"Jade Memorial Seal of the Yongle Empress Wen" of the Hongxi reign (1424-1425)
1. Panorama: Timeless Imprints of Civilization
More than 200 precious artifacts from the Shang and Zhou (1600 BC-256 BC) to the Ming and Qing (1368-1912) dynasties are on display at this exhibition, including oracle bones, bronze ware, jade, porcelain, Buddhist statues, and furniture. The Long Museum's founders, Liu Yiqian and Wang Wei, collected these artifacts.
A bronze piece from the Warring States period (475-221 BCE) inlaid with gold and silver, a sky-green glazed washer from the Ru kiln of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1126), and a celadon eight-sided string-patterned bottle from the official kiln of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) are on display for the first time.
One of the highlights is the "Jade Memorial Seal of the Yongle Empress Wen" from the Hongxi reign (1424-1425) of the Ming Dynasty. Half of this seal has been damaged, allegedly burned during a political uprising in the palace. Today, it is the sole known jade memorial seal from the Ming Dynasty.
Date: Through June 29, 10am-5:30pm, Tuesday to Thursday; 10am-8pm, Friday to Sunday
Address: 3398 Longteng Avenue
Admission: 80 yuan
"Down the River," Wang Yi
2. Along the Riverbank
The exhibition features Wang Yi's oil on linen, encaustic on wood panel, and preliminary sketches.
Wang was born in 1984 and has a BA in painting from Fine Art College of Shanghai University and an MFA from New York Academy of Art. His awards include the Third New Star Art Festival Emerging Artist Prize (2012) and the Fifth John Moores New Painting Prize (China) (2018).
The exhibition includes the latest works and the artist's creative process from sketches to completion. In his most recent works, he has deconstructed and reassembled old fairy tales, creating bizarre images that combine infantile appeal with gloomy aesthetics utilizing a rich and vibrant color palette. He avoids clear attitudes, instead capturing the dramatic tension created by haphazard brushstrokes and disorganized compositions, resulting in a distinctive and hilarious visual language.
Date: Through June 29, 10am-5:30pm, Tuesday to Thursday; 10am-8pm, Friday to Sunday
Address: 3398 Longteng Avenue
Admission: 50 yuan
"Thomas Bernhard in the Vortex of Wastefulness," Werner Büttner
3. Fool, Leaving the Shelter of Seclusion
Werner Büttner, one of Germany's most prominent artists, is holding his first institutional exhibition in Asia at the Yuz Museum.
The show, organized by Yuz Museum in close collaboration with the artist and curator Thomas Eller, includes 46 artworks (39 paintings and 7 sculptures), providing a comprehensive overview of the artist's career from 1979 until 2024.
At first glance, viewers may be perplexed by his works. He frequently employs metonymic techniques or metaphors. Images serve as shields, protecting and isolating the factual, or emotional, core from the harsh realities of life. This has become his artistic approach and visual language.
His art frequently demonstrates two things: a piercing irony that cautions you not to believe what you see, and a passionate desire to keep meaning alive, even if it can be perilous.
Date: Through June 22, 11am-7pm (closed on Mondays)
Address: Bldg 8, Lane 123, Panding Rd
Admission: 55 yuan
"Figura umana," 1962, Michelangelo Pistoletto
4. Mirroring: Lucio Fontana and Michelangelo Pistoletto
The exhibition is on display at Prada Rong Zhai, a historic mansion dating back to 1918 that was refurbished and reopened in 2017.
For the first time, Lucio Fontana (1899-1968) and Michelangelo Pistoletto, two significant players in the postwar Italian and international art scenes, are put in conversation.
The exhibition includes 26 pieces created between the 1950s and now. These works illustrate the artists' efforts to experiment with new means of expressing themselves, as well as their decision to abandon old materials, techniques, and themes that were considered antiquated. The exhibition investigates the complimentary and sometimes different ways in which the two artists transcend the two-dimensional boundaries of the pictorial surface.
Date: Through June 15, 10am-6pm (closed on Mondays)
Address: 186 Shaanxi Rd N.
Tickets: Free
Please make an appointment via WeChat mini-program: Prada Rongzhai
A display from "The Land of the Pharaohs" section
5. On Top of the Pyramid: The Civilization of Ancient Egypt
Three galleries on Shanghai Museum's first floor house almost 800 ancient Egyptian artifacts, more than 95 percent of which are being presented in Asia for the first time. The pharaoh statues of Tutankhamun, Amenemhat Ill, and Ramses II will captivate visitors. Mummy coffins, elaborate queen's gold jewelry, painted coffins, animal mummies, and Saqqara statues are also on display.
Along with Saqqara's latest archaeological finds, these masterpieces from seven major Egyptian museums, including the Egyptian Museum, Luxor Museum, and Suez Museum, have been painstakingly curated.
Date: Through August 17, 2025, 9am-5pm (closed on Mondays, except for national holidays)
Address: 201 People's Avenue
Admission: Booking of the "On Top of the Pyramid: The Civilization of Ancient Egypt" exhibition (148 yuan) and VR of "Disappearing Pharaoh Khufu" (198 yuan) can be made through WeChat mini program: Shanghai Museum Visiting Reservation and WeChat official account: Shanghai Museum