For Immediate Release
July 15, 2014
[Digital images available upon request]
SCHOLAR OF CHINESE ART PRESENTS LECTURE AT THE CLARK ART INSTITUTE
Williamstown, MA—The Clark Art Institute presents the free lecture “A Good Meal: Ancestors, Gods, and Gifts in Ancient and Imperial China” on Saturday, July 19 at 4 pm in the auditorium.
Scholar of Chinese art Derek Gillman looks at the role of ancient Chinese bronzeware in ritual banqueting. The lecture is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Cast for Eternity: Ancient Ritual Bronzes from the Shanghai Museum, which is on view in the West Pavilion of the Clark’s new Tadao Ando-designed Clark Center through September 21, 2014.
Gillman, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Visual Studies at Drexel University, is the former executive director and president of the Barnes Foundation. He worked as a specialist in Chinese art at Christie’s London and has written and taught on the subjects of Chinese art and cultural heritage. His book The Idea of Cultural Heritage was published in 2010.
Cast for Eternity features exceptional Chinese bronze vessels dating from the late Xia through the Western Han dynasties (c. 1800 BCE–c. 8 CE). The exhibition, which brings together thirty-two bronze vessels and a set of bells from the core of the Shanghai Museum’s renowned collection of ancient bronzes, is part of a series of exhibition exchanges with the Shanghai Museum and a long tradition of engagement between the Clark and China.
ABOUT THE CLARK
The Clark Art Institute is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, open to the public with more than 240,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.
The Clark opened its expanded facilities on July 4, 2014, unveiling new and enhanced spaces that accommodate the continued growth of the Institute’s programs. Included in this final stage of the project are a new 42,600-square-foot Clark Center designed by Tadao Ando Architect & Associates, expansion and renovation of the original Museum Building and the ongoing renovation of the Manton Research Center by Selldorf Architects, and a sweeping redesign of the grounds by Reed Hilderbrand. The first phase of the campus expansion project was completed in 2008 with the opening of the Lunder Center at Stone Hill, a striking conservation and exhibitions facility also designed by Tadao Ando.
The Clark is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Opening season hours: Galleries open daily from July 4 through October 13, 2014, 10 am to 5 pm (Tuesdays until 6 pm and Fridays until 7 pm in July and August). From October 14, 2014 through June 30, 2015: Galleries open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is $20 through October 31, 2014 and free year-round for Clark members, children 18 and younger, and students with valid ID. For more information, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.
Press contact:
Amanda Powers
The Clark
413 458 0471