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11/24/2011 -
2/4/2012
Revitalising the Glorious Tradition: The Retrospective Exhibition of Pan Tianshou's Art
exhibition -
Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, China
Acclaimed by critics and art historians as one of the four giants of traditional painting, Pan Tianshou (1897 – 1971) was a leading exponent of modern Chinese art history, sharing equal fame with Huang Binhong and Qi Baishi.
By assimilating the eccentric styles of the ancient masters, introducing the seal as well as clerical scripts into painting, and also combining the components of landscape painting with flower and bird painting, Pan developed a unique style which is characterised by expressive brushwork, vigorous form, forceful composition and monumental scale. It reflects and symbolises an uprising spirit of modern China. As an outstanding graduate of the Zhejiang Provincial First Normal College, Pan taught at a succession of art schools including the Shanghai College of Fine Arts, the Xinhua Art College, and the Hangzhou National College of Art. He was also appointed as Head of the National College of Art in Chongqing, and the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts in Hangzhou. He is not only regarded as a great traditionalist, but also an important innovator in modern Chinese art education.
more info :
Hong Kong Museum of Art
12/6/2011 -
2/5/2012
Japanese Masks
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Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Masks transform a person by being worn, and they have been made in various shapes around the world. This exhibition displays Japanese masks from the Jomon (10,000–5th century BC) to the Edo period (1603–1868). Some clay masks from the Jomon period were smaller than a person’s face, but it seems they were not used only for wearing. There is also the possibility that they were hung from poles above graves. Many gigaku masks for Buddhist ceremonies were created from the Asuka (593–710) to the Nara period (710–794).
From the Heian (794–1192) to the Kamakura period (1192–1333), manybugaku and gyodo masks were produced. Bugaku was performed at ceremonies and services in shrines and temples, so existing masks are spread across Japan. Gyodo masks were worn to represent Shinto gods parading around palanquins for deities, or to perform as the twenty-five bodhisattvas coming to welcome the dead in raigoe memorial services. Noh plays were greatly developed by actor and playwright Zeami from the Nanbokucho (1333–1392) to the Muromachi period (1392–1573). Noh masks are unique to Japan and characteristically do not feature much emotion. Suppressing one's feelings is thought of as virtuous in Japan, but it may be seen as strange in other countries. On the other hand, kyogen masks typically have unique faces that suit the farcical scenarios of kyogen plays.There are probably no countries with as many existing ancient masks as Japan. From the masks in this exhibition used in places of worship, at festivals to pray for large harvests, or on stage to entertain, visitors can imagine the thoughts of people from the past.
more info :
Tokyo National Museum
11/22/2011 -
2/12/2012
Red-colored Pottery from Shinano Province
exhibition -
Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Shinano Province covered the area that is present-day Nagano prefecture. In the north of this province, from the latter half of the mid-Yayoi period to the late Yayoi period, characteristic types of pottery developed in which pieces were painted with a slip containing red iron oxide, then polished and fired. This red-colored pottery is namely Kuribayashi-type pottery from the mid-Yayoi period, and Hakoshimizu-type pottery from the late Yayoi period. The area where particularly Hakoshimizu-type pottery was distributed is called “Red Pottery County”, and archaeological surveys in recent years have revealed that, together with the development of advanced agriculture and rice cultivation, a distinctive Yayoi culture was formed there in accompaniment to the use of bronze and iron implements. This thematic exhibition features the red-colored pottery representative of this area. Pieces from the Nagano Prefectural Museum of History, which were excavated from the Matsubara site and the Shinonoi site in Nagano-shi, are displayed together with samples of the red iron oxide as well as the tools used to crush the oxide. In addition, red-colored pottery in the Tokyo National Museum collection, which is from around the same era and comes from the Tokai region and Northern Kyushu, is displayed in contrast to highlight the characteristics of the Shinano Province red-colored pottery. As a whole, this exhibition attempts to present the ideas that people of that era had about the color red. This exhibition is held as a part of Tokyo National Museum’s annual archaeological objects exchange program.
more info :
Tokyo National Museum
12/14/2011 -
2/12/2012
Calendars 2020-2096
exhibition -
NUS Museum, NUS Centre For the Arts, Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
Calendars (2020-2096) comprises of 1,001 images of deserted public interiors in Singapore photographed over a span of 7 years (2004-2010). It signals specific concerns of Heman Chong's practice, one that can be located in the intersection between time, space and situation. The 'archive' of images, set within the premise of how one marks time, generates an imaginary meandering within the interiors of Singapore, a city that is constantly being remade, often appropriating signs and styles from a wide spectrum of influences. Based on a series of revisitations to the public spaces that Chong has a prior relationship to - shopping centers, museums, MRT stations, schools - the artist carefully frames the spaces without attempting to add any new meaning to the space. No permission was requested for any of the photographs captured, nor any prior arrangement was made to have it devoid of people. Thus, the photographs veer less towards the staged, but rather can be seen as ready-mades. Yet this appropriation very quickly transmutes into another creature: one of fiction and narrative. The project can be viewed in its entirety as a novel about interior spaces, as well as, a historical (also a kind of imaginary fiction) document of interior spaces.
