A new exhibition of meticulously recreated masterpieces of the Chinese Tang and Song Dynasties opens at Bournemouth’s Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum on 31 January 2017.
In partnership with the Wisdom (Zhihui) Foundation and the Bournemouth Chinese School, the Russell-Cotes is celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year with a fascinating exhibition by the contemporary Chinese artist, Huirong Zhang, who will be coming to Bournemouth from China.
Zhang produces amazing scale reproductions of historical Chinese masterpieces held in national collections, such as the Forbidden City. Due to their fragility, the original paintings are not on view to the general public. Her work is so highly regarded that one of her paintings was recently presented to President Barack Obama.
Using traditional methods of Chinese Gongbi (fine brush) silk painting, Huirong Zhang has recreated some of the most iconic paintings of the Tang (618-906) and Song (960 – 1279) Dynasties, when Chinese arts flourished during a period of peace and prosperity and developing trade and cultural contacts along the Silk Road. The paintings include depictions of Court ladies at their leisure, with beautiful details of their hair and costumes, as well as stunning landscapes on scrolls stretching to 6 metres long.
Sarah Newman, Programmes Officer at the Russell-Cotes said,
“We are delighted to be working with the Wisdom Foundation and Chinese School to bring these beautiful paintings to Bournemouth and to highlight some of the wonderful collections of Chinese ceramics and artefacts we have in our Museum, some of which were collected by Annie and Merton Russell-Cotes themselves when they visited China in 1885.”
Traditional Chinese lantern making workshops will also be held at the Russell-Cotes on Sunday 29 January 2017 and can be booked through the Museum by phone or in person. These will coincide with a Chinese Lunar New Year Festival Celebration – named the ‘Lunar Fiesta’ from 28 January – 12 February 2017 (A full events list can be found at www.lunarfiesta.com & www.facebook.com/lunarfiesta17).
The exhibition runs from 31 January – 12 February 2017. Entrance to the exhibition is free, but to the historic house is £6 (gift aided) for adults and seniors.
