An aluminium sculpture in front of Shanghai Library. Photos by Wang Zhenghua / China Daily

Getting better

However, Zheng Jiashi, former deputy director of Shanghai Urban Sculpture Center and a former official of the city's urban planning bureau, said the city's public sculptures have seen a substantial improvement in their artistic standards over 10 years.

"Authorities have strengthened management, dismantled or replaced the ugly ones, and the overall level of Shanghai's city sculptures has picked up," he said.

Between 2005 and 2013, Shanghai topped many other cities in national sculpture competitions, he said, listing a number of representative sculptures in Shanghai including the statue of Chen Yi and the war monument on the Bund, as well as the group works in Oriental Land park.

But he admited there's still a significant gap between Shanghai and other big cities in the world like Paris, London and Tokyo in terms of the quantity and quality of public art.

"It's not a matter of catching up, but a matter of time," Zheng says.

Ronald A. Westerhuis, a Dutch artist and the creator of international land art sculpture projects, had his steel sculptures exhibited in Shanghai, and said he sees a silver lining.

"To be honest, Shanghai is not there yet with their public works but is making large steps forward," he said.

To put everything in prospective, Shanghai was not focusing on public work 10 years ago because there were many other things to work on.

"Was this a missed chance? I do not think so, especially in the last three or four years when things have been changing for the better. I have the feeling that the local government is aware of what a sculpture can do with its surrounding. The quality of the works is getting much better," he said.

For example, the Jing-an sculpture biennale is a great effort to show the public all about city sculptures.

"But foremost to the local government needs is an understanding that good art placed in strategic surroundings is not just a matter of aesthetics but also an essential key to the economical value of the area."

Contact the writer at wangzhenghua@chinadaily.com.cn