more info :
NUS Museum, Singapore
10/1/2011 -
2/19/2012
Writing Power: Zulkifli Yusoff
exhibition -
NUS Museum, NUS Centre For the Arts, Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
Regarded as a pioneer of installation art in Malaysia, Zulkifli Yusoff’s Writing Power looks at how historical texts affect cultural memory and understandings of nationhood. Exploring how history can be made relevant to contemporary times, Zulkifili’s artistic renditions draw upon the fascinating and complex relationship between the visual and the written - leading his audiences to ponder, if it matters not-knowing what art means, who made it, when, what’s it called, or how to approach it? Writing Power is held as a companion to the ongoing exhibition Camping and Tramping Through the Colonial Archive: The Museum in Malaya, which explores the rise of the museum and themes on the archives in British Malaya from the 19th century onwards and how contemporary practitioners may lay claim to it.
more info :
NUS Museum, Singapore
6/11/2011 -
2/19/2012
Providing for the Afterlife: Han Funerary Art
exhibition -
Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
For thousands of years, the Chinese buried precious objects in graves to provide for the departed in the afterlife. These burial objects – often miniature versions of people, cooking utensils, tools and animals – are called mingqior ‘spirit objects’. This exhibition introduces the broad range of Chinese funerary objects from the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220CE).
more info :
Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore
1/2/2012 -
2/19/2012
Two Hundred Selected Masterpieces from the Palace Museum, Beijing
exhibition -
Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, Japan
In 2012, which marks the 40th anniversary of the normalization of relations between Japan and China, the Tokyo National Museum is holding an exhibition of masterpieces from the Palace Museum, Beijing. The site of the Palace Museum, Beijing, was formerly the residence of 24 Chinese emperors from the Ming-dynasty Emperor Yongle to the Qing-dynasty Emperor Puyi. In addition to its own glorious architecture, it houses a collection of more than 1.8 million artifacts. This magnificent exhibition consists of a selection of 200 masterpieces from that collection and is split into two sections. The first section features the simultaneous display of 41 Song- and Yuan-dynasty calligraphic works and paintings not previously shown outside the palace, as well as masterpieces of court and literati paintings, must-see works by three of the best calligraphers of the Song period, and masterworks of calligraphy by Yuan-period literati. Boasting a tremendous array of fabulous bronzes, jades and other artifacts, this lineup can be described as a defining exhibition of the Palace Museum. The second section centers around four portraits of Emperor Qianlong, whose reign marked the Qing dynasty’s golden period. This section seeks to understand the abundance of world views held in the Qing dynasty. There is also an area that attempts to recreate, using existing artworks, a portrait of Emperor Qianlong in which he is depicted surrounded by various masterpieces.
more info :
Tokyo National Museum
1/2/2012 -
2/19/2012
Japanese Landscapes by Asai Chu: The Takano Collection
exhibition -
Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Originally acquired by entrepreneur Takano Tokiji, the Takano Collection comprises a total of 11 oil paintings, 56 watercolors and sketches, and 6 hanging scrolls by Asai Chu, a Western-style painter active during the Meiji period. The majority of works in this collection were produced during Asai's stay in Europe, which display a mature skill. The 73-piece collection was donated to the museum by Mr. Takano’s family in 1985, in accordance with his will.
Mr. Takano had aspired to be a painter in his youth, and even after entering the world of business he made continuous efforts to collect the works of Asai, whom he had long admired. This collection, which Mr. Takano began in his late twenties and spent close to fifty years accumulating, speaks eloquently of Mr. Takano’s passion and enthusiasm.
This year’s exhibition features Vegetable Garden in Spring with five landscapes of Japan from Asai’s time in Kyoto, where he settled after returning from abroad. As an introduction to his works, this exhibition looks into Asai’s depictions of Japanese scenery before and after his studies in Europe.
more info :
Tokyo National Museum
11/17/2011 -
2/26/2012
China through the Lens of John Thomson: 1868-1872
exhibition -
The Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
This exhibition is devoted to images of China by Scottish photographer John Thomson (1837-1921). Born in Edinburgh Thomson first travelled to Asia in 1862, where he set up a professional photographic studio. Fascinated by local cultures, Thomson returned in 1868, settling in Hong Kong. Over the next four years he made extensive trips to Guangdong, Fujian, Beijing, China’s north-east and down the Yangtze. This exhibition is drawn from his time in these regions.
