News Release - Chinese Garden’s New Art Gallery Will Make its Debut with an Inaugural Exhibition Featuring Contemporary Calligraphy

Posted on Thu., June 3, 2021
Fu Shen 傅申 (born 1937, Shanghai; active Taiwan, United States, and China). Court of Assembled Worthies 集賢院, 2018. Handscroll, ink on paper; calligraphy written in running script. Image: 16 3/4 x 45 1/2 in. (42.5 x 115.5 cm); Mount: 17 1/2 x 54 in. (44.5 x 137 cm); Roller: 1 3/4 in. (4.5 cm). The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Fu Shen 傅申 (born 1937, Shanghai; active Taiwan, United States, and China). Court of Assembled Worthies 集賢院, 2018. Handscroll, ink on paper; calligraphy written in running script. Image: 16 3/4 x 45 1/2 in. (42.5 x 115.5 cm); Mount: 17 1/2 x 54 in. (44.5 x 137 cm); Roller: 1 3/4 in. (4.5 cm). The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Wan-go H. C. Weng 翁萬戈 (1918–2020, born Shanghai; active United States). Garden of Flowing Fragrance流芳園, 2007. Handscroll, ink on paper; calligraphy written in clerical script. Image: 10 3/8 x 50 7/8 in. (26.3 x 129 cm); Mount: 15 1/8 x 64 in. (38 x 162.5 cm). The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Wan-go H. C. Weng 翁萬戈 (1918–2020, born Shanghai; active United States). Garden of Flowing Fragrance 流芳園, 2007. Handscroll, ink on paper; calligraphy written in clerical script. Image: 10 3/8 x 50 7/8 in. (26.3 x 129 cm); Mount: 15 1/8 x 64 in. (38 x 162.5 cm). The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Lo Ch’ing 羅青 [Lo Ch’ing-che 羅青哲] (born 1948, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China; active Taiwan). Corridor of Water and Clouds 水雲廊, 2007. Handscroll, ink on paper; calligraphy written in seal script. Image: 16 3/4 x 36 1/4 in. (42.5 x 92 in); Mount: 16 x 52 in. (40.6 x 133 cm); Roller: 1 3/4 in. (4.5 cm). The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Lo Ch'ing 羅青 [Lo Ch'ing-che 羅青哲] (born 1948, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China; active Taiwan). Corridor of Water and Clouds 水雲廊, 2007. Handscroll, ink on paper; calligraphy written in seal script. Image: 16 3/4 x 36 1/4 in. (42.5 x 92 in); Mount: 16 x 52 in. (40.6 x 133 cm); Roller: 1 3/4 in. (4.5 cm). The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Zhu Chengjun 朱稱俊 (born 1946, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, China; active China and United States). World in a Wine Pot 壺天, 2018. Handscroll, ink on paper; calligraphy written in seal script. Image: 16 3/4 x 45 1/2 in. (42.5 x 115.5 cm); Mount: 17 1/2 x 53 1/2 in. (44.5 x 136 cm); Roller: 1 3/4 in. (4.5 cm). The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Zhu Chengjun 朱稱俊 (born 1946, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, China; active China and United States). World in a Wine Pot 壺天, 2018. Handscroll, ink on paper; calligraphy written in seal script. Image: 16 3/4 x 45 1/2 in. (42.5 x 115.5 cm); Mount: 17 1/2 x 53 1/2 in. (44.5 x 136 cm); Roller: 1 3/4 in. (4.5 cm). The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Tang Qingnian 唐慶年 (born 1956, Beijing; active United States). Verdant Microcosm 翠玲瓏, 2018. Handscroll, ink on paper; calligraphy written in bird-and-worm script. Image: 16 3/4 x 36 1/4 in. (42.5 x 92 cm); Mount: 17 1/2 x 49 in. (44.5 x 124.5 cm); Roller: 1 3/4 in. (4.5 cm). The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Tang Qingnian 唐慶年 (born 1956, Beijing; active United States). Verdant Microcosm 翠玲瓏, 2018. Handscroll, ink on paper; calligraphy written in bird-and-worm script. Image: 16 3/4 x 36 1/4 in. (42.5 x 92 cm); Mount: 17 1/2 x 49 in. (44.5 x 124.5 cm); Roller: 1 3/4 in. (4.5 cm). The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Lo Ch’ing 羅青 [Lo Ch’ing-che 羅青哲] (born 1948, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China; active Taiwan). Strolling in the Moonlight 步月, 2007. Hanging scroll; ink on paper; calligraphy written in running script. Image: 27 x 12 ½ in (68.5 x 32 cm). The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Lo Ch'ing 羅青 [Lo Ch'ing-che 羅青哲] (born 1948, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China; active Taiwan). Strolling in the Moonlight 步月, 2007. Hanging scroll; ink on paper; calligraphy written in running script. Image: 27 x 12 ½ in (68.5 x 32 cm). The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Terry Yuan [Yuan Zhizhong 袁志鍾] (born 1954, Shanghai; active United States). Terrace that Invites the Mountains 邀山臺, 2007. Hanging scroll; ink on paper; calligraphy written in running script. Image: 27 x 14 in. (68.5 x 35 cm). The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Terry Yuan [Yuan Zhizhong 袁志鍾] (born 1954, Shanghai; active United States). Terrace that Invites the Mountains 邀山臺, 2007. Hanging scroll; ink on paper; calligraphy written in running script. Image: 27 x 14 in. (68.5 x 35 cm). The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Grace Chu [Chu Chang-fang 朱彰芳] (born 1959, Taipei, Taiwan; active United States ). Seeing the Large in the Small 小中見大, 2018. Handscroll, ink on paper; calligraphy written in seal script. Image: 13 3/4 x 40 3/8 in. (35 x 102.6 cm). The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Grace Chu [Chu Chang-fang 朱彰芳] (born 1959, Taipei, Taiwan; active United States ). Seeing the Large in the Small 小中見大, 2018. Handscroll, ink on paper; calligraphy written in seal script. Image: 13 3/4 x 40 3/8 in. (35 x 102.6 cm). The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Tang Qingnian 唐慶年 (born 1956, Beijing; active United States). Relaxed talk and languid laughter are fitting for bamboo and rocks; fine days in spring and autumn call for cups and goblets 言笑放懷宜竹石,春秋佳日共壺觴, after a couplet by Jin Nong 金農 (1687–1763), 2018. Pair of hanging scrolls, ink on paper; calligraphy written in cursive script. Image: 54 1/4 x 13 1/2 in. (137.8 x 34.3 cm) each. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Tang Qingnian 唐慶年 (born 1956, Beijing; active United States). Relaxed talk and languid laughter are fitting for bamboo and rocks; fine days in spring and autumn call for cups and goblets 言笑放懷宜竹石,春秋佳日共壺觴, after a couplet by Jin Nong 金農 (1687–1763), 2018. Pair of hanging scrolls, ink on paper; calligraphy written in cursive script. Image: 54 1/4 x 13 1/2 in. (137.8 x 34.3 cm) each. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Calligrapher Tang Qingnian 唐慶年 at work on a large scroll during a public demonstration in 2018. Tang was the Cheng Family Foundation Artist-in-Residence at The Huntington in 2019. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Photo by Jaime Pham

