Laraine Armenti

student of painting

Zhouzhuang Lunch & Temple

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ARTIST RESIDENCY CHINA — ZHOUZHUANG, no. 41 There is a story about why the popular local meal Wansan pork hock is named after Shen Wansan, the richest man in the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasty in Zhouzhuang. It was explained to me several times but I could not comprehend it. It had to do with multi-family intrigue, commercial competition, the sound of his name being similar to the word for … [Read more...]

Zhouzhuang Streets & Houses

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ARTIST RESIDENCY CHINA — ZHOUZHUANG, no. 40 Early in my China artist residency in May 2015, I'd visited an imitation river town built in the 18th century for the enjoyment of imperial concubines. It was designed to recreate actual river towns such as Zhouzhuang, ninety minutes west of Shanghai by bus. It is one of thousands of similar towns with varying degrees of historical significance. … [Read more...]

River Towns

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ARTIST RESIDENCY CHINA — ZHOUZHUANG, no. 39 On the second to last day in Shanghai, Wang arranged for me to join a student bus trip to Zhouzhuang, ninety minutes west of Shanghai. Blurry photographs taken through the bus window were washed out even more by the overcast day. In small corners of the images the camera caught people working — on rivers, in fields, and laying tile. They appeared to … [Read more...]

Qingming Scroll

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ARTIST RESIDENCY CHINA — SHANGHAI, no. 38 The China Art Museum, built as the Expo 2010 China Pavilion in Shanghai, houses an installation originally created for the fair. Based on a 12th century scroll by Zhang Zeduan (1085–1145 AD), the original Song Dynasty painting is one of China's greatest cultural treasures. The projection is about 30 times larger than the original 10 x 207 inch … [Read more...]

China Art Museum

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ARTIST RESIDENCY CHINA — SHANGHAI, no. 37 The China Art Museum in Shanghai was originally built for the China Pavilion of Expo 2010. It is the largest art museum in Asia. The permanent collection is mainly Chinese modern art with substantial special exhibitions. The building design references several traditional forms of joinery, cap style, and bronze pots. It is enormous and visited by … [Read more...]

Dian Xin Restaurant

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ARTIST RESIDENCY CHINA — SHANGHAI, no. 36 Lunch on Nanjing Road after the exhilaration of the Shanghai Tower was an exquisite meal. The taste of every dish was unbelievable. The second floor restaurant is through a nondescript corner door next to a food stall window. Among the regional dishes were steamed dumplings, eel soup, prawns, soft crab tofu, and crab shell pies. If I could return to … [Read more...]

Shanghai Tower

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ARTIST RESIDENCY CHINA — SHANGHAI, no. 35 Three days after arrival, following an unexpected bus trip to Hangzhou, I was finally able to enter Shanghai. My colleague Wang assigned a new chaperone to me from his student pool. Mr Li's daughter Jaiyi met me at my hotel where we coordinated our plan for the day: her list, my list, and Wang's list. First on his list was the Museum of Contemporary … [Read more...]

Vanke Dignified Life

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ARTIST RESIDENCY CHINA — HANGZHOU, no. 34 A short distance from the Liangzhu Museum is the Vanke Dignified Life Cultural Village, a retirement zone of residential, hospital, nursing and rehab services, shops, restaurants, an international youth hostel, and 35% green space. The bus dropped us off near the non-denominational church Mei Li Zhou. It was designed by Tsushima Design Studio of Tokyo … [Read more...]