In the early days of photography, when negatives were made on glass plates, a cumbersome mass of equipment was required but Thomson was nevertheless able to capture a wide variety of images. His works present the human aspects of life in China through the extensive record of everyday-street scenes, rarely captured by other photographers of that era.
After returning to Britain, Thomson took an active role informing the public about China, through illustrated lectures and publications. In 1920, he wrote to Henry Wellcome - pharmacist, philanthropist and collector - wishing to sell his glass negatives. Thomson died before the transaction was completed, and Wellcome bought the negatives from Thomson’s heirs in 1921. The images in this exhibition come from the Wellcome Library’s collection in London.
Timed to co-ordinate with Chinese New Year celebrations in 2012, the exhibition will include over 50 stunning images with a wide variety of themes in China including people, architecture, domestic and street scenes. A selection of traditional Chinese clothing and accessories from the Library’s own collection will also be on display.
more info :
Chester Beatty Library, Dublin
11/25/2011 -
2/26/2012
Virtuous Heritage: Xu Family of Guangzhou Mandarins, Revolutionaries, Educators and Scientists
exhibition -
University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
As part of the celebrations to commemorate the centenary of the 1911 Revolution and the 100th anniversary of The University of Hong Kong, the University Museum and Art Gallery will jointly present an exhibition with Guangzhou Xudi The Xu Clansmen’s Association to trace the development of China in the past two centuries through the legacies of the Xu Family in Southern China. This exhibition will narrate the political evolution of China through the individual legend of the Xu family and its consequences from the Qing dynasty to modern China. The Xu (Hui in Cantonese) family migrated from Chaozhou in eastern Guangdong to the provincial capital Guangzhou in the early 19th century. They settled in the city’s Gaodi Street. Generations of the Xu family flourished there in an extensive private residential compound known as Xudi, parts of which still stand today. Beginning from the late Qing period, through the Republican era to the present, members of the Xu Family served in multiple capacities that made them influential in charting the destiny of the Chinese nation. Members of the Xu clan include Qing mandarins of the first and lower official ranks; the first generation of the Chinese diplomatic corps; revolutionary military commanders; a martyr general of the 7th Red Army; celebrated poets; the wives of a literary giant and outstanding scientist. In addition, there are important educators and pioneering engineers through the successive episodes of the Opium War, the Taiping Rebellion, the Reform Movement of 1898, late-Qing Constitutional Monarchy, 1911 Revolution, Sino-Japanese War, up to the formation of New China. The exhibition features about one hundred artefacts related to individual members of the Xu clan.
more info :
University Museum and Art Gallery, Hong Kong
11/11/2011 -
3/4/2012
Asia Pacific Breweries Foundation Signature Art Prize 2011 Finalists Exhibition
exhibition -
Singapore Art Museum, Singapore, Singapore
The Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) Foundation Signature Art Prize is an award to recognise artists whose artworks represent a significant development in contemporary visual art in the Asia Pacific region. Aimed at recognising the single most outstanding contemporary visual artwork produced in the preceding three years, the award is open, by nomination, to all visual artworks, regardless of medium, subject matter and size. Now in its second instalment, the award reaches out to 24 countries and territories in the region, including Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Mongolia, the Oceania islands, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and many others. From the 130 nominated artworks, 15 finalist artworks were selected and exhibited in SAM. The exhibition offers an excellent opportunity to see and discover some of the most exciting contemporary art produced in this dynamic region in the last three years. An international jury will then convene to judge the exhibited finalist artworks and select the winning artworks.
more info :
Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
11/12/2011 -
3/4/2012
Rabindranath Tagore: Poet and Painter
exhibition -
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), the V&A will hold a display of about 50 of his paintings from the period 1928 to 1939, never before displayed outside India.
Tagore is best known as a poet and in 1913 was the first non-European writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Highly prolific, Tagore was also a composer and wrote the national anthems for both India and Bangladesh, as well as an educator, social reformer, philosopher and painter. In India, he is regarded as a national figure whose achievements are as important as those of Gandhi.
Tagore began painting relatively late in his career when he was in his sixties. Nevertheless he produced thousands of works and was the first Indian artist to exhibit his works across Europe, Russia and the United States in 1930. His painting style was very individual, characterised by simple bold forms and a rhythmic quality, and later served to inspire many modern Indian artists.
