Press Room > Special Exhibitions
Exhibitions Schedule 2011–2012
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Phantoms of Asia: Contemporary Awakens the Past
May 18–September 2, 2012
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This May, the Asian Art Museum debuts Phantoms of Asia: Contemporary Awakens the Past, an ambitious exhibition exploring the complex, diverse, cross-cultural perspectives of Asian cosmology and spirituality through a compelling interplay of 150 artworks from the past and present.
Phantoms of Asia—the first large-scale exhibition of contemporary art organized by the Asian Art Museum—fills its special exhibition galleries with artworks by living artists and integrates new works throughout the museum’s renowned pan-Asian collections. Providing visitors with immersive experiences, the exhibition offers rare insights into a range of belief systems and mythologies that have shaped Asian cultures over the ages.
Deities, Demons, and Dudes with 'Staches: Indian Avatars by Sanjay Patel
November 11, 2011–April 22, 2012
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Maharaja: The Splendor of India's Royal Court
October 21, 2011 – April 8, 2012
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The word maharaja (literally “great king”) conjures up images of spectacle. The heyday of the maharajas began in earnest after the collapse of the Mughal empire in the early eighteenth century. The exhibition opens with this period of chaos and adventure and closes with the end of British rule in 1947, when the Indian princes’ territories were incorporated into the modern states of India and Pakistan. The show will explore the extraordinary culture of princely India, showcasing rich and varied objects that reflect different aspects of royal life. On display will be both Indian and Western works, featuring paintings, photography, textiles and dress, jewelry, jeweled objects, metalwork and furniture. These sensational works will be explored within a broader historical context of princely life and ideals, patronage, court culture, and alliances. Exhibition organized in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Poetry in Clay: Korean Buncheong Ceramics from Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art
Sept. 16, 2011–January 8, 2012
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Fresh, whimsical, rustic, direct, audacious, contemporary — these are some of the qualities that have been attributed to the type of Korean ceramics known as buncheong. Buncheong ceramics are characterized by their informal style and their use of white clay as an aesthetic feature. The exhibition Poetry in Clay, opening September 16 and running through January 8, 2012, will fill the museum's Korean art galleries. It features more than fifty-five masterpieces, including six Korean national treasures, from the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art in Seoul, Korea. In addition, selected Japanese ceramics from the Asian Art Museum's collections show Japanese connections to Korean ceramics. Finally, contemporary buncheong as well as other forms of contemporary art influenced by Korean ceramics, on loan from Korea, demonstrate the vitality of this vibrant art form today.
Bali: Art, Ritual, Performance
February 25–September 11, 2011
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Famed for its rituals and performing arts, Bali is home to one of the most vibrant cultures in Asia. Bali: Art, Ritual, Performance will be the first large-scale exhibition of Balinese art in the United States. A wide range of objects will be on display: from simple plaited palm images of the rice goddess to terrifying statues of Hindu deities; from painted palanquins for the gods to gilt thrones for the rulers; from offerings made for a family shrine to masks carved for foreign tourists. Accompanying performances, videos, and demonstrations will reveal how many of these objects are still used in contemporary practice. Organized by the Asian Art Museum. Exclusive U.S. venue.
Collectors’ Choice / Collectors’ Voice
October 15, 2010–March 13, 2011
This Tateuchi Gallery exhibition presents works collected by members of Nexus, a collectors’ group associated with the Asian Art Museum. Each member has been asked to select one or more works that has special significance (collector’s choice) and to provide in his or her own words the story behind the works (collector’s voice). Art included in the exhibition ranges from early Buddhist sculpture to cutting-edge contemporary pieces commissioned by Nexus members. Organized by the Asian Art Museum.
Beyond Golden Clouds: Five Centuries of Japanese Screens
October 15, 2010–January 16, 2011
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Providing an ideal combination of function and beauty, Japanese folding screens have inspired generations of artists to create career-defining masterpieces; indeed, screens represent some of the highest accomplishments of Japanese painting on a large scale. This exhibition celebrates the full potential of the screen format paintings on paper and silk to innovative creations in new mediums such as stoneware and painted wood. Screens on view range in date from the late sixteenth century to daring works from the late twentieth century, demonstrating the longevity of this art form as well as its currency among modern-day artists. Organized by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Saint Louis Art Museum.
Japan’s Early Ambassadors to San Francisco, 1860–1927
May 4–November 21, 2010
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Timed to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the ship Kanrin Maru and the first Japanese embassy to the United States, this thematic exhibit located in the Japanese galleries features artworks and visual media associated with the 1860 mission, with early travel to the US, and with early Japanese artists and cultural leaders active in San Francisco beginning around 1880. The show culminates with the presentation of two of the Friendship Dolls sent to San Francisco as “goodwill ambassadors” from Japan in 1927, part of a high-level orchestrated response to recent discriminatory legislation targeting Japanese immigrants. The more than 40 works evince both San Francisco's significance in the early years of Japan-US relations as well as the city’s central role as a gateway and a destination for Japanese coming to America.
Shanghai
February 12–September 5, 2010
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Shanghai is the first exhibition of its kind to explore the unique flavor and identity of one of China’s most cosmopolitan cities. A study in cultural globalization, the exhibition investigates the internal and external influences that have helped to create the city’s distinctive character. The exhibition includes over 130 artworks, among them trade oil paintings, Shanghai deco furniture and rugs, revolutionary poster art, fashion, movie clips, and contemporary art and video installations. Shanghai is the cornerstone of the San Francisco Bay Area Shanghai Celebration, a series of programs and exhibitions presented by local cultural organizations on the occasion of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. Co-organized by the Shanghai Museum and the Asian Art Museum, with assistance from the Shanghai International Culture Association. Exclusive U.S. venue.
