Exhibition evokes the sublime of Turner’s art at Pudong museum
Print Edition
Dialogues with Turner: Evoking the Sublime” is showing at the Museum of Art Pudong through May 10.
Co-organized by the museum in Shanghai and the Tate in the United Kingdom, it is the largest exhibition of oil paintings ever loaned by the Tate and brings together Joseph Mallord William Turner and contemporary artists.
Featuring more than 100 artworks, among which nearly 80 are original oil paintings and watercolors by Turner, the exhibition is an opportunity to delve into the artistic world of Turner, one of the greatest British painters of the 19th century.
Many of these works are being exhibited in China for the first time.
Born in 1775 in Covent Garden, London, Turner is widely regarded as the first modern painter. His legacy is rooted in his expressive style and bold use of color, with the capturing of atmosphere being central to his oeuvre.
As a pioneer of Romanticism, Turner used his technique to capture the majesty and grandeur of nature, challenging the boundaries of human perception. From the towering peaks of the Alps to the winding canals of Venice, Turner’s canvases chronicle the eternal dialogue between humanity and the elements.
The exhibition is divided into eight thematic sections and spans the first and third floors of the Museum of Art Pudong, offering a panoramic view of Turner’s artistic career, which intertwined his travels with the subjects of his creations.
From early British landscapes to the dramatic scenery of the Swiss Alps, and on to the poetic depictions of Venice — the “city of sublime” — the exhibition reveals the evolution of Turner’s artistic style and his unique understanding of light and atmosphere.
“Evoking the Sublime,” one of the sections, not only exemplifies Turner’s revolutionary style, but also places an emphasis on the enduring influence of the “sublime” as an esthetic concept.
Works by leading contemporary artists such as Olafur Eliasson, Mark Rothko, Katie Paterson and Richard Long are interspersed alongside Turner’s masterpieces, offering alternative perspectives for viewers to appreciate Turner’s art as well as his courage and vision to constantly seek for innovative expressions to respond to the changing times.
For example, “Your Double-Lighthouse Projection” by Eliasson, a prominent contemporary artist known for his grand installations, is a highlight of the exhibition. The work costs more than 1 million yuan (US$140,000) in transportation of the two large, free-standing circular chambers. Installed, one chamber is bathed in shifting hues of colored light, and the other is illuminated with white light.
This highly subjective experience with an emphasis on individual perception echoes Turner’s exploration of light and color in the 19th century.
Turner created a kind of dizzying visual impact through landscape painting, while Eliasson manages to arouse similar sensations by playing with contemporary light installation.
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