The works included in the exhibition are arranged around four themes of his oeuvre. His first paintings are highly imaginative works, usually focusing on animals or imaginary creatures, which are imbued with vitality and humour. Human figures are depicted either as individuals with expressive gestures or in groups in theatrical settings. In portraits produced during the 1930s, he renders the human face in a way reminiscent of a mask or persona. Landscape subjects represent the smallest output among Tagore’s works, and this display will include four of the finest of this group.
more info :
V&A, London, UK
11/1/2011 -
3/11/2012
Rituals for the Gods in the Kofun Period
exhibition -
Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Many religious ceremony sites from the Kofun period (ca. 3rd–7th century) are in hard-to-reach places such as mountain passes, capes, or remote islands. These sites reveal how Japanese people at the time perceived divinity in nature and offered prayers in awe of gods. Written materials from the Nara period, such as the Kojiki and the Nihon shokichronicles, as well as official descriptions of regions, record how the malevolent deities who lived in these places were feared for obstructing people’s progress. The ceremony sites are considered to be where dedicatory objects were offered to appease these gods. These places are important as they reveal the form of rituals before they were codified by the genealogies of gods used in ceremonies connected to state unification, as recorded in Heian-period documents including the Engishiki set of laws. Objects excavated from ceremony sites, predominantly hand-molded ceramics, changed characteristically over time. In the early Kofun period (4th century), these objects were mainly steatite stone models of items such as bronze mirrors, stone tools, beads and farming implements. In the mid-Kofun period (mid-5th century), in addition to smaller and more numerous steatite models, Sue pottery and clay models of mirrors, weapons, weaving equipment, brewing tools and other objects were also created for dedication. In the late Kofun period (6th century), many clay items also appeared in the shapes of jingle-bell mirrors, bells, farming tools, and figures of humans and horses. This diversification of dedicatory objects allows us to see how concepts of deities grew more varied over time.
more info :
Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, Japan
10/15/2011 -
3/18/2012
Ai Weiwei: Dropping the Urn (Ceramic Works, 5000 BC – AD 2010)
exhibition -
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom
Ai Weiwei is recognised throughout the world as a key figure at the forefront of contemporary art in China. His artistic practice encompasses a wide range of media, from architecture and sculpture to photography, and film. He has conducted a particularly fruitful investigation of ceramics, and it is this medium that forms the main focus of this exhibition. Ai was born in Beijing in 1957, son of the renowned Chinese poet Ai Qing (1910-1996). After attending the Beijing Film Academy in the 1970’s he moved to the United States in 1981, eventually settling in New York. It was in America that Ai first began to experiment with ‘ready-made’ objects as a key part of his artistic practice, under the strong influence of Marcel Duchamp. On his return to Beijing in 1993 Ai turned his attention to classical Chinese artistic traditions and crafts. Many of the works he made during the 1990’s such as Untitled, 1993 act as a commentary on China’s transformation during this period and the impact of capitalism on cultural heritage and traditional artistic practice. Featuring a selection of ceramic works and photographs made from 1993 to the present day this exhibition offers a rare opportunity to view some of the most iconic works in the field of Chinese contemporary art.
more info :
V&A, London
12/7/2011 -
3/18/2012
HKU Memories from the Archives
exhibition -
University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
The University Archives and the University Museum and Art Gallery of The University of Hong Kong are pleased to announce an exhibition on the history of the University through the collections of the University Archives, as part of the University’s Centenary celebrations.
The exhibition introduces the development of the University from its founding in 1911 to the present day. Over 100 archival records and artefacts are displayed. Some are provided by the Museum and student groups. Many of them have not been exhibited before. The rare items include the Mace, silver inkstand and ceremonial trowels as well as the 1912 silver model of the Main Building and its original architectural drawings given to Governor Sir Frederick Lugard in 1916.
As the first exhibition to feature the collections of the University Archives, it will also foreground the important role that archives play in preserving both personal and institutional histories, and some of the conservation concerns in taking care of artefacts of the past.
more info :
University Museum and Art Gallery, Hong Kong
4/24/2011 -
3/21/2012
China's Qi
exhibition -
Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Please note: 'the Qi of China' is Dutch only.
In China’s Qi, there are no artefacts in glass cases and children take centre
stage in the exhibition. After immersing the visitors in a dynamic China of
skyscrapers and traffic, the exhibition staff (most of whom are Chinese
themselves) escort them through the various rooms of the exhibition. The
collection, personal recollections, moving images and activities combine to
form a unified whole. Visitors can experience China’s Qi by becoming actively
involved in tai-chi, kung fu, feng shui, calligraphy, making terracotta soldiers,
producing umbrella’s, cooking, karaoke.
more info :
TMJunior Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam
11/4/2011 -
3/25/2012
Porcelain City: Jingdezhen
exhibition -
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom
Porcelain City: Jingdezhen is a display of contemporary works in porcelain by four artists from the UK, Japan and China: Roger Law, Felicity Aylieff, Ah Xian and Takeshi Yasuda. All their works have been made in collaboration with the network of small porcelain factories which make up the vibrant porcelain city of Jingdezhen in China: a site of huge historical significance in the production of porcelain. Its importance is illustrated through the important collections of Chinese porcelain held by the Museum.
more info :
V&A, London
11/12/2011 -
3/25/2012
Afghanistan
exhibition -
Museum of Ethnography, Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
Unbelievable treasures, secret key holders, princess tombs and heroic archeologists. Does it sound like a fairy tale? Meet a different Afghanistan, a country in the middle of the world where history has been rescued against all odds.
