"Contemporary Chinese Woodblock Prints" at the University of Michigan Museum of Art

Written by James Lannister Thursday, 12 May 2011 21:47

Ann Arbor, MI.- "Multiple Impressions: Contemporary Chinese Woodblock Prints" at the University of Michigan Museum of Art from July 16th to october 23rd will present works by 41 leading printmakers from contemporary China to showcase the extraordinary innovations, in both technique and conception, which have transformed this long-established art form in recent years. The exhibition will feature 114 works by such artists as Xu Bing, Kang Ning, Song Yuanwen, Chen Qi, He Kun, and Fang Limin, as well as many other accomplished printmakers. Curated by Dr. Xiaobing Tang, Helmut F. Stern Professor of Modern Chinese Studies at the University of Michigan and organized by UMMA with the assistance and cooperation of the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, China, this exhibition-the largest examination of contemporary Chinese prints in the US since 2000-will provide an important framework for understanding both contemporary art from China and contemporary Chinese society.

When the first public exhibition of modern-style woodblock prints took place in Shanghai in June 1931, it heralded an explosive art movement that helped shape the course of modern Chinese art history in the 20th century and has remained a vital part of contemporary China' s artistic language. Multiple Impressions refers to both the complex process of making a print-especially when the traditional moveable multi-block method is employed-and the vibrant and diverse visions and vocabularies reflected in contemporary Chinese prints. The exhibition underscores the printmakers' search for a new visual language and subject matter-in self-conscious competition with oil and ink-and-brush painters on the one hand and mass-produced print culture on the other.

The University of Michigan’s art collection is among the oldest in the nation in university hands. In 1856, years before the great civic art museums in Detroit, Toledo, or Chicago were founded, UM students and the general public had free access to an art gallery on campus.The art collection found a permanent home in Alumni Memorial Hall upon its completion in 1910. Built to serve several purposes; a war memorial to the UM students and faculty who served in nineteenth century wars; alumni association headquarters;  lecture halls; and meeting rooms, he building was also designed to showcase and provide storage for art, thanks in large measure to UM President James Burrill Angell, a tireless advocate for the museum throughout his tenure (1871–1909). Throughout the twentieth century, the collections grew via gifts and judicious purchases, and at several key junctures, plans were made to find larger quarters In the late 1990s, with room to display only a small fraction of its holdings (and straining to accommodate its increasingly ambitious roster of arts programming) plans to expand and renovate Alumni Memorial Hall began in earnest. With the addition of the 53,000 square foot Maxine and Stuart Frankel and the Frankel Family Wing and the restoration of historic Alumni Memorial Hall, UMMA recently ushered in a new era, a reimagining of the university art museum as a new “town square” for the 21st century. With dramatic new galleries highlighting works drawn from the Museum’s collections of more than 18,000 artworks (representing over 150 years of collecting at the University) special exhibition spaces that soar with new life, “open storage” galleries, and a range of lively educational and event spaces, UMMA is committed to making this a museum for the people of Michigan. Visit the museum's website at ... http://www.umma.umich.edu

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