Open Parameters—late nineteenth and early twentieth century’s Chinese calligraphy and painting from the Zhou Cezong’s donation

Thursday, April 13 2023 5:00pm - 7:00pm

Emile H. Mathis Gallery, Mitchell 170

Open Parameters Poster

Please join us Thursday, April 13th at 5PM for the graduate thesis exhibition opening of Open Parameters—late nineteenth and early twentieth century’s Chinese calligraphy and painting from the Zhou Cezong’s donation curated by Jingwei Zeng.

This exhibition explores the diversity and heterogeneity of late nineteenth and early twentieth Chinese calligraphy and painting. The art in this period has always been denigrated as the reflection of cultural stagnation and national humiliation. However, through the prism of material culture, this exhibition demonstrates its extraordinary resilience and splendor amid unprecedented levels of political and social turmoil. This exhibition also challenged the long-established terms such as “traditionality” and “modernity” to define Chinese fin de siècle art: instead of seeing them as mutually exclusive concepts with fixed characteristics, this exhibition redefines them as fluid categories that existed in the vast crucible of cultural choices—choices made available by the influence of the late Ming literati and Western influence.

Free Opening Reception:
Thursday, April 13th, 5-7pm
Curator Gallery Talk 5:30pm