At the heart of the Silk Road, Afghanistan linked the great trading routes of ancient Iran, Central Asia, India and China, and the more distant cultures of Greece and Rome. Nearly lost during the years of civil war and later Taliban rule, precious objects that reveal this diverse past were bravely hidden in 1989 by officials from the National Museum of Afghanistan to save them from destruction. The surviving treasures date from 2000 BC to the 1st century AD and include opulent gold ornaments found at a tribal burial site and limestone sculptures of a Greek city. This is a unique opportunity to discover the the story of Afghanistan's ancient culture, it's immense fragility, and the remarkable dedication shown to its survival and protection.
more info :
Etnografiska Museet, Stockholm, Sweden
1/14/2012 -
3/25/2012
Credit Suisse: Innovation In Art Series The Collectors Show: Chimera Asian Contemporary Art from Private Collections
exhibition -
Singapore Art Museum, Singapore, Singapore
The Collectors Show: Chimera brings together major works of Asian contemporary art from private collections around the world. A tribute to the art patrons of today, the exhibition offers an insight into the breadth and richness of private art collections, introducing visitors to the personal visions and passions that shape them.
Titled Chimera, a deliberately evocative word that references both the mythological hybrid monster and the idea of an illusion, fantasy, or delusion, the exhibition presents contemporary art in all its various and hybrid forms, from painting to sculpture, to new media and interactive multi-media. The works selected eschew conventional spectacle in favour of a reflection on vision and visuality, offering up visually seductive surfaces tinged with undercurrents of anxiety. These artworks remind us of the spectres of our age – questions and issues which continue to haunt us and test our judgement at every turn and corner of our new millennium.
The Collectors Show: Chimera is a parallel event of Art Stage Singapore 2012 and independently organised by the Singapore Art Museum.
more info :
Singapore Art Museum
12/28/2011 -
4/1/2012
Tibetan Cultural Exhibition: Mysterious Tibet Bathed in Buddha's Light
exhibition -
Hunan Provincial Museum, China, Changsha, China
A Tibetan cultural exhibition named “Mysterious Tibet Bathed in Buddha's Light” is on view at Hunan Provincial Museum, and will run until April 1, 2012.
The exhibition, showing treasures and cultural relics of Tibet, is a miniature of Tibetan culture, religion and lifestyle. A total of 130 pieces/sets of items are to be displayed on the exhibition, including more than 40 pieces/sets objects that ranked as the first-grade cultural relics in China. Among them, the most famous exhibits are the Golden-bronze Guanyin Statue with Eleven Heads and Thousand Hands (also called all-seeing, all-reaching Goddess of Mercy) and a golden-bronze sitting statue of Sontzen Gampo from the Yuan Dynasty.
more info :
Hunan Provincial Museum, China
9/28/2011 -
4/8/2012
Manga at the British Museum drawing by Hoshino Yukinobu
exhibition -
British Museum, London, London, United Kingdom
An exclusive opportunity to see the original drawings from the manga series Professor Munakata’s British Museum Adventure. Hoshino Yukinobu (b.1954) is the creator of Professor Munakata, one of Japan’s most famous manga characters. Millions of readers eagerly following his adventures in the fortnightly magazine, Big Comic. Hoshino first visited the British Museum in 2009 and was inspired to work on a Professor Munakata mystery in the unique setting of the Museum. Japanese readers followed the series for five months, first published in Big Comic, before the thrilling mystery was bought to a close with a dramatic final scene that sees the Rosetta Stone in grave danger. All ten episodes will now be published as a book in English by the British Museum Press, and to celebrate, Hoshino has lent the Museum his finished drawings (genga) and sketches and even two of his fude brush pens which he used to draw this adventure.In this display you can see the development ofProfessor Munakata’s British Museum Adventure from conception to finished work. This is an exceptionally rare opportunity to uncover the process of how the first British Museum manga was created.
