LED light: LED lighting from ERCO for Shanghai Museum East

Shanghai Museum East, a beacon of contemporary design nestled at No. 1952 Century Avenue in Pudong New Area, offers a sophisticated stage for the display of China's rich artistic heritage. This expansive architectural marvel houses 20 meticulously curated galleries and interactive spaces, designed to provide visitors with an immersive and enlightening experience. The museum's permanent exhibitions—spanning the Bronze, Calligraphy, Painting, Seal, Ceramics, Numismatics, and Jade Galleries—present a comprehensive chronological journey through the evolution of Chinese art.

Additionally, dedicated galleries showcase the vibrant cultural tapestry of Shanghai and the Jiangnan region. Strategically integrated interactive spaces deepen audience engagement, provide rich contextual information and foster a profound appreciation for the exhibited masterpieces. Shanghai Museum East represents a significant and welcoming expansion of the original Shanghai Museum on People’s Square, creating an inviting environment for all to explore the enduring beauty and profound knowledge embodied within China’s artistic traditions.

Illuminating Legacies: The Art of Light at Shanghai Museum East

The Calligraphy Gallery, showcasing works spanning from the Shang Dynasty (circa 1600 to 1046 BCE) to the Qing Dynasty (1644 to 1912 CE), exemplifies the museum's unwavering commitment to both meticulous preservation and captivating presentation. Given the delicate nature of these ancient paper artefacts, precise lighting is paramount. Parscan OnTrack spotlights in size S are employed within the display cases, providing a flexible track lighting system with optimized thermal management to safeguard fragile scrolls.

For display cases with backings, wallwashers provide general illumination within the cabinet, complemented by oval flood distributions to highlight individual calligraphy and art pieces. For freestanding display cases in the gallery's centre, oval flood distributions are exclusively utilized. The oval flood distribution allows for the illumination of larger artwork surfaces while minimizing the number of luminaires, an ideal solution for calligraphy scrolls that can extend for several meters. A warm 3000K colour temperature enhances the subtle nuances of paper and ink, while a controlled 50 lux level strikes a delicate balance between conservation needs and visitor experience. This standard ensures safe navigation and detailed appreciation of the artefacts.

Jiangnan gallery: Parscan framers are used to carefully control the light, creating a subtle "back-lit" effect.

The Bronze Gallery showcases bronze artefacts that stand as powerful symbols of early Chinese civilization and authority, celebrated for their exquisitely detailed patterns. Given the luminaires' placement on the high ceiling, outside the display cases, highly efficient lighting solutions are indispensable. The emphasis here is on achieving optimal lux per watt at the artefact’s surface, rather than merely maximizing lumens per watt. This strategic approach ensures that every intricate detail is vividly illuminated, allowing visitors to fully appreciate the craftsmanship and historical significance of these remarkable pieces.

In the Ceramics Gallery, the challenge of illuminating reflective porcelain pieces is addressed through precise luminaire angling, which eliminates glare and preserves the integrity of colours and details. ERCO's custom-designed curved track lighting, tailored to the unique display layout, required meticulous calculation of luminaire angles. A 4000K colour temperature enhances the blues and greens in the porcelain's lacquer, revealing their subtle variations.

In a captivating collaboration with the POLA Museum of Art, the special exhibition showcases Impressionist masterpieces by luminaries such as Monet, Pissarro, Sisley, and Renoir. This exhibition not only celebrates the revolutionary Impressionist movement but also illuminates its enduring influence on subsequent artistic expressions, from Cubism to contemporary art, while serving as a testament to the enriching cultural exchange between China and Japan. To ensure an optimal viewing experience, a precise museum lighting angle of 30 degrees from the vertical plane is employed. This meticulous approach creates a perfect illumination, eliminating shadows that would otherwise be cast by visitors standing before the artwork, and preventing uneven lighting that could result from overexposing certain areas of the piece. High CRI lighting further accentuates the vibrant colours and delicate shadings of these paintings. A warm 3000K colour temperature is strategically utilized to effectively highlight the diverse colours spanning various artistic periods and to accentuate the inherent warmth of these remarkable artworks.