cool natural marble cap like the facade of the Bund buildings with different details.
Shanghai Jiushi Art Museum
Opening hours: 10am-6pm, closed on Mondays
Address: 6F, 27 Zhongshan Road E1
中山东一路27号6楼
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