more info :
The British Museum, London
1/26/2012 -
4/8/2012
new event
exhibition -
National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden, Leiden, Netherlands
The hill that women built
Photo exhibition with photos from Andrea Bruce
On a hill overlooking Kabul, with little access to electricity, women have made their own houses, brick by brick, from the land beneath them. They have created what is known by Afghans as "The Hill That Women Built". Widowed by the violence of the past 15 years, these women were left without the means to take care of their families, let alone a place to live. After 2001, many widows from all over Afghanistan left the shadows of their harsh life for the rumor of a utopia in Kabul made just for them. Now the hill is home to over a thousand women and children.
more info :
Museum Volkenkunde, Leiden
10/14/2011 -
4/8/2012
The Hidden Garden - Jewellery from India
exhibition -
National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden, Leiden, Netherlands
A small exhibition presenting contemporary Indian jewellery. Researcher Saskia Konniger has studied the centuries old Indian tradition of making jewellery. Styles and use of different materials differ from region to region. During two periods of fieldwork in India she’s been able to expand the museum’s collection with some surprising pieces.
more info :
Museum Volkenkunde, Leiden
10/15/2011 -
4/12/2012
Johnson Chow Su-sing: A Tranquil Heart in Art
exhibition -
Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, China
Prof Johnson Chow Su-sing was born in the city of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province in 1923. The land of his birth is home to men of letters and Chow is upheld as a key figure along the heritage of the Wu School of Chinese painting dating back to the Ming Dynasty. He is also the role model of the literati painter in contemporary China. Migrating to Hong Kong in 1949, he taught at the Department of Fine Arts in New Asia College, The Chinese University of Hong Kong from 1962 to 1971. During his stay in Hong Kong, he became affiliated with master painters of his time like Zhang Daqian, Pu Xingyu, Zhu Qizhan, Xie Zhiliu and Chen Peiqiu. Having travelled to America from the 70s to the 80s, Prof Chow finally chose to settle down in Canada. While living overseas, he devoted himself to the cause of aesthetics in traditional Chinese painting. His efforts demonstrated a profound effect, and represented the first step or the Wu School of Chinese painting to gain recognition in the international art world.
more info :
Hong Kong Museum of Art
1/26/2012 -
4/15/2012
Hajj, journey to the heart of Islam
exhibition -
British Museum, London, London, United Kingdom
One of the five pillars of Islam central to Muslim belief, Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca that every Muslim must make at least once in their lifetime if they are able. This major exhibition charts the history of this deeply personal journey.
Examining the extraordinary travel logistics involved and how the wider operation of the event has changed over time, the exhibition compares how pilgrims over the centuries negotiated this often monumental undertaking and how it continues to be experienced by people from all corners of the globe today.
Beautiful objects, including historical and contemporary art, textiles and manuscripts, bring to life the profound spiritual significance of the sacred rituals that have remained unchanged since the Prophet Muhammad’s time in the 7th century AD.
'This exhibition will enable a global audience to deepen their understanding of the significance and history of the Hajj. In particular, it will allow non-Muslims to explore the one aspect of Islamic practice and faith which they are not able to witness, but which plays such a major part in forming a worldwide Islamic consciousness.'
Neil MacGregor, Director, British Museum.
more info :
British Museum, London
1/14/2012 -
4/15/2012
The Singapore Show: Future Proof
exhibition -
Singapore Art Museum, Singapore, Singapore
Since the birth of contemporary practice in Singapore, signalled by the formation of The Artists Village, 5th Passage and the landmark exhibition, Trimurti, artists here have been exploring various genres of creative work - from sculpture and paintings to performance art, site-specific installations to graphic design and interactive media.
The Singapore Show: Future Proof presents artworks from young artists whose innovative and unique practices have generated attention and accolades in various art circles. Their artistic ventures take place from streets to galleries; their concerns local to geopolitical; their material both found and acquired. With strong, consistent and resilient presence in the local as well as international contemporary art scenes, these motivated youth have enlivened Singapore's art landscape and can be considered to be amongst those to look out for today.
more info :
Singapore Art Museum
11/9/2011 -
4/16/2012
Wu Guanzhong: Painting. Dance. Music
exhibition -
Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, China
“Of all the arts, music is held in the highest regard,” said Wu Guanzhong in one of his discussions on art. In classical art which began with an exclusive preoccupation with aesthetics, the emphasis first shifted to visual representation and then to music, rhythm and poetics to the extent that they are now indispensable, the painter elaborated. Central to the exhibition “Wu
Guanzhong: Painting.Dance.Music” are exactly the tempo, rhythm and interplay between void and solidity that characterize Wu Guanzhong’s paintings in the use of visual elements such as dots, lines and planes. More than 20 works in the collection of the Hong Kong Museum of Art will be on display, including the celebrated trilogy (namely Two Swallows, Former Residence of Qiu Jin and Reminiscence of Jiangnan), Wind from the Sea, Leaving Youth Behind, and The Easterly Breeze Blows Open the wisteria.
