Lecture: Reconsidering the Landscape in Chinese Contemporary Art Practices

Michelle Yun Mapplethorpe, Director at the Asia Society Museum in New York City, will present a lecture entitled “Reconsidering the Landscape in Chinese Contemporary Art Practices,” inspired by the two exhibitions of Chinese contemporary art on view in the Walsh Gallery: ink/stone and SEEING IS BELIEVING: Crossings and Transpositions, Part II (January 21-March 5, 2022).

Yun Mapplethorpe’s lecture is part of the Edwin L. Weisl, Jr. Lectureships in Art History, funded by the Robert Lehman Foundation.

We invite you to join the conversation via the following options:

• In person in the Kelley Theater, located in the Quick Center for the Arts
• Streaming via thequicklive.com

Please note:

• For all Spring 2022 in-person events, all adult visitors and staff are required to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination and a valid ID.
• Children under 12 are not currently required to be vaccinated to participate in any programs.
• Proof of a negative Covid-19 test will not be accepted as an alternative to vaccination.
• A face mask or covering is required for all guests during indoor events, except in designated locations.

About SEEING IS BELIEVING: CROSSINGS AND TRANSPOSITIONS, PART II: This exhibition, organized by Professor of Studio Art Jo Yarrington, features work by five contemporary Chinese artists: He Jiancheng, Xiao Yao Ning, Luo Biwu, Zuo Zeng Yao and Zhang Zeng Min. Yarrington traveled to China in 2019 with four other American artists, where they presented Part I of this international exchange.

About ink/stone: This exhibition presents works by Chinese artists from the 20th and 21st centuries who engage with ink and stone as materials, subjects, and concepts. Employing a range of techniques and media, the artists make diverse points of contact with older Chinese artistic traditions. Some embrace the emphasis on ink brush strokes on paper or silk to render mountainous landscapes or rock forms; others incorporate media and styles usually associated with western painting: oil on canvas, or gouache and watercolor. Yet others use photography, industrial processes of fabrication, or create conceptual and performance art. The contemporary works are shown together with older stone objects such as Buddhist steles, a scholar’s rock, and inkstones, which provide historical touchpoints for the artists’ reinterpretations of these forms and media. The exhibition is curated by Ive Covaci, PhD, Adjunct Professor of Art History at Fairfield University.