“Breathe Walk Die” by Ugo Rondinone is showing at the Rockbund Art Museum until Jan. 4, 2015. Rondinone is a Swiss contemporary artist based in New York City. Most recently, his exhibition in Shanghai has aroused attention on social media due the exhibition’s bizarre nature. Instead of an assortment of paintings hung up on the walls, as one expects from a classical museum, his exhibition at the Rockbund is one technicolor mess filled with clowns, rainbows, and stained glass. Although it might not seem like it, the exhibition is not one big installation, but rather made up of seven individual parts. The first part you see is a neon and rainbow sign with the title of the exhibition, “Breathe Walk Die”. It’s nothing new and very similar to his earlier sculptures from the early 2000s, but it nevertheless complements the colorful nature of the exhibition. From then on, the clowns steal the show. When you walk into the museum, the first thing you see is a pair of hanging clown shoes, which are switched out every day for a new color. Floors two through five are populated with 40 live performers dressed as clowns, in a work called “the vocabulary of solitude”. Instead of entertaining us like normal birthday party clowns, they sit and stand in various positions silently. According to the curator, Larys Frogier, “the ‘non-action’ of the clowns' performance infiltrates the space, reversing the colors in excess with a critical question about how to exceed norms and limits.” However, Rondinone fails in that regard. The role of the clown as entertainment has not changed. People are still amused by their presence. Viewers pose and take selfies with the performers, rather than emulating their introspective behavior. However, do not get distracted by the clowns; the true star here is Rondinone’s use of color. A gorgeous gradient rainbow is painted on the walls and highlights the verticality of the historical building. It extends from the second to the fifth floors and includes every color in the rainbow. The best view is on the fifth floor where one can look down to the fourth floor and watch the walls change from purple to pink to orange to yellow. These walls are punctuated by circular, colorful paintings that feature concentric rings of color, titled “like suns setting on a horizon.” The final feature of color is the work “love invents us.” Rondinone added colored filters to the museum’s windows to create the effect of stained glass and it is stunning. One must visit during daylight hours to get the full effect and see the Puxi skyline in different hues. As you traverse the museum, going up and down flights of stairs to check out every floor filled with clowns, you will encounter another artwork titled “dog days are over.” A sound installation from 1996, “dog days are over” plays in the stairwell of the museum. This is not the best placement for the work, as the sounds made by the visitors echo throughout the staircase. Situated on the sixth floor is their overpriced café with an installation of colorful children’s art. I got there when the exhibition first opened so there were no artworks displayed on this floor. However, I expect that these walls have since been covered with more art. Most importantly, for those who have never been to the museum, I recommend to go out on the terrace, to enjoy the great view of the Bund neighborhood. Like any other exhibition, one is bound to like some works and not others. In the case of “Breathe Walk Die”, the abstract, colorful works stand out while the clowns just come off as very gimmicky. Still, it is nice to see that the Rockbund has performance art instead of exclusively exhibiting static works. For those who have not seen performance art or had a chance to check out the Rockbund Art Museum, “Breathe Walk Die” is worth the visit. [cincopa AMBAADM2RjRn] This article was written by Veronica Hernandez. Send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Veronica Hernandez