THE FIRST WAVE: Modern and Contemporary Chinese Paintings in the USC Pacific Asia Museum Collection

The Changing Exhibition Galleries: North Gallery

September 26, 2014 through February 22, 2015

In tandem with the installation of The Rent Collection Courtyard: Fifty Years, a group of modern and contemporary Chinese paintings from the second half of the 20th century–drawn from the museum’s permanent collection–will be featured. The museum has a long history of introducing contemporary works from

GENG Jianyi (b. 1962), Salon de Beauté, China, 1985, oil on canvas, USC Pacific Asia Museum Collection, Gift of Waldermar A. Nielsen. © Geng Jianyi. Courtesy of the ShanghArt Gallery — GENG Jianyi (b. 1962), Salon de Beauté, China, 1985, oil on canvas, USC Pacific Asia Museum Collection, Gift of Waldermar A. Nielsen.
© Geng Jianyi. Courtesy of the ShanghArt Gallery

Asia to the residents of southern California. The exhibition will revisit two prior exhibitions, Beyond the Open Door: Contemporary Paintings from the People’s Republic of China in 1987 and I Don’t Want to Play Cards with Cezanne and Other Works: Selections from the Chinese “New Wave” and “Avant-garde” Art of the Eighties in 1991. The exhibition, together with The Rent Collection Courtyard, will examine Chinese art during a period when art was created to meet political demands and explore how the art of this period fits into the continuum of Chinese art history.

View the full exhibition brochure

Related Programs:

Art & Coffee 4pm, Friday, October 10
Following a Starbucks coffee break in the tranquil courtyard, the curatorial staff lead a focused tour and discussion of the exhibition.