The exhibition Flowers on a River: The Art of Chinese Flower-and-Bird Painting, 1368–1911, Masterworks from Tianjin Museum and Changzhou Museum opened at the China Institute Gallery in New York, USA on March 23, 2023. The exhibition is organized by the Tianjin Museum and the Changzhou Museum at the invitation of the China Institute Gallery.
This is the first exhibition of cultural relics travelling from China to the USA in three years, said a release by China Institute. Divided into two stages, the first stop takes place at the China Institute Gallery in New York between March 23 and June 25, and the second stop will take place at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in Santa Barbara between October 15, 2023 and January 14, 2024.
The exhibition features 70 pieces (sets) of selected Chinese bird-and-flower paintings, spanning five centuries during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is divided into three sections: Precious Plums of the Palace: Academicism and Court Artists; Fragrant Plums in the Wild: The Literati Art, Painters and Painting Schools; and Vitality of Nature: Flower-and-Bird Painting and Social Customs. The exhibition comprehensively showcases the development and characteristics of bird-and-flower painting during the Ming and Qing dynasties by encompassing representative masterpieces of many famous schools of painting, including the Ming dynasty’s academic painting, Wu School, Jinling School, Four Monks of the early Qing dynasty, Changzhou School, Yangzhou School, and Shanghai School, etc.
Exhibition related activities are planned at the China Institute Gallery, including member-exclusive guided tours, curator talks and an international symposium titled “The Grand World of Chinese Bird-and-Flower Painting”.
The China Institute was co-founded by American scholar John Dewey, Chinese educator Hu Shi and others in 1926. It is the oldest bicultural, non-profit organization in the US dedicated to deepening understanding of China.
Source: Tianjin Museum, Changzhou Net
Photo Credit: China Institute Gallery’s official website