Recasting the Past: The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100–1900 @ Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC & Shanghai Museum

Recasting the Past: The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100–1900

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

February 28 – September 28, 2025

Shanghai Museum 

November 12, 2025 – March 16, 2026

Incense burner in the form of a goose, China, 

Ming dynasty (1368–1644), early 15th century. Bronze

H. 14 1/2 in. (36.8 cm); W. 18 3/4 in. (47 6 cm)

Purchase, The Vincent Astor Foundation Gift, 2020 - 2020.335a, b

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Water dropper in the form of a rhinoceros

China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644), 15th century, Bronze

H. 2 1/8 in (5.4 cm); W. 5 in. (12.7 cm); D. 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm)  

Purchase, The Vincent Astor Foundation Gift, 2015 - 2015.294

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

"Taihe" bell, note "Jiazhong"

China, Song dynasty (960–1279), ca. 1105, reinscribed ca. 1174

Bronze, H. 9 in. (22.8 cm)

Courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing

In ancient China, bronze vessels were emblems of ritual and power. A millennium later, in the period from 1100 to 1900, such vessels were rediscovered as embodiments of a long-lost golden age that was worthy of study and emulation. This “return to the past” (fugu) was part of a widespread phenomenon across all the arts to reclaim the virtues of a classical tradition. An important aspect of this phenomenon was the revival of bronze casting as a major art form. Recasting the Past: The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100–1900 aims to be the most comprehensive study of Chinese bronzes during this period. This exhibition, co-organized by The Met and the Shanghai Museum, where it will open following its display in New York, presents the new aesthetic represented by these creative adaptations of the past, while exploring their cultural and political significance throughout China’s long history.

“While bronze as an art form has long held a significant role throughout China’s history, this exhibition explores an often-overlooked time period when a resurgence of craftsmanship and artistic achievements revitalized the medium,” said Max Hollein, The Met’s Marina Kellen French Director and Chief Executive Officer. “Bringing together major loans from institutions in China alongside works from The Met collection, this exhibition offers viewers an important opportunity to better understand the lasting aesthetic and cultural impact of bronze objects.”

The exhibition is divided into five thematic and chronological sections that explicate over 200 works of art—an array of bronze vessels complemented by a selection of paintings, ceramics, jades, and other media. Some 100 pieces from The Met collection will be augmented by nearly 100 loans from major institutions in China, Japan, Korea, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States to present the most comprehensive narrative of the ongoing importance of bronzes as an art medium throughout China’s long history. Featured in the exhibition are around 60 loans from institutions in China, including major works such as a monumental 12th-century bell with imperial procession from the Liaoning Provincial Museum, documented ritual bronzes for Confucian temples from the Shanghai Museum, and luxury archaistic vessels made in the 18th-century imperial workshop from the Palace Museum, Beijing.

Vase with archaistic design

China, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), 14th century

Bronze, H. 15 1/2 in. (39.4 cm) ; Diam. 8 in. (20.3 cm); 

Diam. of rim 4 3/8 in. (11.1 cm); Diam. of foot 5 5/8 in. (14.3 cm) 

Purchase, Brooke Russell Astor Bequest, 2014 - 2014.449

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ritual vessel (xizun)

China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), 

Qianlong mark and period (1736–95)

Bronze, H. 15 3/16 in. (38.6 cm);

Diam. 4 5/16 in. (11 cm); Wt. 36,4 lb (16.5 kg)

Courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing

The exhibition begins with the section “Reconstructing Ancient Rites,” which introduces how emperors and scholar-officials commissioned ritual bronzes from the 12th to the 16th century as part of an effort to restore and align themselves with antique ceremonies and rites. The exhibition continues with “Experimenting with Styles,” illustrating how the form, decoration, and function of ancient bronzes were creatively reinterpreted from the 13th to the 15th century. The next section, “Establishing New Standards,” explores further transformations in both the aesthetic and technical direction of bronze making from the 15th to the 17th century. The fourth section, “Living with Bronzes,” features a display in the Ming Furniture Room (Gallery 218) to demonstrate how bronzes were used in literati life from the 16th to the 19th century. The last section, “Harmonizing with Antiquity,” examines how the deep scholarly appreciation of archaic bronzes during the 18th and 19th centuries led to a final flourishing of bronze production.

Pengliang Lu, Brooke Russell Astor Curator of Chinese Art at The Met, said: “This exhibition attempts a long-overdue reevaluation of later Chinese bronzes by seeking to establish a reliable chronology of this art form across the last millennium of Chinese history. The exhibition will also distinguish outstanding works from lesser examples based on their artistic and cultural merits.”

This exhibition provides visitors with a captivating experience as they follow the shifting cultural roles and evolving canons of beauty represented in later bronzes.

Installation view of Recasting the Past: 

The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100–1900, 

on view February 28 – September 28, 2025 

at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Photo by Paul Lachenauer, courtesy of The Met

Installation view of Recasting the Past: 

The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100–1900, 

on view February 28 – September 28, 2025 

at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Photo by Paul Lachenauer, courtesy of The Met

Installation view of Recasting the Past: 

The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100–1900, 

on view February 28 – September 28, 2025 

at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Photo by Paul Lachenauer, courtesy of The Met

Later Chinese bronzes have long been stigmatized as poor imitations of ancient bronzes rather than being seen as fundamentally new creations with their own aesthetic and functional character. This exhibition redresses this misunderstanding by showcasing their artistic virtuosity, innovative creativity, and wide cultural impact. Through archaeologically recovered examples and cross-medium comparisons to a wide range of objects, the exhibition demonstrates the ongoing importance and influence of bronzes as well as how they inspired the form and function of works in other media.

