I shouldn’t really be publicising the artwork of another nation on this site, but the current exhibition of Khoan and Michael Sullivan’s collection of modern Chinese art at Asia House is well worth a visit.
Chinese twentieth century art faced many of the same issues as that of Korea, both pre- and post-division: how to strike the balance between old and new, East and West, and how to survive a repressive regime. It’s therefore fascinating to compare and contrast Korean paintings which you might have in your mind’s eye with what was happening in China at the time. This juxtaposition came to mind while browsing the show (Chinese on the left, Korean on the right, both from the same year):
Michael and Khoan Sullivan have been studying and collecting Chinese contemporary art since the 1940s, and this two-part show includes highlights from their collection. The first part, on now, has the more traditional-style paintings. Coming soon, the more contemporary ones.
A special treat will be hearing Professor Sullivan himself talking about the collection on 20 February. Be sure to visit this exhibition, more than once. The first part of the show finishes mid-March.
Images
- Top: Zhang Daqian: Four Dancing Girls (1942/3). Ink and body colour on paper, 79.7×116.7cm
- Above Left: Pang Xunqin: The Letter (1944/5). Ink and watercolour on paper, 42.7×36.7cm
- Above Right: Yu Yi-tae: Research (1944) (Korean)
- Below: Wang Jia’nan: Listening to the sounds of the autumn mountains (2000). Ink and colour on paper, 119×98 cm.
Links:
- Asia House exhibition page
- Buy Michael Sullivan’s Art and Artists of Twentieth Century China (1996) at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
- Or buy his Arts of China (4th Ed, 2000) from the UK or US Amazon sites