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William Paterson University Exhibition Explores Chinese Opera Painting

--Exhibition, in Conjunction with University’s 2013 Cross-Cultural Arts Festival: North And East Asia, Organized by Liu Haisu Art Museum in Shanghai, China

The link between Chinese ink painting and traditional Chinese opera is explored in the exhibition Play Ink—Ink Play: Chinese Opera Painting, which will be on view at the William Paterson University Galleries from March 4 through April 12, 2013. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on March 10, March 24 and April 7 from noon to 4 p.m. Admission is free. An opening reception for the exhibit will be held on Sunday, March 3, from 2 to 4 p.m.

The exhibition is presented in conjunction with the University’s 2013 Cross-Cultural Arts Festival: Asia—North and East, which highlights the University’s mission to encourage diversity, community outreach, and multiculturalism. Developed by the University’s College of the Arts and Communication, the festival seeks to feature the impact of the fine arts, music and cinema in facilitating cross-cultural empathy and developing global connections. All events are open to the public.

Play Ink—Ink Play was organized by the Liu Haisu Art Museum, a national art museum in Shanghai, China.  The exhibition includes works by ten contemporary Chinese artists whose works reflect the spirit of traditional opera ink painting. Chinese artists who have historically found inspiration in the light-hearted expressiveness of the Chinese opera figure, using their brushwork to produce various artistic patterns.

“This exhibition displays the opera figure paintings created by some outstanding Chinese painters, and their works usually take into consideration…cultural elements of opera as themes to express themselves and their thoughts about life,” says Jian Zhang, director of the Liu Haisu Art Museum.  “The combination of opera and ink art brings more freedom of emotion and imagination not only to the painters but also the audience.”

Artists included in the exhibition are Lin Fengmian, Liang Guan, Shifa Cheng, Liren Ding, Zhengeng Zhu, Yu Han, Nie Ganyin, Guiming Zhang, Hu Shen, and Jingxin Zhou.

In connection with the exhibition, Jian Zhang will present a lecture on Chinese opera and Chinese painting on Monday, March 4 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Ben Shahn Center for the Visual Arts, room 146.

Play Ink-Ink Play is one of two exhibitions on view concurrently in the William Paterson University Galleries. Also on view is A Woman’s View: New Chinese Art, an exhibition of recent work curated by He Zhang, William Paterson University associate professor of art, and Kristen Evangelista, director of the University Galleries.

This exhibition is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. The William Paterson University Galleries are wheelchair-accessible. Large-print handouts are available. For additional information, please call the William Paterson University Galleries at 973-720-2654.

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