Lorenz Helbling
Founder, ShanghART Gallery

Lorenz Helbling, born in Switzerland, studiedhistory, Chinese and Art history in Zurich University,once studied in Fudan University in 1980s. He cameback to Shanghai and established ShanghARTGallery, one of the earliest contemporary galleriesin China in the early 1990s.In 2000, ShanghARTGallery as the only and first gallery in Chinaparticipated in the world-renowned art fair "ArtBasel". Lorenz Helbling was listed in “Power 100”released by Art Review in the years of 2006, 20072016, 2017 and 2019, which publishes its Power100 list annually, ranking the art world's mostinfluential persons, including collectors, curators,artists, and art dealers.In 2017, he was rewardedShanghai “Magnolias Blooming" prize.

Shao Shu
Executive Director, He Art Museum 

From 2011 to 2016，Shaw worked for LongMuseum in Shanghai, engaged in the operationand management,as well as the curation andimplementation of art exhibitions.In 2016,heioined He Art Museum as executive directorsupervising the management and inauguration ofthe museum, working with architect Tadao Ando tooversee the architectural project, from budgetingcontrol, and construction engineering, to spaceoptimization.Since He Art Museum opened in2020 Shaw has continued to develop the strategicvision for the institution, research and collectionand curatorial programs.

He curated or co-curated over twenty exhibitionsat the museum including: From the Mundane World(2020), Beyond: Tadao Ando and Art(2021), BernarVenet: Another Language for Painting(2021)Transformation: From Poetic to Realistic (2021),ONIOFF: Carousel of Progress(2022),Womanby the Window of Xu Beihong: A ConservationExhibition(2022)，Ni Youyu: Dome and Scale(2022),Off the Beaten Track: A Modern ChineseCollection Exhibition,Zhang Enli: Portrait(2023)Roni Horn: A dream dreamt in a dreaming worldis not really a dream ... but a dream not dreamt is(2023),Atmospheric Column by Olafur Eliasson, A3rd Anniversary Special Project (2023), Tales of theSouth(2023),etc.

Yongwoo Lee 
Professor, College of Architecture and Urban Planning of Tongji University

Curator as an Individual and Institution

Shao Shu in conversation with Lorenz Helbling chaired by Yongwoo Lee

A curator is an organizer and interpreter who connects various experts related to exhibition organization, such as art institutions, markets, media, publications, and art handlers. But the word “curator” is used in many different fields including restaurants. Because it sounds fashionable. It sounds like it’s for the aesthetically conscious. However, the background to such cooperation is the uneasy life of a curator who must acquire and experience various academic theories such as aesthetics, art history, critical theory, and art management, etc.

With the explosion of art organizations in late 20the Century, curators are becoming more and more popular. The curatorial profession, which began as keepers or take carer in the West, is now called a curator, covering not only exhibitions but also fashion, concerts, wine, and big data, etc.

Is the curator a film director responsible for actors, acting, script, and hosting, or a general architect who verified the client, budget, and sustainability of the building? SCL invites experts from renowned Chinese institutions with 30 years of experience in art gallery, curators and director of art museum, and prepares a dialogue program to attempt critical and realistic analysis.