ART IN THE CITY

Conceived as an experiment to create modern art, the Swatch Art Peace Hotel aims to become a focal point for Shanghai’s growing art scene. DANIEL TAN and CANDY LAI report

IN A BOLD and imaginative transformation of one of Shanghai’s grandest edifices along The Bund, the old Peace Hotel South Building has been reinvented as The Swatch Art Peace Hotel. The project, a joint venture between The Swatch Group and Jin Jiang International Hotels, invites artists from around the world to live and work in its 18 workshop-apartments for tenures of up to six months. In exchange, artists leave a piece of their work, or “trace,” for the hotel’s collection.

The hotel hosts artists working on a diverse spectrum of media, but acceptance is subject to the approval of a committee that includes Swatch Group CEO Nick Hayek and Chair Nayla Hayek, CEO and chairman of PPR François Henri Pinault, YTL Group chairman Francis Yeoh, and actor George Clooney.

The hotel is also open to the not so artistically inclined, with seven individually designed residences that are open to the public for reservation. The rooms range from simple 430-square-foot abodes to themed suites of up to 2,700 square feet. Conceived by Parisian agency Jouin Manku, each space has its own unique character and theme.

While the hotel’s rooms, suites and watch boutiques are clearly contemporary, its wood and marble-panelled lobby still retains some of the building’s historical character, recalling an earlier incarnation when it was known as the Palace Hotel and hosted historic events such as the first International Opium Commission in 1909, a speech by Sun Yat-sen in 1911 and the engagement celebrations of Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling in 1927.

Although the hotel’s residences won’t be ready for occupation until later this year, the artists’ studios have been open since mid-2011. Prestige Hong Kong recently caught up with two of the artists currently resident at the Swatch Art Peace Hotel to get their impressions of the contemporary Shanghai art scene.

KATHRYN GOHMERT
American-born painter Kathryn Gohmert is one of many talented artists who lived in 696 Weihai Lu, once one of Shanghai’s most prominent artist communities. Her work portrays strong emotions through an explosive approach to mixed media. With the doors to 696 now closed, the hotel has become her new creative hub.

What brought you to Shanghai?
Art pulled me to China – fate and instincts have kept me here. I left Europe four years ago with loads of momentum and wanted to move someplace dynamic. I was floored by the freshness and power of the work being produced by Chinese artists at that time and felt pulled to relocate here. I’ve been back and forth between Shanghai and Beijing since arriving, but Shanghai is home. Shanghai’s a very individual place – it’s the new Wild West in many ways. The boundaries of its identity and capabilities are still being defined; the city changes every day...The rhythm of this city has a way of getting into your veins and driving you creatively, and its international feel keeps your work accountable within a global perspective.

You were part of the Weihai 696 community, what was it like living there?
696 was a trip. Sometimes you don’t realize how special something is until it’s gone. A big part of the power within the 696 Weihai Lu community was its temporary nature – there was the looming threat of destruction behind every month’s rent for the artists, and this sense of living in the last days bred a kind of “post-apocalyptic brotherhood” between the artists there. A bit Mad Max meets Maude Lebowski. It was perfect. But that place was very special – it could only have existed here.

How does the Swatch Art Peace Hotel compare with Weihai 696?
In some ways different; in some ways the same, surprisingly. The Swatch Art Peace Hotel [SAPH] project, like 696 Weihai Lu, has a tight-knit, international community feel based on the creative focus the artists here have. The talent, positivity and central location are also great things here that make it similar to the old 696. There’s the same level of excitement brewing: maybe whereas 696’s power stemmed from its condemned nature, SAPH’s power generates from the sense of possibility and newness here that becomes emphasised from so many international artists that are new to China making it their home. The rawness of 696 can’t be duplicated – it will always be missed. It’s quite humbling to be one of the first artists at the Swatch Art Peace Hotel though – its newness is astounding.