Recasting the Past: The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100–1900 is curated by Pengliang Lu, Brooke Russell Astor Curator of Chinese Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue. A beautiful and very interesting book!

Recasting the Past

The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100-1900

by Pengliang Lu

Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art 

Distributed by Yale University Press

304 pages, 9.50 x 11.20 in, 300 color illus.

Hardcover, 9781588397904, 15 April 2025

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

The Met Fifth Avenue, Galleries 209-218

www.metmuseum.org

SHANGHAI MUSEUM

www.shanghaimuseum.net

Beauty Revealed: Images of Women in Qing Dynasty Chinese Painting at BAM/PFA, Berkeley, California

Beauty Revealed: Images of Women in Qing Dynasty Chinese Painting 

University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive - BAM / PFA 

September 25 - December 22, 2013 

Beauty About to Bathe, China, 18th century 

Hanging scroll, ink and colors on silk; 61 x 34 ¼ in. 

Private collection: Ferdinand M. Bertholet, Amsterdam 

Photo courstesy BAM / PFA 

Featuring nearly thirty works, Beauty Revealed: Images of Women in Qing Dynasty Chinese Painting is the first to bring together a genre of Chinese painting known as meiren hua, or paintings of beautiful women. Situating the works within the social and economic contexts of the High Qing period (midseventeenth to the late eighteenth century), the exhibition challenges the prevailing opinion that these subjects are high status women—either members of the court or other privileged women. By reading the visual codes embedded in the images, Beauty Revealed instead makes the case that these women are courtesans.

Borrowing seldom-before-utilized techniques from the West, including one-point perspective and heavy opaque colors, the artists, many of them unknown professional painters who painted on demand and for a fee, pursue a realism not previously seen in Chinese painting. Rather than the willowy beauty shown in a garden setting or surrounded by family among luxurious furnishings typical of earlier periods, these paintings generally feature a single, near life-size figure, often in a brazenly unladylike posture. Their garments tend to be low cut and transparent, and their bound feet exposed. 

For example, the direct gaze of the woman in Putting out the Lamp, addressed to the (presumably male) intended viewer, offers a suggestive undercurrent of greater intimacy, one of the hallmarks of this genre. Other codes of accessibility include the woman’s relaxed posture with right leg drawn up under left, the open sleeves that reveal her arms, and the highly stylized extension of her right hand in a controlled gesture reaching to snuff out the light. Her expression engages the audience in a way never before seen in Chinese figure painting. 

Putting Out the Lamp, China, late 18th century (detail) 

Hanging scroll, ink and colors on paper; 65 x 24-5/8 in. 

University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive

Gift of James Cahill and Hsingyuan Tsao 

Photo courstesy BAM / PFA 

The backdrops further draw viewers into the women’s world, conveying significant information about their wealth, taste, learning, and accomplishments. The women are depicted surrounded by everyday objects packed with erotic symbolism. The art has an immediate impact, inviting viewers to enter and enjoy another world, one perhaps longed for and unattainable. 

In addition to several paintings from BAM/PFA’s own collection, Beauty Revealed features loans from institutions and private collections from around the US and Europe. It is organized into distinct sections that explore the intimate life of women within the garden, home, bath, and brothel. Curated by Senior Curator for Asian Art Julia M. White in collaboration with UC Berkeley Professor Emeritus James Cahill, the exhibition is accompanied by an exquisitely illustrated catalog with essays by Cahill, White, and noted historian Sarah Handler. The catalog entries are by Chen Fongfong, with contributions by Nancy Berliner and White. Published by UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. Distributed by D.A.P. , 126 pages; 67 color illustrations.

Colloquium, November 22, 2013: In tribute to James Cahill's fundamental insights regarding Chinese experiments with perspectival representation during the late-imperial period, the Institute for East  Asian Studies will host a symposium on perspective in Chinese painting to accompany Beauty Revealed. Participants will include Eugene Wang, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Professor of Asian Art, History of Art & Architecture, Harvard University; Richard Vinograd, Christensen Fund Professor in Asian Art, Department of Art & Art History at Stanford University; and Nancy Berliner, Curator of Chinese Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. 

University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive - BAM / PFA

Museum's website: bampfa.berkeley.edu

Southeast Asian Art from the Crow Collection, Dallas, US, 2013-2014 Exhibition

Peninsulas and Dragon Tails: Southeast Asian Art from the Crow Collection
Crow Collection of Asian Art, Dallas
Through February 14, 2014

The Crow Collection of Asian Art in Dallas, Texas, USA, is home to a small but engaging group of objects from places that are somewhat obscured by the collective term "Southeast Asia.” The name came into use at the end of World War II to describe a part of the world that had for several generations appeared on Western maps variously as Tonkin, French Indo-China (later North Vietnam and South Vietnam), Dutch East Indies, and various other names and boundaries that have disappeared with the reemergence of independent states, many of which have chosen names to contrast with the colonial period. Burma is officially Myanmar (although Burma is making an internal comeback), Cambodia is Kampuchea, the former Sultanate of Brunei is Brunei Darussalam, Singapore is independent from Malaya, and Malaya is Malaysia. East Timor—which was a Portuguese and Catholic outpost on the island of Timor, claimed by the Dutch after centuries of trade monopoly, invaded by Japan, handed back to Portugal, and then ceded to Muslim Indonesia—is now independent, with claims to large underwater gas reserves in the maritime (always murky) region that separates it from Australia. 

