Magda Danysz Gallery in Shanghai
Photo courtesy of Magda Danysz
Magda Danysz, an owner of several art galleries, has made herself a reputation with iconic street art project in Paris. The Shanghai branch of MD Gallery was founded in 2012, while being relatively young, this gallery attracts numbers of art lovers regularly. The art space presents works from emerging Chinese artists along with more established international names. Previous exhibits showcased photography from Karl Lagerfeld’s personal collection as well as works of the Parisian street artists Miss Van and JR, Chinese artist Liu Bolin, Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf to name a few. You can experience the vision of Magda Danysz in Shanghai gallery, open Tuesday through Sunday (11AM to 6PM) at 188 Linqing road (close to Yangshupu Road).
Q:We know that you have three galleries in the world, why did you choose Shanghai to establish your gallery in China?
A:Shanghai came as an unexpected move. It was more my instincts that told me to go for it. I came for the Shanghai Biennale many years ago and was surprised to see the eagerness of the public for the shows. Immediately I thought something could be done. When people are curious there is always room for contemporary art. With time, after almost 8 years, this decision proved to be right. Many people still thank us for putting up ambitious shows and having them discover new artworks.
Shanghai overall appears as one of the most dynamic cities in the world and the art scene in the recent years has gotten very rich, thanks to the artists, the galleries and all the new museums that have shared their collections from Long museums to the YUZ museum and on the public side Power Station of Art which will soon host again the Shanghai Biennale.
I love this dynamic and to have the feeling of participating in the construction of something meaningful. Art is key for any city and an indicator of its intellectual development.
Last but not least Shanghai is the city where sky is the limit! This has enabled the gallery to produce amazing projects like among many others the INSIDE OUT project by JR last year, or the Prune Nourry Terracotta Daughters one. The Terracotta Daughters Army has been produced in China by the artist and has then travelled all around the world for one year.
On the business side, Shanghai is also a growing market which makes it possible to ensure a living to the artists by selling their works and make their projects viable.
Q:What would you say is the most rewarding aspect of your job?
A:Helping the artists in the realization of their dream is quite rewarding. Every day we witness the passage from the idea to the real project and it feels great. It is even more rewarding when the public is happy about what they see.
Recently I have hosted the first show ever in China by the famous Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf. The response of the public was amazingly good and this is great.
For many years I have also organized an artists' residency program and one of the very rewarding thing is when the artist who initially come for one or two weeks, not knowing what inspiration they will find, want to stay a few month or return to Shanghai as soon as possible. Then you know they have felt the best of inspiration.
Q:Where do you find inspiration to open a new exhibition ?
A:Annually I host about 25 shows a year overall in the different galleries and it became a challenge to have something to say and share each time. Basically I would say, to those who don't seem to understand what I do, this is my job : showing stories about our contemporary world.
It is great in China to work with Chinese artists and try to pay a tribute to the greatness of their visions. Having a huge exhibition space also helps to show quite diverse aspects of their works, like we did with Zhang Dali, Huang Rui or the younger generations like Li Hongbo or Yang Yongliang in the past and his amazing installations.
Q:How would you describe your lifestyle? How does it influence your work?
A:My lifestyle is intense I have to admit. Always travelling for the three galleries and getting to meet new artists and great collectors makes it that time flies. I try to find a balance with my great family and kids. With time I find it is more about love and sharing, the love for the kids, the love of art and all can be shared.
Photo courtesy of Magda Danysz
Magda Danysz，几个艺术画廊所有者，在巴黎获得了自己标志性的街头艺术项目的盛誉。 MD画廊上海分公司成立于2012年，它相对年轻，该画廊更常常吸引到大量的艺术爱好者。这个艺术空间展示来自中国新兴艺术家以及更为成熟的国际知名品牌的作品。先前展出了来自Karl Lagerfeld的个人收藏的摄影作品，以及巴黎街头艺术家Miss Van和JR，中国艺术家刘勃麟，荷兰摄影师Erwin Olaf等等的作品。您可以在周二到周日（上午11时至下午6时）到临青路188号（近杨树浦路）体验一番Magda Danysz上海画廊的美景美物。
Q:我们知道你在全球拥有三个画廊，在中国你为什么选择上海建立你的画廊？
A:来上海像是一个意料之外的举动。这更多的是我的直觉叫我这么做。很多年前我来到上海双年展，很惊讶地看到了公众对展览的热切心情。我当即觉得有些事情可以做。当人们都好奇就意味着这里有空间留给当代艺术。随着时间的推移，经过将近8年后，这个决定被证明是正确的。很多人仍然感谢我们创建了许多有雄心的秀和让他们去发现更多的新作品。
上海的总体表现是全球最具活力的城市之一，最近几年里艺坛已经变得非常丰富，感谢艺术家们、各个画廊和所有新的博物馆分享他们的藏品，从龙博物馆到余德耀美术馆，以及面向公众方面，在上海当代艺术博物馆不久将再次举办上海双年展。
我喜欢这种充满活力和有意义的参与建设的感觉。艺术是任何城市和它智力发展的一个指标的关键。
最后但并非最不重要的是上海这个城市，天空才是它的极限！这使得画廊可以制作出令人惊讶的项目像是去年JR的INSIDE OUT项目，或者是Prune Nourry的《女童俑（Terracotta Daughters）》。这支《女童俑》队伍由艺术家在中国生产，随后花了一年时间走遍了世界各地。
在商业方面，上海也是一个不断增长的市场，这使得艺术家们能够通过出售自己的作品以确保生活，并使得他们的项目有更大的可行性。
Q:在你的工作中你认为最有价值的方面是什么？
A:帮助艺术家们实现自己的梦想是非常有价值的。我们每天目睹着从想法到实际项目的过程，这感觉好极了。当民众为他们所看到的感到高兴时，这就显得更有价值了。
最近我第一次在中国举办了著名荷兰摄影师Erwin Olaf的展览。公众的反应是令人惊讶的好，这感觉太棒了。
多年来，我还组织了一个艺术家的居住项目，这其中非常有意义的事情之一是当艺术家最初到来的一两个星期，他们不知道他们会发现什么灵感，便想要多逗留几个月或者尽快回到上海来。然后你会了解到他们在这里找到了最好的灵感。
Q:为开展一个新展览，你会在哪里寻找灵感？
A:每年我在不同的画廊举办共约25场展览，这会成为一种挑战，每次都会有一些想说的话和分享。基本上，我会对那些似乎并不理解我在做什么的人说，这是我的工作：展示关于我们的当代世界的故事。
能够在中国与中国艺术家合作感觉非常棒，并向他们梦想的伟大表示致敬。有一个巨大的展示空间也帮助到他们去展示作品的不同方面，比如像是张大力、黄锐，或者年轻一代的李洪波和杨泳梁过去他那惊人的装置。
Q:你会怎样评价你的生活方式？它又是如何影响你的工作？
A:我不得不承认我的生活是紧张的。我一直为三家画廊出差旅行，去发掘更多新的艺术家和好的收藏家，这让时间过得飞快。我试图在我的美好家庭和孩子中找到平衡。随着时间的推移，我觉得它更多的是关于爱和分享，对孩子们的爱，对艺术的热爱，这一切都值得分享。
