museum gotta see ‘um

Senior Correspondent

INK WORLDS: CONTEMPORARY CHINESE PAINTING FROM THE COLLECTION OF AKIKO YAMAZAKI AND JERRY YANG, AT THE CANTOR ART MUSEUM AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY. May 23 is the opening of Ink Worlds: Contemporary Chinese Painting from the Collection of Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang, the first exhibition at the Cantor Art Museum devoted solely to contemporary Chinese ink painting. The selections feature more than 40 works of art by nearly two dozen artists. Drawn from the personal collection of philanthropists and Stanford University alumni Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang, the exhibition focuses on the contemporary period, probing the diversity of modern ink painting and calligraphy — artistic practices that are among China’s oldest and most enduring art forms. The exhibition addresses not only the capacity of ink painting to evolve but also the contemporary nature of ink painting as a distinct genre. Modern uses of ink — including photography and film, through which the very definition of ink is being expanded — are also considered.

Susan Dackerman, the John and Jill Freidenrich Director at the Cantor, said, “In many ways, this exhibition highlights an enduring element of Jane Stanford’s legacy. Her significant collection of Asian artworks was an important part of the original collection of the Stanford museum.”  This exhibition also represents a collaboration between Cantor staff and Stanford art students. By involving graduate students from the Department of Art & Art History in the process of artwork selection and catalogue writing, the planning of the exhibition has been a teaching-based project.

Ellen C. Huang, curatorial fellow for Asian art, said, “I felt strongly that involving students more directly was in keeping with Akiko and Jerry’s commitment to the university and to the idea of a university art museum being a place for students to experience the joy of working with objects and communicating their significance in a direct way.”

The Cantor Arts Center is open six days a week and admission is free. Hours are Wednesday through Monday 11 a.m.-5 p.m. and Thursday until 8 p.m. Closed on Tuesday. The Cantor is located on the Stanford campus, off Palm Drive at Museum Way. Parking is free after 4 p.m. weekdays and all day on weekends and major holidays.