100 Design and Art Galleries – Part IX

We continue to showcase 100 Amazing And Unique Design & Art Galleries! This list will feature the best galleries on the planet and we’ll explore the core of their work and what they have done to be considered one of the bests in the world! In Part 9 we explore unique Art and Design Galleries in Asia and the Middle East!

ESPASSO

Yet another gallery specializing in Brazilian design, Espasso is focused on both 20^th-century furniture as well as promoting the work of young South American designers. Active since 2002, the US-based gallery represents dozens of creators that over the years have exhibited extraordinary expertise and a highly-selective client base.

CARWAN GALLERY

Promoting and producing contemporary design conceived and realized mostly in the Middle East, Carwan Gallery is truly an artistic anomaly. Directed by Nicolas Bellevance-Lecompte and Quentin Mouse, architects and entrepreneurs in the cultural sector, the gallery celebrates a plurality of languages and ideas thanks to a network that looks beyond confines and origins, feeding off international initiatives and fairs.

CRISTINA GRAJALES

For Cristina Grajales, design, art and architecture work hand in hand to render spaces and entire homes unique and welcoming. In fact, the creative found her start by giving form to a voluminous collection of objects and furnishings destined for a private residence. From this experience, her gallery between the neighborhoods of Chelsea and Manhattan was born, focusing on the clients — increasingly informed thanks to an interest that’s cultivated together with Grajales to create a greater public for emerging design.

MING CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM

Although it’s not one of Shanghai’s best-known venues, the Ming Contemporary Art Museum (better known as McaM) ignites the imagination with its interactive activities rooted in visual performance – whether that means sound, sculpture, experimental theatre, dance or poetry. Push your brain’s boundaries at this private museum, which has been transformed from its days as the Shanghai Paper Machine Factory into a two-level tour de force.

LONG MUSEUM WEST BUND

There’s a delightful tension of old and new at the Long Museum West Bund, a sleek space born from a crumbling coal-hopper bridge dating back to the 1950s. The four-storey umbrella-vaulted structure that houses this private museum is an architectural showpiece in itself, serving as a go-to backdrop for local photographers. Inside the 16,000-square-metre (172,222-square-foot) space is a globe-trotting showcase of temporary exhibitions.

YUZ MUSEUM

The non-profit Yuz Museum aims to take visitors on a journey around the world through its exhibitions from international artists. That same path led the private museum’s founder, Budi Tek – a Chinese-Indonesian entrepreneur, collector and art philanthropist – to discover his passion for serious collecting.

ROCKBOUND ART MUSEUM

Contemporary art commingles with architecture in this four-storey 1932 Art Deco building on the Bund, happily away from the tourist crowds. The Rockbund Art Museum (RAM) is a great place to see temporary art exhibitions and partake in fashion and business programmes; many have the goal of elevating the Chinese and international contemporary art scene in Shanghai.

POWER STATION ART

When you’ve spotted the 165-metre (541-foot) chimney with a working thermostat beaming the temperature across the Huangpu River skyline, you’ve found the Power Station of Art (PSA). Formerly known as Nanshi Power Plant in the mid-1980s, this West Bund behemoth was given new life in 2012 as the first state-run museum in mainland China to focus on contemporary art.

M50

To fully immerse yourself in Shanghai’s community of contemporary artists, head to the M50 art complex (named for its address at 50 Moganshan Road) near the banks of Suzhou Creek. A warren of studios, galleries, cafés and boutiques have emerged in the Chunming Slub Mill’s defunct warehouses, where textiles were once the industry of the day.

SINGAPORE NATIONAL GALLERY

The National Gallery Singapore is a new visual arts institute. It oversees the world’s largest public collection of Singapore and Southeast Asia art. Featuring the island country’s unique heritage and geographical location, the National Gallery collaborates with leading museums worldwide to present Southeast Asian art in a wider context, thereby positioning Singapore as a regional and international hub for the visual arts.