Cartier blends high jewellery, ancient Chinese artworks and AI in its ‘Power of Magic’ exhibition at Shanghai Museum East – with actresses Mélanie Laurent and Gong Li in attendance

Nov 11 , 2024

Chinese-Singaporean actress Gong Li and French actress and filmmaker Mélanie Laurent at “Cartier, the Power of Magic”, which opened at Shanghai Museum East in November. Photos: Handout

Featuring over 300 pieces, the show draws inspiration from Chinese dragons, antiques and motifs, and highlights the use of lesser-known traditional Chinese techniques in the works of Cartier

Organised by the Shanghai Museum and supported by Cartier, the exhibition “Cartier, the Power of Magic” creates a cultural dialogue between the maison’s high jewellery collection and ancient Chinese artworks. The show is running at Shanghai Museum East until February 17, 2025.

The curatorial team selected over 300 creations from the Cartier Collection and nearly 40 Chinese artworks from museums at home and abroad. The dialogue stands out as a cherished exchange, and showcases the striking resemblance between Cartier and ancient Chinese art when it comes to capturing timeless beauty.

“We believe this exhibition transcends the scope of a typical jewellery showcase,” Shanghai Museum director Chu Xiaobo said at the exhibition opening. “It embodies a deeper expression of China’s cultural confidence and self-awareness through its curation.”

The exhibition “Cartier, the Power of Magic” is at Shanghai Museum East until February 17, 2025

Chinese contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang, known for his gunpowder-based art, guided cAI (pronounced “AI Cai”) to design the exhibition’s scenography. A native of the southeastern city of Quanzhou, in Fujian province, Cai reminisced fondly at the exhibition opening about how the first time he left his hometown was on a coal train to see French art in Shanghai. “A lot of the time, art was my own manifestation,” he said. “But this exhibition presents a richly diverse energy that blends Cartier’s jewellery and timepieces, Chinese heritage pieces curated by Shanghai Museum, as well as a touch of the mechanical logic of AI.”

“This exhibition is distinctly more analytical, taking a fresh look at the bonds uniting China and Cartier, and also at a relatively unexplored yet intrinsic aspect of jewellery: magic,” said Cartier’s image, style and heritage director Pierre Rainero in a statement.

Actress Gong Li and artist Cai Guo-Qiang at the opening of “Cartier, the Power of Magic”

Entering the exhibition, visitors find themselves immersed in a traditional Chinese courtyard setting that exudes tranquillity and dynamism. The exhibition hall is decorated with projections on layers of silk hanging from the ceiling, evoking drifting clouds above a lake-like floor; the installation is inspired by the landscape paintings of Yuan dynasty artist Ni Zan. Jewellery and Chinese artworks glimmer like stars in the night sky.

Key Cartier exhibits include an academician’s sword made in the mid-20th century for the French writer Jean Cocteau, tiaras once worn by European royalty and aristocracy, and bespoke pieces that demonstrate the breadth and depth of the maison’s style and creativity.