IN German, the word holzwege, literally “forest path,” also has a metaphoric meaning eminently appropriate for the arts. It suggests pursuing unknown directions and discovering interesting things in unexpected places.

Such is the theme of the first exhibition in ShanghART’s new gallery location in the arts hub on the West Bund.

The Holzwege exhibition features installations, videos, paintings and performing arts created by renowned Chinese artists such as Zeng Fanzhi, Ding Yi, Zhang Enli, Yang Fudong as well as overseas artists.

The show traces how ShanghART and its artists have been exploring and trailblazing the paths of contemporary art in China for the past two decades. Indeed, the exhibition celebrates the 20th anniversary of the gallery.

The term holzwege was coined by the philosopher Heidegger. It describes an overgrown forest path recognizable only to woodsmen. It may seem to be a path that leads nowhere, but finding oneself in the middle of woods and uncertain which course to take can open the door to unexpected experiences. In effect, there are many paths one can choose to explore.

In the ShanghART exhibition, Lorenze Helbling, owner of ShanghART, is showing us “how far and deep a gallery can guide the public” into new realms.

Besides the list of gallery artists, works by other notable contemporary artists, like Jorg Immendorff and Apichatpong Weerasethakul, are included. According to Helen Zhu, one of the gallery’s staff, these works are on loan from overseas institutions and collectors.

The gallery’s new home is in a two-story building with multi-functional rooms. The building houses abundant exhibition space, a cafeteria, a library and a warehouse.

Compared with its former site at M50, ShanghART’s location in the arts hub on Suzhou Creek is bigger and brighter.

Helbling and his ShanghART have come a long way from a hotel corridor where the gallery started in 1996. Today, it’s a major venue in contemporary art in both China and the world.

Helbling first came to Shanghai in 1985 to study Chinese history and film at Fudan University. It was an era when the “new wave” art movement was stirring, but Helbling didn’t pay much notice at the time.

It wasn’t until 1992, while he was working at a gallery in Hong Kong, that he was first introduced to Chinese art by the paintings of Chen Yifei and Wu Guanzhong.

In 1996, he opened ShanghART in the then Portman Hotel, which is today the Ritz-Carlton.

At that time, the contemporary art scene was small, dishelved and largely ignored. Hardly any Chinese collectors were buying the works, and public interest in anything avant-garde was pretty nil. Chinese contemporary artists had virtually no visibility abroad.

Helbling, riding an old bicycle, cruised the lanes and back roads of Shanghai, seeking out local artists.

Interest from such a foreigner provided a spark that was to grow into the contemporary art scene.

In 2000, ShanghART was China’s first gallery to participate in Art Basel, a prestigious international art fair.

“Originally, I was just content to operate a local gallery in Shanghai,” Helbling said. “It was Zhou Tiehai who suggested that I turn ShanghART into an international gallery. He was the first one to say that to me.”

In the ensuing years, the success of ShanghART and the artists it nurtured grew. The gallery has mentored the likes of Zhou Tiehai, Ding Yi and Zeng Fanzhi. A series of exhibitions held at Fuxing Park and at M50 attracted both domestic and foreign collectors.

Major contemporary art world figures, like the Ullens couple and Uli Sigg, all started their collections from ShanghART.

It soon became obvious that the gallery had outgrown its premises at M50.

“Here, our space is almost double that of our former home,” staffer Zhu said of the West Bund site. “The space and functions are more professional.”

Indeed, the new site can handle artworks more than five meters high and can accommodate installations of daunting size without difficulty.

In the “Holzwege” exhibition, each work stands on its own, yet the theme of the exhibition courses through them all as each artist expresses a personal exploration of new paths.

One wonders what big new plans Helbling is contemplating as he sits on the gallery balcony, sipping his coffee.

His long-term friend, Zhou Tiehai, one of China’s better-known contemporary artists, is the gallery’s neighbor in the West Bund art hub.

Here, in an old rehabilitated dock area of Suzhou Creek, the streets are lined with studios, galleries and museums. ShanghART now joins the Long Museum, the Yuz Museum and the Shanghai Center of Photography as participants in the city’s liveliest art scene.

Arts hub emerges

NOT that long ago, the West Bund on the Huangpu River was filled with ramshackle houses and deserted factory warehouses. What a change today! The area has become a premier arts hub in Shanghai, known as the West Bund Cultural Corridor.

West Bund Art and Design Exposition

The 3rd annual West Bund Art and Design Exposition, held this month, spanned 31 galleries, including international houses like David Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth, Pace Gallery and White Cube. Zhou Tiehai, the fair director, was lauded for his orchestration of artworks from the different galleries.

Shanghai Center of Photography

Opened by Hong-Kong born photographer Liu Heung Shing, the Shanghai Center of Photography is a labyrinth of rooms fanning out from a central space. Its architecture and minimalist design highlight what has become the city’s foremost museum of photography.

Long Museum West Bund

This is the second private museum opened by business mogul Liu Yiqian and his wife Wang Wei. The museum’s core exhibitions come from the couple’s private collection of ancient and modern Chinese ancient art.

Yuz Museum

Founded by Bydi Tek, a Chinese-Indonesian entrepreneur and art collector, the Yuz Museum contains Chinese and Western contemporary art, housed in the converted hangar of the old Longhua airport. The site has been renovated into a spectacular glass “green cube,” joined by a vivid red structure with an undulating roof.