Do you think Shanghai gives you the freedom to create art?
Yes, I do. You pick and choose your freedoms and counter-weigh them against inhibiting factors as an artist anywhere in the world. In Shanghai, the freedoms I feel here (lack of crime and approachability of the art market, for instance) far outweigh those I feel in America at the moment.

How did Ai Wei Wei’s incident affect the art community in Shanghai?
In many ways it didn’t affect it. In many ways it did. But being an artist anywhere means picking yourself up and continuing/readapting over and over when life shakes you to your core. The artistic community in Shanghai became closer as a result of being shaken a bit last spring. The disappearance caught everyone off guard, to be sure. For a while none of us knew what the future would hold here. But the fact that things were resolved the way they were is surely a clear sign that the future of art in China is very much alive, especially in Shanghai, and I think it’s been interpreted that way here.

How do you see the contemporary art scene in China evolving? Do you see yourself staying in China?
The contemporary art scene in China is becoming more relevant year by year to a global perspective – that much is obvious. The Chinese artists here are some of the most experimental, talented, boundary-pushing artists I’ve ever met, and are constantly adapting to new mediums and changing perspectives. The foreign artists here are showing to be more and more adaptive to Chinese culture and it is inspiring to see East and West meeting here. What art results from this partnership is truly groundbreaking. And it’s keeping me here. China has become home.

TOM DE PEYRET
From producing small colour prints to now joining the elite Swatch Art Peace Hotel, Tom de Peyret explores and straddles the border between contemporary art and film photography.

When did you decide to be a photographer?
When I was around two years old, my parents’ friend took a lot of photos of us. I grew up with these beautiful black and-white photos, which meant more than just simple images. My father bought me my first camera, a Zenith, when I was 12 years old at a market in Istanbul. I was so proud to have this wonderful object. Although it didn’t work at all, it made me start to think about how framing works. I’ve experimented with other Kodak cameras and Polaroids from then, as well as a Lomo LC2 I bought when I was 18 to experiment with abstract light pictures and portraits. I moved to Paris in 2006 and my university had a photo lab. It felt like I had to start from the beginning, learning all the theory and then curating an exhibition with other students. During that year I discovered the works of Larry Sultan, Jeff Wall and Andreas Gursky, which was when I really started to associate photography with contemporary art.

How does it feel being selected for The Swatch Art Peace Hotel Residency?
Well, it feels great! I really needed to leave Geneva for a while, and I also needed time to focus on new works. Being here gives you self-confidence. There’s so much possibility and space in a comfortable environment. I still have to present a work at my school in June, but I don’t think I’ll stay in Europe after this. Regarding the possibilities, I might work on a fashion project between Hong Kong and Shanghai. If not, I’ll go to Mexico or New York.

I arrived in mid-October, my first time in mainland China. I was in Hong Kong last year and I plan to go to Chengdu and Chongqing as soon as my projects here are almost done. It takes time to feel a place, to be able to do something here, so this is my priority these days.

How does China’s art scene compare with Europe’s?
I’ll speak of the Shanghai art scene because to me, it’s very different from Beijing. I might be wrong, but it looks like the idea of buying contemporary art is very new, and most of the young collectors don’t know much about it, even buying some horrible pieces at a very high price. I’ve met a lot of artists here who’ve been hired for 10 years now by a rich collector paying them to produce art. The difference between Europe and China, I think, is the contemporary art culture. Collectors in Europe don’t buy art like they buy furniture. It’s even the contrary sometimes, not about the pieces but more about the artist. There are rules, institutions, a lot of press around it, so it’s basically not possible to sell pieces to a certain price. Some artists here, even European ones, are selling a lot, for a lot of money, but their names are almost unknown.

What makes a great photo?
The only thing I could say is that I know when I’m taking a good shot, with a large-format camera or with my small Contax, I always felt something with it. There are so many possibilities I can’t really say what makes a great photo. But I know really well what I don’t like.