December 4, 2010
Currently on view through February 13, 2011, the inaugural exhibition in the Museum of Fine Art’s new Ann and Graham Gund Gallery is Fresh Ink: Ten Takes on Chinese Tradition, a groundbreaking exhibition in which ten leading artists from China and the Chinese diaspora show new works that they created in direct response to masterpieces in the Museum’s world-renowned collection. What is reflected in this group of artists, in their fascinating biographies and diverse styles, and in their individual connections to tradition, is a commitment to understanding the past while forging a vibrant future—a concept at the core not only of Fresh Ink, but of contemporary China itself. By bridging eras—from the 11th century BC to the 21st—and bringing people together from Beijing to Boston and beyond, Fresh Ink presents the venerable tradition of Chinese art anew, offering a fresh encounter that goes beyond the preconceptions of traditional/contemporary, East/West.
This year's Rockefeller Symposium of East Asian Art at Harvard University is organized in conjunction with this exhibition (December 4, 2010, CGIS South Building, Tsai Auditorium). Chaired by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Professor of Asian Art Eugene Wang, Yukio Lippit, and Hao Sheng, the symposium panels will focus on the issues of gesture, subjectivity, and medium. The ten artists will be joined by curators and art historians from China and the US in day-long discussion, with an aim to reflect upon the Fresh Ink exhibition in relations to the stories of post-Mao Chinese art. The symposium is open to the public. Online registration begins in October.
Media coverage: Orientations, Art.China.cn.
