Shanghai Dance

The one thing that charmed me the most when I visited Shanghai was how the Shanghainese simply love dancing. Be it in a park or a shopping street, they are impeccably dressed to the nines to do the  beautiful steps of ballroom dancing, or boogie to whatever nifty moves the music plays. 

Being borne stiff, I have to admit that, I always admire people who can dance. And how I love the fashion sense and elegance of the Shangainese. More than any city in China, they emanate the sophistication of what it means to appreciate, and live, the finer points of life.  Come what may. Cultural revolution or not.  The tenacity to keep the Shanghainese spirit - be it in the old buildings, the culinary, the culture, or the language - and an almost hard to miss innate disdain for uncouthness, the Shanghainese are just unique :)

While I am not a fan of the city's pollution, or the ultra-outlandish modern buildings which give new meaning to Humongous, I came to love the city for its very intact soul. And the old architecture, especially the old world charms of the iconic Shanghai Bund, not the pretenders across the bay. 

I knew I would paint the elegant gentlemen and ladies at the park. And the Bund. So this piece is my tribute to the Shanghainese spirit, epitomised in these twin faves of mine.  

Title: Shanghai Dance 上海舞 (O90)
Description: A whimsical expressionist painting celebrating the elegant and indefatigable spirit of the Shanghainese, especially their love of dancing and the beautiful architecture at the Bund, both of which charmed the artist immensely. China 2013.
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas with sides painted orche.
Dimensions: 76 x 76 x 4cm.
Purchase at: yen.artfire.com