Spencer museum of art will exhibit A Tradition Redefined: Modern and Contemporary Chinese Ink Paintings from the Chu-tsing Li Collection, 1950–2000.
Chinese contemporary art is the product of dichotomies: old vs. new, traditional vs. modern, east vs. west, the individual vs. the state. Dr. Chu-tsing Li, KU’s distinguished emeritus historian of Chinese art and one of the earliest art historians to establish modern and contemporary Chinese art as a field of study, has amassed a collection that includes many paintings not previously exhibited in the West.
His collection is among the most comprehensive in this hemisphere, and it affords viewers an unusual opportunity to compare the styles, schools, and trends that arose during a period of fermentation and upheaval in Asia and elsewhere. A Tradition Redefined is a rare look at how legacy, experimentation, and the weight of the prevailing social order can influence artistic directions.
Drawn from Dr. Li’s private collection, this traveling exhibition is the first to survey Chinese ink paintings created during the second half of the 20th century. It presents more than 60 works by artists active in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and abroad. Assembled by Dr. Li over a 40-year period, the works effectively convey some of the artistic tensions brought about by the overwhelming changes in Chinese culture over those five decades. A Tradition Redefined brings us a unique glimpse of modern and contemporary Chinese art.
A Tradition Redefined is jointly organized by the Harvard University Art Museums and Phoenix Art Museum. The exhibition will be on view from February 21 to May 24, 2009, at Kress Gallery. -- www.spencerart.ku.edu
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