The Contemporary Collectors Club - Art and Travel

Vancouver born, Shanghai based photographer Greg Girard opened last week at the Monte Clark Gallery in Toronto. Now as we know I like to promote our artists, so many of you may feel that I’m biased. OK, so sometimes I am, but when it comes to Girard, I really dont think that it is bais to rave about how incredible an artists is when the North America seems to be in agreement.

The Monte Clark Gallery opened last Saturday the first part of a two part exhibition, showing recent works by Greg Girard from his Phantom Shanghai series. I don’t think I can stress how beautiful these works are. On top of this, they are also exceptionally well priced. For young collectors looking to invest in a work of art, Girard offers an incredible opportunity to acquire a well educated and respected photographer. For the established collector, Girard’s works are an important edition to a photography collection. He was educated and photographed along side the likes of Roy Arden and Jeff Wall, while also playing a fundamental roll in the development of modern day photojournalism.

“Beginning in 1998, Girard’s extensive investigation into the accelerated metamorphosis of Shanghai looks at a historical city that will not withstand China’s drive for economical development. The images depict not only the passing of these neighborhoods, but also the disappearance of the residents themselves. The long exposures capture inhabitants as ghostly figures fading from their traditional lifestyles.

Distracted by the pace and scale of Shanghai’s phenomenal recent growth it is easy to overlook the reason so much of the city’s early 20th Century neighborhoods were preserved as long as they were: urban development for profit was suspended for more than four decades following Mao’s victory in 1949. Preserved by a kind of benign neglect, these period homes, buildings and neighborhoods are now being purposefully demolished to make way for Shanghai’s vision of itself as a modern “world” city. Today’s brief historical moment, as one Shanghai collapses into the other, is the last chance to witness the phenomenon of these two Shanghais occupying the same space.

Condemned Neighborhood is an example of how Girard uses urban light, both artificial and natural, to infuse an emotional and personal response to his photographs. The freshly laundered shirts dangling from the window of this half-demolished dwelling encompasses the tenacity of Shanghai’s community. We have all experienced the evolution of a city, rarely do we see one lead itself into oblivion.”- Alysha Rajukuma. Monte Clark Gallery.

Greg Girards recent solo show at MCG Toronto coincides with the release of Magenta Publishers newest photography book Greg Girard - Phantom Shanghai.

For more information on Phantom Shanghai and Greg Girard check out the following links.

http://chasingthedragon.blogs.fortune.com/2007/05/29/phantom-shanghai-portraits-of-vanishing-city/

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/artslife/story.html?id=ceb4139b-051e-437c-9d97-ea6493b16e92&k=45928

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1617169,00.html