Southeast Asia is a part of the world where boundaries continue to change, and the segments of this complex history portrayed in Peninsulas and Dragon Tails suggest the potential for enriched understanding of the modern world through greater familiarity with the region’s past and current cultural geography. 

Disciples of the Buddha Myanmar (Burma), Mandalay period, 19th century 

Wood with red lacquer and gilt [1979.16] 

Photo Courtesy of the Crow Collection of Asian Art, Dallas

Lacquered wood sculptures of young monks from the Mandalay period of Burmese history conjure the missing object of their devotion, the historical Buddha, who taught renunciation as a path to bliss, even while British colonials expelled the last king and queen, cooled themselves on sultry porches, and oversaw immense plantations of rubber trees on land where there had recently been only forest. A textile from 20th-century Bali reflects ancient associations between fortune, misfortune, time, and spirits, mixed with advice on preferred market days for various goods, local cults, and Hinduism as imported with people arriving from Java. The Crow Collection’s 7th-century sandstone sculpture of four-armed Vishnu, a rare example of early Khmer culture in Cambodia, takes its place alongside several later sculptures from the period of the Angkor sanctuaries. As always, the sculpture seems to occupy more space than its actual measurements would suggest. 

The scope of this exhibition touches on only a few times and places within the rich and complex history of Southeast Asia and its diverse cultures—ethnically varied, speaking localized languages, writing with different scripts, wearing different clothes, practicing different faiths, honoring different social structures. The objects shown are grouped by the modern countries with which they are particularly identified—Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia. 

The exhibition includes maps with boundaries of the shifting cultural spheres that produced the objects on view. The importance of geography to culture in this region emerges: the Himalayan mountains of the Eurasian continent branch to the southeast in fingers of land and terminate in the islands of the “Pacific Ring of Fire,” where the earth’s mantle shakes, and the land, rivers, and seas mete out judgments that are repeatedly honored.

Trammell & Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art Website: www.crowcollection.org

Contemporary Kogei Art Craft, Kanazama, Japan, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art

Art Crafting Towards the Future
21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan
Curator: AKIMOTO Yuji, Museum’s Director
April 28 - August 4, 2012

Artwork by MITSUKE Masayasu, Untitled, 2009
Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts
Private collection
Image Courtesy of 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa

Since becoming director of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan, in 2007, Yuji AKIMOTO has had contact with the vital spirit of Kanazawa's kôgei

Art Crafting towards the Future inquires into the contemporary validity of kôgei (Japanese artisan craft) and universalness of its appeal. The exhibition, this is to say, asks: Is kôgei an art genre expressive of our times, capable of speaking to people everywhere? Like other visual media, today’s kôgei is subject to the post-modern trends of the times. Like animation, manga, design, and contemporary art, it is an expressive medium used to create compelling new images. To this end, it employs methods specific to kôgei, and it references kôgei’s historical vision. Yet, today’s kôgei takes a clearly different approach from past kôgei.
In its visual imagery, for example, today’s kôgei resonates with animation, manga, design, and contemporary art—genres from which it has previously stood apart. In its attitude towards exhibiting, as well—while exhibit methods differ contingent on the creativity of each artist—today’s kôgei is turned to face the world at large. There is, thus, a clear trend of kôgei artists working in widely varying styles who are showing their works as art of the present day.
For this exhibition, I would like to refer to kôgei work of such character as “futurist,” in the sense of “kôgei of a new age” and “future-oriented kôgei.” The exhibits by the 12 featured artists are all kôgei, but I would like viewers to see and enjoy them as today’s art."

AKIMOTO Yuji, Director of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Exhibition’s curator

CONTEMPORARY KOGEI FEATURED ARTISTS
AOKI Katsuyo, b. 1972, Tokyo
HAYAMA Yuki, b. 1961, Arita, Saga
IKURA Takashi, b. 1962, Toki, Gifu
KITAMURA Tatsuo, b. 1952, Wajima, Ishikawa. Unryuan (lacquer craft studio)
KUWATA Takuro, b. 1981, Fukuyama, Hiroshima
MITSUKE Masayasu, b. 1975, Kaga, Ishikawa
NAKAMURA Kohei, b. 1948, Kanazawa, Ishikawa
NAKAMURA Shinkyo, b. 1957, Fukuoka
NOGUCHI Harumi, b. 1948, Tokyo
OHI Toshio, b. 1958, Kanazawa, Ishikawa
TAKEMURA Yuri, b. 1980, Nagoya, Aichi
YAMAMURA Shinya, b. 1960, Chofu, Tokyo

Art Crafting towards the Future is organized by the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan (Kanazawa Art Promotion and Development Foundation)

21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan
Museum's Website: www.kanazawa21.jp

Wereldmuseum Rotterdam is 125 years old. 125 masterpieces exhibition mark the anniversary

125 Masterpieces 
Wereldmuseum, Rotterdam 
23 June - 13 November 2011

The Wereldmuseum in Rotterdam is 125 years old. It has survived a wave of criticism, completed a total renovation in a single year, recovered its original grandeur, published eight catalogues within one year, mounted four major exhibitions, and cooperated in international projects with Venice, Beijing, Taichung and Taipei. 

