China Then and Now, the latest exhibit at the Roslyn Harbor-based Nassau County Museum of Art, brings together exemplary Chinese works of art from the classical, early modern and contemporary periods. The exhibition explores three millennia of one of the world’s most important artistic traditions from the perspective of American collectors on Long Island, such as Childs and Frances Frick and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler. The exhibition opens at the museum on Saturday, Nov. 22 and remains on view through March 8, 2015.
The exhibit unfolds over three galleries, each of which showcases the elegant beauty of Chinese art of a different era and medium. It opens with eleven large-scale classical stone sculptures lent by the Arthur M. Sackler Collections at Columbia University.
At the heart of the exhibit is an installation of blue-and-white porcelains from the Ming and Qing eras (17th to 18th centuries) collected by Childs and Frances Frick and on loan, for the first time, from The Frick Collection in New York. This display reunites these works with their original setting, the Georgian-style Bryce-Frick mansion that is today the home of the Nassau County Museum of Art. A final gallery presents extraordinary ink paintings by the renowned Beijing artist Liu Dan (born 1953) whose works bridge traditional forms with contemporary practices.
The museum’s first exhibition devoted to Asian art, China Then and Now also sheds new light on a fascinating chapter in America’s engagement with China and its arts. This exhibition reveals the passion of American collectors of both the past and present for the culture and history of China.
The exhibit is sponsored by HSBC Private Bank and is co-organized by guest curators Amy G. Poster,
Curator Emerita of Asian Art at the Brooklyn Museum, and Kaijun Chen, Ph.D., post-doctoral Fellow at the Max-Planck-Institute for the History of Science. The museum will be offering several public lectures and other programming that will enhance the experience of viewing the exhibit. Visit the museum’s website, nassaumuseum.org, after Monday, Nov. 10 for details on programs for adults and children.
The Nassau County Museum of Art is located at One Museum Drive in Roslyn Harbor, just off Northern Boulevard, Route 25A. Call 516-484-9338, ext. 12 to inquire about group tours.
