The Quiet Gesture

The Quiet Gesture: Recent Chinese Art is an installation of works by four of the most prominent artists working in China today - Zhang Huan, Wang Jin, Lu Shengzhong and Zhan Wang. These artists rose to prominence in the early 1990s in both China and worldwide primarily with conceptual and performance-based work. These recent sculptures set in the Alice Ransom Dreyfuss Garden and additional works installed inside the Museum are an extension of their interests in mining China's rich cultural past for its relevance to contemporary ideas about spirituality, reflection and history.

While many artists in China today are tackling broad issues related to the rapid economic and social changes affecting the country, these artists have turned inward, exploring issues of the self and one's identity in relation to the past. Referencing simple actions like the ringing of a bell, the act of contemplation, repetitive carving or traditional paper cutting, their work is a testament to the Chinese belief that even a small and quiet gesture can have a large impact.

Works in this exhibition are installed in both the Alice Ransom Dreyfuss Memorial Garden and inside the Museum, in and around the Charles W. Engelhard Court.