Courtesy WERELDMUSEUM ROTTERDAM (Persbericht)

125 Masterpieces mark the anniversary

To mark the anniversary, collectors and connoisseurs of non-western art have selected the 125 most beautiful works of art from the museum's collection for the exhibition 125 Masterpieces. Beauty is the exhibition's keyword. In the hushed atmosphere of soberly furnished rooms, where each masterpiece is displayed aesthetically and on its own, all attention is drawn to the breathtaking refinement and the powerful expression and vitality of works from Tibet, China, Japan, Oceania, America, Africa and Indonesia. In the context of religion and spirituality, these works are comparable to those of Da Vinci, Raphael and Michelangelo in western art. In terms of expression, they can be compared to Picasso, Max Ernst and Roberto Matta. Only when the best products of a culture are shown, is a claim of cultural authenticity justified.

Exhibition Catalogue

The Wereldmuseum is also presenting the masterpieces in a five-part catalogue: I. Restored to former glory; II. Tibet-China, Japan; III. Indonesia & Islamic art; IV. Oceania; and V. Africa & America. Each part contains text and photos that illustrate the texture and beauty of the objects. The part called 'Restored to former glory' recounts the history and development of the Wereldmuseum, which began as the Royal Yacht Club of Prince Hendrik and has evolved into a progressive, contemporary museum with a rich, historical art collection. The five-part catalogue was created in collaboration with external art historians, collectors and connoisseurs.

WERELDMUSEUM, ROTTERDAM
www.wereldmuseum.nl

ACAW 2011 NYC Asian Art Celebration

Asian Contemporary Art Week 2011

New York City 

March 21 - 31, 2011 

Now in its seventh year, Asian Contemporary Art Week celebrates and promotes Asian contemporary art through artist conversations, panels, screenings, book launches, exhibitions, and curator tours at over 35 museums and galleries. This year, ACAW take place throughout New York City, and opened on the first day of spring: March 21, also celebrated as the New Year in many countries of Central Asia. Events take place at various locations around NYC for ten days, ending on March 31. 

RACHID RANA

Rashid Rana, Aar Paar. 2000-2004. 

Collaborative project by Shilpa Gupta and Huma Mulji in Karachi.

“Asian Contemporary Art Week highlights the latest trends in contemporary art while recognizing that contemporary art in Asia doesn’t come out of nowhere,” says Asia Society Museum Director Melissa Chiu. “This year’s program showcases emerging artists and work never seen in the U.S., and also recognizes the enduring importance of influential artists such as M.F. Husain and Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, both participants in our series of artist discussions.” 

As part of its mission to educate the public and to increase the visibility of artists, ACAW 2011 features DIALOGUES IN ASIAN CONTEMPORARY ART, a series of talks with more than 25 leading artists and professionals in the field. “Over the course of the week, ACAW Dialogues will strive to disseminate broader, more thorough knowledge of art communities and artists’ activities within and outside of Asia,” notes ACAW director Leeza Ahmady. “Enthusiasm for this project continues to build and expand, with a U.S. West Coast-based consortium now coming together to plan similar initiatives in San Francisco.” 

With numerous exhibitions and artist dialogues, ACAW 2011 includes artists from the US and Asia. Among the countries represented are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan and Pakistan. 

MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN

Monir Farmanfarmaian, Untitled, 2010. 

Mirror mosaic, reverse glass painting, 210 x 130 cm. 

Courtesy of the artist and Haines Gallery San Francisco 

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ACAW DIALOGUES include: a discussion with Mariam Ghani at the Museum of Modern Art (March 21); Rashid Rana and Pooja Sood at Sotheby’s (March 22); M.F. Husain  and Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian at Asia Society Museum (March 23); David Elliott, Massimiliano Gioni and Suzanne Cotter at the Guggenheim Museum (March 25); Ushio Shinohara and Tomokazu Matsuyama at Asia Society Museum (March 28); Liu Xiaodong at the Guggenheim Museum (March 29); Xie Xiaoze interviewed by Robert Hobbs at China Institute (March 29); a discussion with Asian Cultural Council 2011 grantees/contemporary artists Rahraw and Manizhah Omarzad, Firoz Mahmud, Chaw Ei Thein, and Fong Wah Phoebe Hui led by Leeza Ahmady at Location One (March 29); Yang Jiechang and Zheng Shengtian in conversation with Jane DeBevoise at Museum of Chinese in the Americas (March 31) and Almagul Menlibayeva at Priska C. Juschka Fine Art (March 31). Another highlight is a dramatic installation by New York-based Korean artist ATTA KIM, who will create a 5 and 1/2-ft-tall, 1,300 pound ice sculpture of a seated Buddha that will slowly melt in Rubin Museum of Art’s spiral lobby, from March 25 through 27. ACAW Dialogues program is sponsored by Asian Cultural Council, New York.  

ACAW 2011 PARTICIPATING VENUES include: Aperture Gallery; Asia Art Archive; Asian Cultural Council; Asia Society and Museum; Bose Pacia; China Institute Chambers Fine Art; Ethan Cohen Fine Arts; Gallery Korea/Korean Cultural Service; Indo-American Arts Council; Jack Shainman Gallery; Japan Society; Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller Gallery; Location One; Meulensteen; Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA); Museum of Modern Art; Priska C. Juschka Fine Art; Queens Museum of Art; Rubin Museum of Art; sepia EYE; Sotheby’s; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Sundaram Tagore Gallery; Taipei Cultural Center; Tally Beck Contemporary; Thomas Erben Gallery; Tyler Rollins Fine Art; and Zürcher Studio. 

