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August 2010
For the past two thousand years—far before the development of plastic laminations and modern-day adhesives—lacquer was (and remains) a superior material. Red Luster: Lacquer and Leatherworks of Asia demonstrates the aesthetic impact of red lacquer and its faux imitators in leatherworks and other materials. The glossy sheen, slick texture and deep colors of lacquer have long been a prized material throughout Asia but the materials to create “true lacquers” do not exist in all of Asia.
Different raw materials originating from different types of trees and even insects distinguish East Asian lacquers (China, Japan and Korea) from those of Central and South Asia (Turkey, Iran, India and Tibet) or Southeast Asia (Myanmar). The relatively slow construction process, coupled with regionally restricted supplies of raw material, made production relatively exclusive. Thus all of Asia also developed imitation or faux lacquers created by an even greater variety of materials and techniques. Many faux lacquers became important forms of art in their own right. This is the first such exhibition to span vastly different cultural and historical legacies of Asia from the Near to Far East.
Gustav Stickley and the American Arts & Crafts Movement
September 15, 2010–January 2, 2011
Posing Beauty: African American Images from the 1890s to the Present
February 2–April 28, 2011
Ajiaco: Stirrings of the Cuban Soul
June 8–August 14, 2011
In 1939, anthropologist Fernando Ortiz characterized Cuban culture as ajiaco, a rich stew consisting of a large variety of ingredients. The ingredients of the “stew” include Catholicism brought in by the Spaniards; the spirituality of the Yoruba slaves and their cultural traditions from Africa; and the Chinese indentured servants who brought Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. The base of the stew is the indigenous people, such as Tainos, who were almost wiped out by the Spaniards. This exhibition is a survey of modern and contemporary Cuban artists that explores these rich cultural roots of Cuban art. In contemporary society, the “stew” has become thicker and richer as the influences become more complex and intermixed: the artist now borrows not only from the traditional cultures that populated the island, but also appropriates from contemporary everyday life. The exhibition includes works by leading artists in a variety of media, from paintings, works on paper and photography to mixed-media sculpture and installations.
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