Shanghai Twenty-One Contemporary Art Fair

The 13th ART021 Shanghai Twenty-One Contemporary Art Fair successfully concluded from November 13 to 16, 2025, at the Shanghai Exhibition Center. This edition served as an exhibiting project of the 24th China Shanghai International Arts Festival and a key component of the 7th Shanghai International Artwork Trading Week. Zhou Dawei, co-founder of ART021, stated that they hope to encourage the public to reconsider the very nature of art through conceptual art.

Exhibition Scale This year’s fair brought together 141 participating galleries and projects from 22 countries and regions and 50 cities, up from the previously announced 139. Among them, 34 distinguished domestic and international galleries made their debut. The fair featured five major sections: the Main Gallery Unit, the APPROACH Unit, the DETOUR Unit, the BEYOND Public Unit, and Special Projects. Guided by the philosophy of “rooted locally, with a global outlook,” over 70% of the exhibiting galleries hailed from China, underscoring strong support for the domestic art ecosystem.

International and Leading Presence among Exhibitors Internationally renowned blue-chip galleries participated for the tenth time, including David Zwirner, showcasing curated works by artists such as Félix González-Torres, Mama Anderson, and Catherine Bernhardt; its iconic million-dollar blue curtain attracted widespread attention. Almine Reache highlighted paintings by Larry Poons, Hans Op de Beeck, and Michael Kagan. Galerie Perrotin, Santamaria Gallery, Melonhe Gallery, Lisson Gallery (debuting this year), and Green Gallery (also debuting) all presented heavyweight artist lineups.

Strong Domestic Gallery Representation Beijing Commune exhibited works by Feng Shan, Hong Hao, Liang Shuo, Liang Yuanwei, Mao Yan, Song Dong, Sui Jianguo, Wang Guangle, and Yin Xiuzhen. Tang Contemporary Art Center initiated a dialogue on diverse painting languages through more than twenty artists. Ying Space proudly presented representative works by Yu Youhan, Xu Lei, He Duoling, and Shang Yang. Hive Center for Contemporary Art brought 34 artists to the fair; gallery director Summer Wind remarked, “Throughout ART021’s 13-year history, Hive has participated in every edition for one simple reason: outstanding sales performance, a steadily growing collector base, and the resulting market influence.” Numerous other local galleries—including Triumph Gallery, Shiwan Space, Lion Language Gallery, AYE Gallery, and Surroundings Art Gallery—presented carefully curated exhibition programs.

Southeast Asian Art Forces Gather for the First Time YGO, a non-profit alliance of next-generation Indonesian art galleries, introduced eight Indonesian galleries—including D Gallerie, Nadi Gallery, and Vice & Virtue Gallery—for the first time to ART021, bringing a diversified global perspective to the event. ROH Gallery from Jakarta displayed Filipino artist Maria Taniguchi’s signature “Brick Paintings” series. The DETOUR Unit spotlighted three regional galleries—ROH (Jakarta), Lawrie Shabibi (Dubai), and PA Gallery (Moscow)—presenting thought-provoking exhibitions infused with cultural strategies.

APPROACH Unit Focuses on Emerging Talents This year’s APPROACH Unit welcomed 20 emerging galleries from China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, France, Russia, Azerbaijan, and beyond, half of which were first-time participants. GALERIE DE BUCI (Paris), Mengmingge (Hong Kong), POP/OFF/ART (Moscow/Baku), SISTEMA GALLERY (Moscow), and Yidi Art (Hong Kong) made their mainland Chinese fair debuts. Eucalyptus Gallery, which debuted in the APPROACH Unit last year, has now been promoted to the Main Gallery Unit.

Special Projects and Brand Crossovers Shine Brightly CINDY CHAO Art Jewelry, a museum-quality fine jewelry brand, returned spectacularly with its highly anticipated 2025 Master Series. Dior grandly unveiled the Dior Lady Art #10 limited-edition collaboration series, inviting contemporary artists worldwide to reimagine the classic Lady Dior handbag. Porsche China showcased winning works from the 2024–2025 “China Young Artists Biennial Selection.” Glenfiddich partnered with architect Ma Yansong to create the immersive “Realm of Depth” art space, while JNBY collaborated with contemporary Chinese artist Yu Hong to launch co-branded products.

Rich Concurrent Forums and Public Events On the opening day, four ART021 forums gathered artists, curators, and industry veterans, focusing on core topics such as the art market, cross-sector collaborations, and contemporary practices among young artists, drawing audiences from various fields who actively engaged. The BEYOND Public Unit integrated large-scale sculptures and site-specific installations, creating immersive contemplative spaces within the exhibition venue. The fair also deepened its synergy with the “Art Suhe” 2025 Performance Season, specially designing the “ARTYWALK Route” to connect core art institutions in Jing’an District. This edition attracted nearly one thousand overseas visitors and further expanded public arts education through partnerships with platforms like Xiaohongshu.

The ART021 Shanghai Twenty-One Contemporary Art Fair has played a pivotal role in shaping China’s contemporary art ecosystem while steadily increasing its global influence. It provides a professional exchange platform for galleries, artists, collectors, and art enthusiasts, promoting the “Shanghai Art Brand” worldwide. The next ART021 will be held at the Shanghai Exhibition Center in November 2026.