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Asian Art
Chinese , Avalokitesvara, 557—618, 2006.37
The MFAH, gift of T. T. & W. F. Chao Global Foundation in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Ting Tsung Chao, with additional funds provided by the Director´s Accessions Fund
The Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Arts of China Gallery will present ceramics, bronzes, sculptures, and paintings dating from 3000 B.C. to the 21st century. Opening in the Caroline Wiess Law Building on October 17, 2010, the gallery will have a large historical scope and focus on three main themes: Buddhist art, early Chinese ritual art, and literati art.
The trade route known as the Silk Road that stretched from India to China led to the spread of Buddhism in China. In this section of the gallery, highlights include a Northern Zhou Avalokitesvara limestone sculpture from the 6th century that embodies the combination of visual cultures along the Silk Road, and 12 Ming period (1368—1644) Buddhist hanging scroll paintings. Early ritual art, including burial and ritual art found in tombs, will be featured in the second section. Painting and calligraphy, among the most revered art forms in China, will be shown in the literati section. This area will also display literati objects such as the elegant Ming Carved Steatite Scholar´s Table Screen.
Related contemporary artworks will be on view to demonstrate the continuation of artistic traditions. To enhance the contemporary perspective, the MFAH Portals Project has invited artist Cai Guo-Qiang to create a gate, or portal, into the gallery. Odyssey, his gunpowder drawing on 42 panels, will cover the walls of the gallery.
"For years now Cai Guo-Qiang´s gunpowder drawings have fascinated museum audiences from New York to Taiwan. But the public has rarely had an opportunity to see this Chinese-born artist make one. So when officials at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, commissioned him to create Odyssey, one of his largest such drawings, for its new Arts of China gallery, they decided to make the process available to the public." —New York Times
Read the MFAH news release at www.mfah.org/press to learn more.
The Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Arts of China Gallery is made possible by the Chao Family, with additional support from Mr. and Mrs. H. John Riley, Jr., and the Friends of Asian Art 2010.
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