The exhibition is a special event staged in association with the dance poem “Two Swallows: Ode to Wu Guanzhong” presented by the Hong Kong Dance Company in November. Inspired by Wu Guanzhong’s paintings and enriched with multimedia effects, the programme is unprecedented in bringing together the rhythm and tempo of ink painting with those of Chinese dance set to original music performed live by a string sextet. Highlights of the programme will also be shown at the exhibition.
more info :
Hong Kong Museum of Art
10/8/2011 -
4/29/2012
Beyond the subterranean
exhibition -
The Röhsska Museum, of Design, Fashion and Decorative Arts, Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
BORTOM UNDERJORDEN
Torsten Jurell combines archeology and contemporary art from Beijing.
Explanatory texts only available in Swedish.
more info :
Röhsska museet, Gothenburg
5/20/2011 -
4/29/2012
Oya. From Ottoman Fashion to Turkish Folk Art.
exhibition -
State Museum of Ethnology, Munich, Bavaria, Munich, Germany
Oya. Von osmanischer Mode zu turkischer Volkskunst
Explanatory text only available in German.
more info :
Staatliches Museum fur Voelkerkunde, Munich
11/17/2011 -
5/20/2012
Explosive encounters - Nomads in a settled world.
exhibition -
State Museum of Ethnology, Munich, Bavaria, Munich, Germany
5000 Years with Nomads from Morocco to Tibet.
Explanatory text only available in German
more info :
Museum für Völkerkunde Hamburg
12/9/2011 -
5/27/2012
Beyond the Great Wave
exhibition -
Oriental Museum, Durham, Durham, United Kingdom
Hokusai, book illustration and the origins of manga.
more info :
http://www.dur.ac.uk/oriental.museum/
11/14/2011 -
6/2/2012
Patterns of Trade: Indian Textiles For Export, 1400–1900
exhibition -
Singapore Art Museum, Singapore, Singapore
Journey back to when India clothed the world. Patterns of Trade: Indian Textiles for Export, 1400–1900 presents over seventy works of strikingly patterned and brightly coloured Indian trade textiles from a recently acquired collection. These extraordinary cloths, some over 600 years old, show the deep roots of today’s globalised world and the surprising and fascinating impact of cultural exchange.
Wherever they were traded Indian textiles like these created a sensation. Loved for their quality and their bright and unfading colours, many became treasured heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation. From production sites in India, to markets as far apart as Japan, Southeast Asia, the Islamic world, and Europe, this exhibition helps explain the huge popularity and profound influence of Indian textiles. They have left an indelible mark, not only on the way we do business, but also on the way we dress ourselves and decorate our homes. This exhibition will be the first time that a major part of this important collection will be shown to the public.
more info :
Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore
2/1/2012 -
6/11/2012
NAGA PEOPLE – Jewelry and Ashes
exhibition -
Museum of Ethnology, Vienna, Austria
Long feared by their neighbors as notorious head-hunters, the Naga people live in the mountainous north-east of India. Nobody was interested in them. They recorded the stories of their life and their world not in ink on paper but in a complex system of textile patterns, jewelry designs and wood carvings – one that only they could read and understand. Objects of breathtaking beauty, their JEWELRY, recorded the desirable attributes of men and women in the woven patterns of their large shawls, ornaments their status and rank in society, and wooden figures allowed the deceased to live on in the tribe’s memory or told of vanquished enemies. And songs and myths preserved stories that transcended the repertoire of material forms.
Then the others arrived: the British colonial masters were the first, followed by American missionaries, and finally Indian soldiers who continue to suppress all attempts to build an independent Naga state. These three tidal waves from beyond the borders changed everything. The old material vocabulary was increasingly forgotten, the jewelry turned to ASH. Only a few of the older generation can still decipher the signs of their forefathers. Today they are the ones who give new life to the charred jewelry and burnish it – a glimmer that imparts appreciation of the Naga’s unique identity to the younger generation.
more info :
Museum of Ethnology, Vienna, Austria
6/13/2011 -
8/18/2012
Japanese Enamels: the Seven Treasures
exhibition -
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom
Following the ‘reopening’ of the country in the late 1850s, the art of cloisonné enamelling became one of the Japan’s most successful forms of manufacture and export. This display of over one hundred and twenty objects ranges from elegant inlaid metalwork of the late 17th century through the Golden Age and into the 20th century. Objects include examples from the renaissance of Japanese enamelling in the 1840s; the experimental works of the 1850s and 1860s by master artists such as Hayashi Kodenji, Namikawa Yasuyuki of Kyoto, Namikawa Sosuke of Tokyo and the output of the creative and prolific Ando Cloisonné Company of Nagoya.