Asian Contemporary Art Week is an initiative of the Asian Contemporary Art Consortium, which includes: Melissa Chiu and Miwako Tezuka, Asia Society Museum; Steve Pacia and Shumita Bose, Bose Pacia; Agnes Hsu, China Institute; Ethan Cohen, Ethan Cohen Fine Arts; Jean Kim, Gana Art Gallery; Jack Shainman, Jack Shainman Gallery; Joe Earle, Japan Society; Leila Heller, Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller Gallery; Esa Epstein, sepia EYE;  Alexandra Munroe and Sandhini Poddar, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Barbara London, The Museum of Modern Art; Thomas Erben, Thomas Erben Gallery; Tyler Rollins, Tyler Rollins Fine Arts; Jack and Susy Wadsworth, Collectors; Xiaoming Zhang, Private Art Consultant; and Leeza Ahmady, ACAW Director (Independent Curator).

ACAW web site : www.acaw.net

Sumatra Isle of Gold Exhibition at the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore

Sumatra: Isle of Gold 

Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore

Through 7 November 2010

Sumatra: Isle of Gold, features over 300 objects that showcase the unique culture and identity of Sumatra, especially the cross-cultural influences that have shaped the island from ancient times to the present day.

Co-organised by the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM), the National Museum of Indonesia and the Museum Volkenkunde (National Museum of Ethnology), Leiden, Sumatra: Isle of Gold is the first international travelling exhibition on Sumatran culture. The exhibition first opened in Jakarta last year and then travelled to Leiden. For the show in Singapore, the ACM has incorporated over 100 additional objects from its own collection and private collections. Sumatra Isle of Gold is also the highlight of the National Heritage Board’s Fokus Indonesia Festival.

“This cross-cultural exhibition is especially significant for Singapore. Sumatra was a point of arrival for new ideas and beliefs, which gives the island a significant place within Southeast Asia’s history. The exhibition reveals to our audiences Sumatra’s rich cultural legacy through an array of beautiful objects in many media,” said Dr Alan Chong, Director of the Asian Civilisations Museum.

Crossroads of Asia: As early as the 3rd century BCE, Indian records mention Suvarnadvipa or ‘Gold Island’ in reference to Sumatra and other parts of Southeast Asia. The island’s strategic location and wealth of natural resources, including gold, pepper and aromatics, made it a busy entrepot for trade. These interactions gave rise to the diverse cultures, customs and peoples found on the island today.

Early foreign influences came via trade with India, with Hindu-Buddhist traditions and beliefs influencing the island’s coastal communities. Sumatra would later become the seat of power for the mighty Hindu-Buddhist Srivijaya kingdom (7th to 13th centuries), which dominated much of island Southeast Asia for over 400 years. Chinese settlers had been coming to Sumatra over the centuries, resulting in sizeable Chinese communities by the 19th century, where they worked as artisans, businessmen, administrators and tax collectors, among other professions. Following the decline of Srivijaya, Islamic sultanates established themselves in the coastal areas from the 13th to 16th centuries, and with the spread of Islam came cultural influences in architecture, textiles and clothing, and the court arts.

Sumatra’s rich natural resources also attracted European traders who sought the much- wanted pepper, gold, and camphor and benzoin, ingredients for perfumery and incense-making. The Portuguese and the Dutch arrived in the 16th and 17th centuries respectively and European influence left its mark on both the courts as well as remote tribal communities who were converted to Christianity.

“The exhibition examines how the various cultures in Sumatra have been influenced, and in turn shaped others, through interactions with the many foreign influences that arrived at the island. This approach to looking at culture as a synthesis of many different influences complements the way the ACM has curated its own galleries and exhibitions over the years,” said Ms Heidi Tan, Senior Curator (Southeast Asia), Asian Civilisations Museum.

Sumatra: Isle of Gold - Exhibition Storyline and Highlights

The exhibition opens with an introduction to Sumatra’s pre-history, and then breaks into sections on Indian, Chinese, Islamic, European and regional influences. 

Pre-history
A key exhibition highlight is one of the oldest exhibits on show – a Bronze Age vessel from Jambi in East Sumatra. This vessel dates back over 2000 years and is elaborately decorated with motifs of hooks and spirals, which are iconic motifs found among many early Southeast Asian artefacts from that period.

Indian
The Hindu-Buddhist traditions of Sumatra’s Srivijayan rulers are reflected in a number of religious icons from Palembang, where the empire was based. An impressive sculpture of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, which weighs over 470 kilogrammes, is one of the highlights in this section.

Chinese
Peranakan or ‘local born’ communities which resulted from inter-marriages between the Chinese and locals helped to spread their traditions, seen through the cross-adoption of both Chinese and local designs and techniques in textiles, clothing, jewellery and other materials on display in this section. The rebana, a type of local hand-drum, incorporates traditional Chinese symbols such as the Chinese phoenix and qilin motifs.

Islamic
A resplendent gold crown that once belonged to the Sultan of Siak is testament to the powerful Islamic sultanates of Sumatra. Set with diamonds and rubies imported from West Asia, this famous crown still retains Hindu-Buddhist influence in the form of three lotus flowers. Royal regalia, such as this crown, were treasured heirlooms that symbolised the sultans’ royal power and the right to rule.

Regional
While international trade flourished, regional trade also took place between the people of Sumatra such as the Minangkabau, the Nias and the Batak. A highlight in this section is a glittering gold necklace, which would have been worn by Nias nobility, who traded slaves for gold from mainland Sumatra.

