Exhibition of Art Toys in Shanghai

September 10, 2008. Opening tonight, "Art for the Masses," an exhibition at the PPAPER design shop in Shanghai sponsored by Design Republic, MOT Art, and PPAPER, will feature the five art toys created in a collaboration between five pairs of Chinese contemporary artists and PPAPER designers. Yue Min Jun, Zhou Chun Ya, Liu Ye, Zhou Tie Hai and Jin Nu have translated characters from their canvasses into cartoonish ceramic or resin statuettes that will be produced in limited editions of 100 each. Ya’s "Green Dog Series" of paintings (dedicated to his own German wolfhound, Heigan) has been made into a flocked Scooby Doo–like canine. Jun worked with graffiti artist KAWS to create his toy, taking his cues from his own Cynical Realist–influenced work which is usually based around his own giggling self-portrait. Nu’s figure, on the other hand, combines a fairytale-like serenity with violence, depicting a mermaid sewing the tail of a shark onto her own body. Through October 9. thedesignrepublic.com