ChinaMuseum.jpg (Photo : Reuters)
The Guanfu Museum announced on Dec. 23, Tuesday, that it has donated the "Shanghai Lady" by Chinese artist Chen Yifei to the Shanghai Tower.
Built entirely of metal, the 3-meter-tall piece is the only sculpture made by Chen and will be installed on the ground floor of the building. It is set to be unveiled next year.
"The sculpture will go on display about the middle of 2015, when Shanghai Tower opens to the public," Jiang Yao, chairman of the building's owners, said in a statement.
The "Shanghai Lady" was made in 2000 in Chen's studio in Shanghai's Huangpu District, and was inspired by one of his earlier oil paintings that featured a woman wearing a traditional qipao dress and holding a fan and a birdcage. Chen, who passed away in 2005, later donated it to the privately owned Guanfu Museum in Beijing.
"It belongs to Shanghai," said museum curator Ma Weidu, adding that the form of the sculpture is similar to the spiraling design of the Shanghai Tower.
Aside from its donation, the Guanfu Museum also plans to open a Shanghai branch inside the building.
"Most of the exhibits will have a connection to the city," Ma added.
Jiang also announced plans for additional works of art to be displayed in the tower. Over 700 square meters of space will be given to international art exhibits in the tower's upper floors, all of which will be available to the public, he said.
With a price tag of approximately 15 billion yuan ($2.5 billion), the 632-meter-high Shanghai Tower in the Lujiazui financial district is the world's second tallest building, surpassed only by the 829-meter Burj Khalifa in Dubai. It is split into nine sections featuring office accommodations, shops, restaurants and a luxury hotel.