Calligrapher Tang Qingnian 唐慶年 at work on a large scroll during a public demonstration in 2018. Tang was the Cheng Family Foundation Artist-in-Residence at The Huntington in 2019. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Photo by Jaime Pham

The Chinese Gardens’ new art gallery, known as the Studio for Lodging the Mind 寓意齋. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Photo by Beth Coller

The Chinese Gardens’ new art gallery, known as the Studio for Lodging the Mind 寓意齋. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Photo by Beth Coller

View of the Chinese Garden, where the new art gallery will showcase an exhibition of Chinese calligraphy. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Photo by Martha Benedict

View of the Chinese Garden, where the new art gallery will showcase an exhibition of Chinese calligraphy. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Photo by Martha Benedict

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“A Garden of Words: The Calligraphy of Liu Fang Yuan” Opens Aug. 28

SAN MARINO, Calif.—Postponed for more than a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the highly anticipated opening of the Chinese Garden’s new art gallery is now scheduled to take place this summer at The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, with an exhibition of Chinese calligraphy as its inaugural installation. “A Garden of Words: The Calligraphy of Liu Fang Yuan” 書苑——流芳園典藏書法作品 opens Aug. 28, 2021, in the Studio for Lodging the Mind 寓意齋. The exhibition will be presented in two rotations of 20 works each; the first installation continues through Dec. 13, 2021, and the second runs from Jan. 29 through May 16, 2022.

Words are everywhere in the Chinese Garden—known as Liu Fang Yuan, the Garden of Flowing Fragrance. Names for the garden’s various features adorn rocks and buildings; poetic couplets frame entryways and vistas. Their purpose is to enhance the visitor’s experience of the garden through the lenses of literature and art. Since 2007, The Huntington has commissioned contemporary artists to create the original works of calligraphy—artful brush writings in ink on paper—that served as the models for these inscriptions. It is a selection of these that will be exhibited.

