East Asia Library hosts pop-up exhibition of Chinese painting

From November 2-8, the East Asia Library will host an exhibition of student work from ART243: The Art Peony in Chinese Brush Painting, taught by Felix Chan Lim, Ph.D. and Bobbi Makani-Lim, Ph.D. The exhibition will be located on the 2nd floor near the Current Newspapers area.

Continuously evolving for a period of more than 6,000 years, Chinese Brush Painting is considered as one of the oldest living arts in the world. Chinese brush painting is simple in spirit, concept and execution. This ancient art reflects harmony, serenity and tranquility, yet its execution could be exceedingly contemporary.

The mastery of Chinese brush painting involves many years of commitment, dedication, patience and self-discipline, hence considered as one of the most demanding art forms in the world.  It is generally believed that the virtues practiced during the mastery of the art leads to the enrichment of one’s life and the enhancement of the highest principles and ideals of the Chinese culture. It is believed by the Chinese that devoting one’s life to the mastery of Chinese brush painting is a very noble pursuit for the mind and the spirit.   

ART243 introduces students to the art and philosophy of painting the peony, one of the most revered subjects in Chinese brush painting. The peony is also known as the “Queen of Flowers” and is often used to symbolize good fortune, prosperity and wealth. Throughout the course, students learned the fundamentals of painting and developing skills and techniques for painting the peony using the Chinese brush. This class art exhibit is a showcase of the techniques and skills learned in the course.

Featured student artists: 

Divya Channappa
Adele Chi
Pauline Chu
Tomoe Kalnay
Ka Yan Ng
Linda Papanicolaou
Susan Poletti
Christine Saint Georges
Juliette Timsit
Sandra Wong Martin
Ran Xin
Ke Yuan
Jiaxin Zhang
Riqui Zhou