The New Chinese Landscape: Recent Acquisitions

This exhibition of six paintings and one sculpture features a group of newly acquired contemporary Chinese works of art. Created between 1966 and 2006, the works were done by painters Liu Guosong (b. 1932), Li Huayi (b. 1948), Liu Dan (b. 1953), and Li Junyi (b. 1965) and by sculptor Zhan Wang (b. 1962). Representing the preeminent subject matter of Chinese paintings, the works rely on traditional materials and formats and thus continue “the great tradition.” At the same time, they exhibit radically new styles, approaches, and techniques at odds with that tradition and embrace a modern spirit, even though the spirit may differ from that of contemporary Western art.
Acquired between 1993 and 2006, these are the most important of the 25 contemporary Chinese works the Arthur M. Sackler Museum acquired during those years, reflecting the museum’s continuing efforts to assemble a collection of modern and contemporary Chinese art. Organized by Robert D. Mowry, Alan J. Dworsky Curator of Chinese Art, Arthur M. Sackler Museum. The exhibition is accompanied by a gallery brochure that presents the research findings of the curators.