Contemporary Chinese Experience

Posted by: Gallery 916

Gallery 916 and the WKU Confucius Institute present A Contemporary Chinese Experience through July 13 at the gallery at 601 State St. in downtown Bowling Green.

Working in collaboration, Gallery 916 and the Confucius Institute collected artwork while on a goodwill tour of China that showcased the Symphony at WKU. The Symphony, after a year and a half of planning and practice, performed four concerts on the campuses of partnering universities: North China Electric Power University (Beijing and Baoding), Beijing Language and Cultural University and Hebei University.

In addition to supporting the student musicians, Betty Yu, associate director of the WKU Confucius Institute, and Lynn O’Keefe, director of Gallery 916, focused on collecting contemporary Chinese folk art.

The genre of “Farmer Painting” refers to the works done by amateur artists who are famers, herdsmen or fishermen by profession since the establishment of the People’s Republic in 1949. These paintings, featuring plain artistic language, pithy and vigorous style, rich coloring, exaggerated depiction and profound motifs, provide an authentic and vivid description of the social changes that have taken place in the countryside over the past 65 years.

Ceremonial robes, a traditional tea set and ornate carved chairs have been entrusted to the gallery from the Confucius Institute for the duration of the exhibit. The exhibit also includes work by contemporary Chinese artists Zhai Yue Fei, Zhuoru Wang and Tony Liang. American artists Bob Love and Misha Ambrosia and photographer Susan Scott are also featured in the show.

Gallery 916 hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. For information, visit www.gallery916.net or www.wku.edu/ci/