The work of 21 contemporary ink artists will be featured, including Bai Qianshen, Michael Cherney, Grace Chu, Fu Shen, Lo Ch’ing, Tang Qingnian, Wang Mansheng, Wan-go Weng, Zhu Chengjun, and Terry Yuan, among others.

“Calligraphy is fundamental to a Chinese garden, but it is a feature that often goes overlooked by visitors, especially those who do not read Chinese,” said Phillip E. Bloom, the June and Simon K.C. Li Curator of the Chinese Garden and Director of the Center for East Asian Garden Studies. “This exhibition fosters deeper appreciation for the artistry behind these inscriptions by introducing the content, materials, forms, and futures of calligraphy.”

The new Studio for Lodging the Mind, located at the north end of the garden, is a 1,720-sq.-ft., light- and climate-controlled gallery space suitable for the display of works of art on paper or silk. An adjacent pavilion, known as the Flowery Brush Library 筆花書房, is designed in the style of a 17th-century Chinese scholar’s studio—a garden retreat traditionally used for painting, poetry, and calligraphy. Its name is inspired by the tale of a scholar who dreamed that a flower grew from the tip of his writing brush, a metaphor for literary and artistic talent. Calligraphy demonstrations are planned for this latter space; including a presentation by Terry Yuan on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021, at 2:30 p.m., and a demonstration by Tang Qingnian on Saturday, April 9, 2022, at 2:30 p.m. Both programs are free with Huntington admission.

“Chinese calligraphy is an art of seeming contradictions,” explained Bloom. “Though crafted with simple materials—brush, ink, and paper—its visual forms are myriad. Though written according to rigid rules, it also encourages sophisticated forms of personal expression. And while it is ubiquitous in the Chinese-reading world, calligraphy nevertheless can remain difficult even for the erudite to appreciate. Through this exhibition, we hope to help make it more accessible and to make a significant contribution to public engagement with the art form.”

“A Garden of Words” will offer four perspectives through which to consider calligraphy: its content, materials, forms, and futures. Visitors will first investigate the ways in which the content of calligraphy—its written characters—conveys meaning and sound by following specific structural rules.

The second section of the exhibition will focus on calligraphy as a material object, with an inscription introducing the format of a calligraphic work—its mounting, main text, and framing inscriptions. A selection of the tools of calligraphy will be displayed, and a pair of calligraphic works will illustrate the different effects that can be achieved by varying materials.

Next, visitors will explore the diverse visual forms of calligraphy through the five conventional script types: seal, clerical, regular, running, and cursive. Each has its own visual features, cultural connotations, and appropriate contexts of use. For instance, regular script would traditionally be used for formal inscriptions on imposing buildings, such as governmental or religious sites, while cursive is often associated with freer forms of expression. Two or three works of each type will demonstrate the range of visual effects that can be achieved within a single script. An accompanying video in the gallery will show a calligrapher at work, capturing the subtle movements of both body and brush.

The exhibition will conclude with a look at the innovations contemporary calligraphers are bringing to the medium. Some artists take a pictographic approach, returning writing to its mythic origins; others excavate forgotten scripts to imbue their work with eccentricity. A short video of interviews with artists discussing their work will shed light on their creative processes.

A gallery guide, in English and in Chinese, will be available, and an exhibition webpage will provide additional resources, including an interactive map of calligraphy locations within the garden, with translations of the inscriptions and information on the artists.

Support for this exhibition is provided by the Grace and Li Yu Family Foundation and the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.

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Contacts
Thea M. Page, 626-405-2260, tpage@huntington.org
Lisa Blackburn, 626-405-2140, lblackburn@huntington.org

About The Huntington
The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens is a collections-based research and educational institution that aspires to be a welcoming place of engagement and reflection for a diverse community. In 2008, The Huntington established its Chinese Garden, Liu Fang Yuan 流芳園, The Garden of Flowing Fragrance, which is one of the largest and most authentic classical-style gardens outside of China. Enthusiastically supported by the local community, the garden has quickly become a nexus for cross-cultural exchange. Through its Center for East Asian Garden Studies, The Huntington uses the Chinese Garden as the focal point for a wide variety of lectures, symposia, exhibitions, and performances that help promote a deeper understanding and appreciation of Chinese culture. More information about The Huntington can be found online at huntington.org

Visitor Information
The Huntington is located at 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, CA, 12 miles from downtown Los Angeles. Visitor information: huntington.org or 626-405-2100. (Check huntington.org for updates during this period for new visitation protocols due to COVID-19.)