The V&A’s historical collection combined with the Edwin Davies Gift of cloisonné enamels enables us to present a rounded picture of one of Japan’s most exquisite art forms.
more info :
V&A, London, UK
9/6/2011 -
9/10/2012
Buddhist Paintings in the Hall of the Underworld
exhibition -
National Museum of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Exhibits: A Collection of 20 Works including the “Ten Kings of the Underworld”
The National Museum of Korea presents a new collection of Buddhist paintings under the title of Buddhist Paintings in the Hall of the Underworld. Called “Myeongbujeon” in Korean, the Hall of the Underworld shows the world of the dead that is ruled by Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva who saves cursed spirits from hell and the Ten Kings who judge the dead who have fallen into hell. This exhibition of Buddhist art presents the paintings of the Buddhist underworld that have been collected by the National Museum of Korea. The paintings include the savior of the dead spirits and the Ten Judges.
“Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and the Kings of Hell” exhibits the ruler of the Buddhist underworld being flanked by the Ten Kings and the two messengers, Jikbu Saja and Gamjae Saja, of the underworld.
more info :
National Museum of Korea, Seoul
9/15/2011 -
9/14/2012
Wedding Ceremonies of Laos' Ethnic Groups
exhibition -
Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre, Luang Prabang, Laos
The exhibit includes a Yao Mun "celestial crown," a gold embroidered Tai Lao
bridal outfit, two documentary videos, photos and many more interesting
artefacts and information.
more info :
Traditional Arts and Ethnology Center, Luang Prabang, Laos
6/21/2011 -
9/30/2012
The Country of the First Blush of Dawn - Korean Art in the 18-19th Century
exhibition -
Ferenc Hopp Museum of Eastern Asiatic Arts, Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
The Hopp Ferenc East-Asia Museum of Art launches a temporary exhibition presenting the extremely exciting culture of Korea. Interiors, ceremonial clothing and ornamented objects represent Korean art.
Art in Korea was influenced by China and various neighbouring people. The last Korean dynasty, the Joseaon Dynasty ruled over the country for over five-hundred years (1392-1910). However, this period is divides Korean history: the early era was the 14-16th century, the second the 17-20th century. During these periods, independent Korean culture was in the focus, it was the beginning of dynastic historiography, and introduction of Korean letter characters. A culture of Korean literate officials formed, heralding the priority of painting, calligraphy and poetry. In the 18th century, portrait painting was highlighted, often portraying everyday life satirically. The most outstanding architectural achievement of the Joeson-era in the 17th century was the Gyeongbokgung Palace.
more info :
Hopp Ferenc East-Asian Art Museum, Budapest
1/1/2012 -
11/12/2012
Seeing the Kites Again
exhibition -
Singapore Art Museum, Singapore, Singapore
This exhibition, entitled Seeing the Kite Again, is inspired by the late master Wu Guanzhong’s metaphor of a kite and how it expresses the connection between an artist, his life and the people around him. By bridging Chinese and Western aesthetics, Wu blazed the trail for the modernisation of Chinese art. In 2008, the internationally acclaimed artist donated his largest gift of 113 important works to the National Heritage Board. Selected paintings from the donation has been presented since 2009 by the National Art Gallery, Singapore. The current exhibition showcases some of Wu’s most outstanding works produced from 1960s to 2000s in the oil and ink medium.
more info :
Singapore Art Museum
1/1/2012 -
12/31/2012
Learning Gallery
exhibition -
Singapore Art Museum, Singapore, Singapore
The Learning Gallery presents artworks selected to promote engagement and discussion of broader issues through contemporary art.
Everyday Objects at SAM at 8Q invites visitors to take a second look at familiar things through the eyes of artists from Singapore and Southeast Asia, where everyday things we know and sometimes take for granted are portrayed in a different light, making us think twice about their function and their relation to other objects.
People And Places at SAM showcases twenty Southeast Asian contemporary art works from the Singapore Art Museum's permanent collection that look at the people, places and spaces around us. Revolving around ideas of identity, urbanization, globalisation and the environment, these works raise pertinent issues on urban living in the modern cityscape and prompt us to consider how the artists have translated their visions about these issues into works of art.
Education programmes inspired by the artworks on display have also been specially developed for schools to offer students a multi-disciplinary and holistic contemporary art experience at the Learning Gallery. These programmes range from learning specific art techniques, to speech and drama puppet shows and writing workshops that encourage originality and the development of language skills and self-confidence.
more info :
Singapore Art Museum
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