European
Finally, with increasing European presence in Sumatra in the 19th century, items displaying a curious mix of European influences and local motifs were created for local use and for export. Of special note is a tirai, a ceremonial hanging with Mughal Indian origins, and full of surprising details drawn from various cultures. Its central motif is a European coat-of-arms, flanked by women in European dress and cavorting dogs. Floral motifs sewn in gold thread, typical of Islamic embroidery, decorate the entire hanging which is made of velvet, a popular local material.

“Just like Singapore, this ‘Island of Gold’ was a busy port and a meeting point for cultures from all over Asia. Through this exhibition, we hope that many Singaporeans will discover the richness of Sumatra’s history and culture, and the ancient links between Singapore and one of our closest neighbours,” said Ms Heidi Tan.

This travelling exhibition began at The British Museum in London. Previous venues includes The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Louvre Museum in Paris. At the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore, the exhibition makes its Asian debut.

Sumatra: Isle of Gold
Asian Civilisations Museum - Special Exhibitions Gallery
30 July - 7 November 2010

Also on view at the ACM: Supermighty! Heroes of Asia, 24 Jul 2010 - 13 Feb 2011 (Shaw Foundation Foyer) - ACM’s second exhibition curated especially for children, it featuring colourful displays and engaging artefacts from the museum collection. This exhibition explores the legends behind some of the well-known and well-loved characters of Asian myths.

2010 Previous exhibitions at the ACM

The Testament Of Tebaran: Borneo's Moment Of Truth, 19 Jun 2010 - 18 Jul 2010 (Shaw Foundation Foyer) - Held in conjunction with Month of Photography Asia 2010, this exhibition by acclaimed National Geographic photographer Mattias Klum is a powerful and revealing testimony of the devastation of Borneo’s tropical rainforests, which are among the oldest and most biologically diverse in the world. “Thoughtfulness begins with seeing. My job as a photographer is to make that seeing easier. What we appreciate and are fascinated by, we will also want to preserve.” – Mattias Klum

Treasury of the World: Jewelled Arts of India in the Age of the Mughals (Special Exhibitions Gallery) - Organised by The al-Sabah Collection, National Council for Culture, Arts & Letters, Kuwait, in collaboration with the Asian Civilisations Museum. 

The Egawa Donation: A Collection of Japanese and Chinese Inspired Ceramics, 19 Dec 2009 - 13 Jun 2010 (Shaw Foundation Foyer) - A collection of European ceramics inspired by patterns and shapes of the Japanese and Chinese originals.

Land of the Morning: The Philippines and its People, 16 Oct 2009 - 10 Jan 2010 (Special Exhibitions Gallery) - About the rich cultural heritage of the Philippines, an eclectic blend of indigenous local cultures and Spanish, Chinese, Southeast Asia and Islamic influences. Organised in collaboration with the Ayala Museum, Manila.

Asian Civilisations Museum
1 Empress Place, Singapore 179555

www.acm.org.sg

Art Fair Tokyo New Executive Director Takahiro Kaneshima

Announcement of Change in Executive Director at ART FAIR TOKYO

The ART FAIR TOKYO Committee Executive announces that Misa Shin, Executive Director of ART FAIR TOKYO since 2005, will be stepping down at the end of May 2010.

Mina Shin has directed a total of four editions of ART FAIR TOKYO, since her appointment as Executive Director in November 2005. During this time, her aims have been to encourage the development of an art market in Japan and to create a truly international art fair in Tokyo. Under each year of Shin’s direction, ART FAIR TOKYO has attracted a wide variety of international and domestic art collectors and art enthusiasts. The fifth edition, held in 2010, attracted a record 50,000 visitors. “This proved that the spring-time ART FAIR TOKYO has firmly established itself on the international art scene”. Shin succeeded in developing the Japanese art world by nurturing a new generation of potential collectors through her message that art should be thought of as something to buy, and not just as something to look at.   

In the future, Shin will serve as an Advisor to ART FAIR TOKYO.

The ART FAIR TOKYO Committee Executive announces that Takahiro Kaneshima will be appointed as the new Executive Director of ART FAIR TOKYO as of June 1, 2010. For the last five years, Kaneshima has been active in the East Asian art scene, particularly in the field of support-activities for artists and the management and coordination of many art projects.

"I am very excited to have the chance, as Executive Director of ART FAIR TOKYO, to sincerely and dynamically work towards demonstrating the wonders of Tokyo’s art scene to the world," Kaneshima said. "We need to consider the specific role of Tokyo in Asia and how ART FAIR TOKYO should function in the global art scene. I believe that ART FAIR TOKYO can be more appealing to the world by reflecting Japan's unique characteristics and its potential, so I greatly look forward to further developing and refining the quality of the fair."

“Working on the foundations built by Shin, ART FAIR TOKYO will continue to grow, taking advantage of Kaneshima’s network and his proven skills of organizing fascinating projects in the East Asian region.” (Press release)

Takahiro Kaneshima’s Short Biography

Executive Director of ART FAIR TOKYO since June 1, 2010, Director of FEC (Far East Contemporaries), Takahiro Kaneshima has managed research projects related to contemporary art in East Asia, activities for supporting artists, and interexchange activities. After graduating with an M.A. in Media and Governance from the Graduate School of Keio University, he worked for NOKIA and Toshiba Corporation. Since 2005, he has been involved in a variety of contemporary art businesses in Beijing. Kaneshima has worked for TOKYO GALLERY + BTAP in Beijing, and served as the East Asia producer for "ART iT." Takahiro Kaneshima was born in 1977 in Tokyo.

