Guided Viewing - Two Exhibitions at CUHK Art Museum "For Blessings and Guidance: the Qianlong Emperor’s Design for State Sacrificial Vessels" with Collector Anthony Cheung and "Strokes of Wonder: Figure Painting by Ren Bonian from the National Art Museum of China" with Dr. Josh Yiu

For Blessings and Guidance: the Qianlong Emperor’s Design for State Sacrificial Vessels

With significant donations from Dr. Iain Clark and Mr. Anthony Cheung of Huaihaitang, the Art Museum at The Chinese University of Hong Kong now boasts the largest repository of Qing ritual vessels outside of the Palace Museum in Beijing. Made primarily of glazed porcelains after ancient bronzes, Qing ritual vessels have been overlooked by ceramics experts and bronze specialists. However, these objects were of utmost significance in activating state rituals during the Qing period. The Qianlong emperor took it upon himself to standardize the forms of these objects to ensure that the rites were performed properly. For Blessings and Guidance: the Qianlong Emperor’s Design for State Sacrificial Vessels investigates the production and function of this distinct group of objects and we will be led through the exhibition by Collector Mr. Anthony Cheung.

Strokes of Wonder: Figure Painting by Ren Bonian from the National Art Museum of China

Strokes of Wonder: Figure Painting by Ren Bonian from the National Art Museum of China is the first blockbuster exhibition of the ‘Shanghai school of painting’ pioneer in Hong Kong, featuring 82 paintings by Ren Bonian from the prestigious museum in Beijing. Credited as one of the most influential Chinese painters in recent memory, Ren’s artistic prowess inspired numerous later painters including Wu Changshi, Xu Beihong and Zhang Daqian. This exhibition will highlight Ren’s innovative brushwork in figure painting and creative adaptations of historical genres and popular tales, which endear him to generations of artists, collectors and casual art viewers. A rare portrait of Ren by Xu Beihong from the Xu Beihong Memorial Museum and an expressive sculpture by Director Wu Weishan will also be shown. We will be led through this exhibition by Museum Director, Dr. Josh Yiu.

Dr. Josh Yiu is the Director of the Art Museum. He received his B.A. in Art History from the University of Chicago, and completed his doctorate at Oxford University. From 2006 to 2013, he served as the Foster Foundation Curator of Chinese Art at the Seattle Art Museum. A specialist in late imperial and modern Chinese art, his publications include Writing Modern Chinese Art: Historiographic Explorations (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2009) and Remembering Days Gone By: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Seattle Art Museum Collection, an online catalogue sponsored by the J. Paul Getty Foundation. He has taught and lectured at various universities, including the University of Washington and the Seattle University.