Wang Jie|
Exhibition

Oceanic art on show at Museum of Art Pudong

2023-06-01 to 2023-08-20
Museum of Art Pudong 浦东美术馆
2777 Binjiang Ave 浦东新区滨江大道2777号
2023-06-01 to 2023-08-20
Museum of Art Pudong 浦东美术馆
2777 Binjiang Ave 浦东新区滨江大道2777号
Oceanic art on show at Museum of Art Pudong
The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Santa Cruz Islands, Temotu Province, Solomon Islands, Ndende artist, late 19th to early 20th century, Tridacna shell, turtle shell, trade cloth, fiber, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979

Oceanic art on show at Museum of Art Pudong
The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Borneo, Indonesia, Ngadju or Ot Danum artist, 19th to early 20th century, wood, Gift of Fred and Rita Richman, 1988



"Oceania is vast, Oceania is expanding, rising from the depths of brine and regions of fire deeper still. Oceania is us. We are the sea. We are the ocean."

– Epeli Hau'ofa, writer and scholar, Tonga (1939-2009)



"The Shape of Time: Art and Ancestors of Oceania from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," a highly anticipated major exhibition organized in collaboration with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, was recently unveiled at the Museum of Art Pudong.

Produced by the Lujiazui (Group) Co Ltd, and co-organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the MAP, the exhibition features 110 pieces or groups of artwork that were created by generations of artists within the past four centuries. All are masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art's renowned collection. This project also represents the first time that an exhibition from The Metropolitan Museum of Art has made its debut in Shanghai, China.

"This breathtaking exhibition presents outstanding treasures from The Met's internationally renowned Oceanic art collection," said Max Hollein, Marina Kellen French director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

"Through an extraordinary range of monumental sculpture, ceremonial masks, and regalia from the vibrant island cultures of Oceania, the show presents awe-inspiring artistic diversity through Indigenous perspectives and new scholarship, all brilliantly curated by The Met's Curator for Oceanic Art, Maia Nuku. We are honored to share this special touring exhibition at the MAP, where it will surely serve as a profound source of inspiration for all."

Oceanic art on show at Museum of Art Pudong
The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Fiji, mid-late 19th century, bark cloth, pigment, gift of Adelaide and Edmund Carpenter, 1990

Oceanic art on show at Museum of Art Pudong
The Metropolitan Museum of Art

East Nusa Tenggara, Flores Island, Indonesia Nage artist, late 19th-early 20th century, wood, gift of Fred and Rita Richman, 2006

Located on the third floor of the Museum of Art Pudong, the exhibition is divided into three main sections: Voyaging, Ancestors and Time, which are further categorized into seven sub-sections.

Organized according to the different island groups, the artworks in this exhibition explore the long-standing connections between islands as well as the unique relationship that the indigenous people of the Pacific share with their ancestors and the ocean environment that surrounds them.

Highlights of the exhibition include drums carved from the hollowed trunk of a single tree: a dazzling turtle shell mask from the Torres Strait Islands; a ceremonial shield and complex fiber works; along with exquisitely carved canoe prows, breastplates and textiles. These artworks join the past, present and future of Oceania, together constructing a kaleidoscope of diverse cultures that represent the cultural essence of this immense and dynamic region.

The title of this exhibition responds to George Kubler's book "The Shape of Time: Remarks on the History of Things," published by Yale University Press in 1962.

As the largest art museum in the United States. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York boasts an encyclopedic collection of art from around the world, spanning more than 5,000 years. The founding of its Oceanic art collection dates to the 20th century and has deep ties to the famous Rockefeller family. Nelson A. Rockefeller, a third-generation Rockefeller heir and a prominent American statesman, devoted his life to advocating for the arts of Africa, Latin America and the Pacific.

Today, The Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection of Oceanic art stewards over 2,800 precious works that encompass the art and culture of the many and varied islands and archipelagoes of the Pacific.

Exhibition info:

Date: Through August 20, 10am-9pm

Venue: Museum of Art Pudong

Address: 2777 Binjiang Ave, Pudong New Area

浦东新区滨江大道2777号