Next Post about the New Organizational Structure of the Art Fair Tokyo Committee

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Liu Gang - Merlin, Champagne and Regalia

(c) Liu Gang - All rights reserved

Paper Dream N.06, 2008

C-Print, 124x 102 cm

Courtesy of the Artist

This first solo exhibition by artist Liu Gang presents selections from his new photographic series, Paper Dream (2008). Using images appropriated from newspaper advertisements for upscale housing developments in Beijing, the artist creates works of sheer excess and absurdity, but also comments on new forms of identity in China. The show is part of an ongoing exhibition series reflecting collaboration between the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) and Lan Club that features the best emerging artists of Beijing. “As a witness of contemporary life in Beijing and its fast moving developments, Liu Gang: Merlin, Champagne & Regalia is the perfect fit for UCCALAN(D), whose ambition is to stand at the heart of urban creativity,” says UCCA' Director Jerome Sans.

Liu Gang

Merlin, Champagne & Regalia

March 7 - April 4, 2009

Presented by UCCA

http://www.ucca.org.cn/

and Lan Club

Curators: David Spalding and Snejana Krasteva

Lan Club Address:

4/F Twin Tower,

B12 Jianguomen Waidajie

Beijing

P.R. China

Manga Kamishibai The Art of Japanese Paper Theater

 

Eric P. Nash

MANGA KAMISHIBAI

The Art of Japanese Paper Theater

Abrams ComicArts

 

  Book Cover © Abrams ComicArts

 

Before giant robots, space ships, and masked super heroes filled the pages of Japanese comic books--known as manga--such characters were regularly seen on the streets of Japan in kamishibai stories. Manga Kamishibai: The Art of Japanese Paper Theater tells the history of this fascinating and nearly vanished Japanese art form that paved the way for modern-day comic books, and is the missing link in the development of modern manga.

During the height of kamishibai in the 1930s, storytellers would travel to villages and set up their butais (miniature wooden prosceniums), through which illustrated boards were shown. The storytellers acted as entertainers and reporters, narrating tales that ranged from action-packed westerns, period pieces, traditional folk tales, and melodramas, to nightly news reporting on World War II. More than just explaining the pictures, a good storyteller would act out the parts of each character with different voices and facial expressions. Through extensive research and interviews, author Eric P. Nash pieces together the remarkable history of this art and its creators. With rare images reproduced for the first time from Japanese archives, including full-length kamishibai stories, combined with expert writing, this book is an essential guide to the origins of manga.

About ERIC P. NASH
Eric P. Nash has been a researcher and writer for the New York Times since 1986. He is the author of several books about architecture and design, including Manhattan Skyscrapers and The Destruction of Penn Station. Frederik L. Schodt is an author, interpreter, and translator who has written extensively on Japanese culture and Japan-U.S. relations.

 

Manga Kamishibai
The Art of Japanese Paper Theater
By Eric P. Nash with introduction by Frederik L. Schodt
Abrams ComicArts 
January 2009 
ISBN: 0-8109-5303-X
8 5/8 x 9 1/4 - 304 pages
Hardcover with jacket
250 full-color illustrations, also includes a poster jacket
$35.00

Matthew Ngui at the National Museum of Singapore - Point of View

Matthew Ngui: Points of View 

National Museum of Singapore 

28 May - 29 June 2008

Matthew Ngui, one of Singapore’s most prominent contemporary visual artists, brings a life-sized cross section view of an Olympic pool right into the National Museum’s gallery. In this presentation of Matthew Ngui: Points of View, 10 of Ngui’s most important works are brought together in a major solo exhibition. With this survey exhibition of key installations and video works alongside specially commissioned pieces, Singaporeans get an overview of the breadth and significance of two decades of his artistic practice.

Organised by the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Sydney, Australia, Matthew Ngui: Points of View is probably the first major touring exhibition of a Singaporean artist organised by an overseas museum. It was shown at MCA from June to August 2007 and at the John Curtin Gallery in Perth from February to March 2008.

"We are proud to champion the work of one of Singapore’s major artists through this collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney. We have commissioned Matthew for one of our permanent art installation in the Museum. His work often makes us think about how culture is represented and this is a rich area of exploration that the National Museum is intrigued with," says Lee Chor Lin, Director, National Museum of Singapore.

Matthew Ngui’s work questions the validity of fixed or singular meanings and truths through a signature use of anamorphosis (a fragmented image coming together at a single point). The playful, interactive environments he creates toy with perception and perspective, embracing the shifting point of view as a way of interrogating meaning and identity. Visitors to the museum will get to view seminal installations including works such as Chair (2007), in which what seems an ordinary piece of furniture breaks and scatters, or forms back into a whole depending on the angle it is viewed from.

Matthew Ngui says of the show, "We had to re-look at the whole idea of a retrospective or a survey, and do a little of both. We’ve decided to look at the context in which the previous works have been developed and worked through, but also at the same time to make new works that will cover, in a sense, new ground or make little experiments for larger projects for the future."

Curator: Russell Storer

NMS - NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SINGAPORE

93 Stamford Road, Singapore 178897

www.nationalmuseum.sg

Jérôme Sans: New Director of UCCA - Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing

On March 1st, Jérôme Sans joined Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) as its new director

Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) is a non profit art center founded in Beijing by collectors Guy and Myriam Ullens in November 2007. UCCA presents exhibitions of established and emerging artists and is developing a trusted platform to share knowledge through education and research.

The arrival of Jérôme Sans initiates a phase of new developments following UCCA’s successful launch led by artistic director Fei Dawei. Fei Dawei’s leadership, as well as his contributions to the preparation and successful opening of UCCA, has been indispensable. Before the art center project began, Fei Dawei was responsible for organizing research, collections, and exhibitions for years as director of the Ullens Foundation. Under his professional guidance, the Ullens Foundation became one of the most active organizations promoting Chinese contemporary art worldwide and also one of the largest centers for the collection of Chinese contemporary artwork within two years after its establishment in 2003. Fei Dawei’s rich experience in organizing exhibitions and his comprehensive knowledge of Chinese contemporary art circles led the Ullens to invite him to lead the preparation and opening of UCCA as artistic director. Since 2005, Fei Dawei has been instrumental in the successful establishment of the art center and was the curator for the opening exhibition: '85 New Wave: The Birth of Chinese Contemporary Art. During this period, he also continued his work as director of the Ullens Foundation. Having set the organization of UCCA on the right course, Fei Dawei has now chosen to concentrate on his primary interests of academic research and promoting art education.

Jérôme Sans has been known for rethinking the curatorial practice and approach, first as an independent curator then as an inventor of new models of institution, such as the world acclaimed Palais de Tokyo in Paris that he co-founded and directed until January 2006. After creating the Palais de Tokyo, Jérôme Sans moved to the UK where he became director of programs at the BALTIC Center for Contemporary Art in Gateshead. Jérôme Sans curated numerous international exhibitions such as the 2000 Taipei Biennial in Taiwan My Home is Yours / Your Home is Mine co-curated in 2001 with Hou Hanru at Tokyo Opera City, the 2005 Lyon’s Contemporary Art Biennial, and the 2006 Nuit Blanche in Paris. He is also the author of several books including Araki, published by Taschen in 2001, Au Sujet de about Daniel Buren, published by Flammarion in 1998, the recently released In The Arab World Now published by Galerie Enrico Navarra in 2008 and has contributed to various art publications. Jérôme Sans is among the most creative and adventurous personalities working in today’s art scene. ''UCCA’s audience is mainly composed of a new generation of Chinese in search of change and new things,” said Guy Ullens, founder of UCCA. “The choice of Jerome is a perfect fit for us.’’

Jérôme Sans’ ambition is to make UCCA a new model for private institutions, a place to live, and a platform for open dialogue. UCCA is acting as a beacon for the arts in China, as well as a major point of reference in the international art scene. Expanding beyond the traditional concept of a museum, Jérôme Sans’s goal is to develop UCCA into a distinctive destination that breaks the outdated mold of how an art center is perceived and welcomes a variety of audiences. “To achieve such objectives,” said Jérôme Sans, “UCCA will showcase the latest of China’s contemporary art, design, fashion, music and multimedia in a vibrant, exciting, alternative space, featuring a restaurant, a bar, a shop and a cinema, to offer a unique experience of contemporary creativity’’.

Jérôme Sans' experience, his far-reaching work on international projects with artists and key art world figures, and his long experience working in Asia for major exhibitions (Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Bangkok) and with Chinese artists such as, Chen Zhen, Wang Du, Yan Pei Ming, Huang Yong Ping, Wang Jianwei, as well as curators such as Hou Hanru and Fei Dawei, will enable UCCA to further expand its cultural program and facilitate the access of its audience. While UCCA is an art organization in China serving local audiences, it has also brought together an international team. This expansiveness reflects the continued growth of cultural life in Beijing and stands at the center of UCCA’s vision. By being both local and international, UCCA aims to bring art dialogue between China and the wider world to a higher level.

Ullens Center for Contemporary Art

798 Art District,

No.4 Jiuxianqiao Lu,

P.O. Box 8503,

Chaoyang District,

Beijing

P.R.China 100015

http://www.ucca.org.cn/

The First Art Fair Tokyo 2005 Explained

Art Fair Tokyo 2005

Japan’s largest gallery show, Art Fair Tokyo, opens in August 2005 at the Tokyo International Forum. With more than 80 national and international primary galleries, the fair will be a showcase of 1500 selected art works, ranging from antiques, traditional Japanese paintings, modern art, to contemporary art.

Concept of Art Fair Tokyo

Art fair is a trade fair which consists mainly of renowned galleries dealing with primary artworks. Every year, the likes of Art Basel or the Armory Show, effectively activate as hubs in the contemporary cultural and economic market, receiving a lot of attention from all over the world. Art Fair Tokyo is initiated as a cultural and economic representative from Japan.

Art Fair is not an exhibition as seen in the art museums

One of the interesting and important aspects regarding Art Fair Tokyo is that people can buy the exhibits. Purchasing artworks is much to do with loving art, bringing it into one's life as well as enjoying the whole process such as talking with gallerists and researching. Tokyo Art Fair provides useful information for art collecting and organizes a series of small seminars in which people can learn how to start collecting artworks. A friendly seminar series entitled "Let's go buy Art" will give people some clues.

Invitation to a lifestyle with art

In the 21st century, art is an essential part of our lifestyle. Art Fair Tokyo which exhibits only carefully selected and high quality art works, encompassing contemporary art, modern art and antiques, aims to be a perfect event for everyone who is interested in culture. On this occasion, we would like to collaborate with you to promote a new way of life with art.

The Art Fair Tokyo Committee