Welcome
In September 2006, this spectacular venue for the display and study of artwork in every imaginable medium replaced the Concordia Gallery, which had been mounting exhibitions for 30 years. This year the Gallery will offer an exciting calendar of exhibitions, lectures, and programs for all ages. The OSilas Gallery is free and open to the public.
Current Exhibition
THE FLYING DRAGON:
Tradition and Innovation in Chinese Art
January 22 – April 13, 2008
Curated by Yoo-Jong Kim
Thursday, January 24: Gallery Talk 7-8 PM; Reception 8-9 PM
Lecturer: France Pepper, Director of Arts and Culture Programs, China Institute
The Flying Dragon: Tradition & Innovation in Chinese Art explores transformations and developments within the history of Chinese art over a period of almost 2500 years. The rich heritage of Chinese art through the centuries is represented by outstanding examples in various media. An exciting dialogue occurs when Reagan Louie, Hilda Shen, and Mary Ting, three contemporary artists of Chinese origin, respond directly to the ancient works of art in the exhibition.
The Flying Dragon Press Release
Art on Film: YELLOW OX MOUNTAIN
An evening of film and conversation with director Miao Wang
Thursday, March 27, 7-8:30 PM, Sommer Center
Yellow Ox Mountain reflects on the personal journeys and artistic aspirations of two contemporary Chinese artists, Zhang Hongfu (b. 1943) and Zhang Jian-Jun (b. 1955). Their lives and work span the post-Cultural Revolution of China to today’s thriving Chinese contemporary art community in New York. Their works, deeply rooted in tradition, demonstrate a profound awareness of the cycles of history and the importance of the dissenting voice in society.
Media Mavericks from the Middle Kingdom
An evening of video and discussion with Barbara London, Associate Curator, Department of Media, The Museum of Modern Art
Tuesday, April 1, 7-8:30 PM, Pietruski Auditorium, Donald A. Krenz Academic Center
Video art got off the ground in China in the late 1980s. Barbara London will discuss how the first media artists had backgrounds in socialist realist painting, how they got access to cameras, and gradually developed their own styles. Ten years ago 35 media artists existed in China; today they number in the thousands. Media artists from Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Chengdu will be discussed in terms of how they have devised their own straightforward approaches, recording what appears to be “reality” but are pithy conundrums to unravel. Their often simple-seeming actions function as metaphors for incisive political and social critique, including reckoning with a rapidly shifting national identity.
Barbara London founded The Museum of Modern Art’s video exhibition program and has guided it over a long pioneering career. Her groundbreaking work in Asia began with the exhibition Video from Tokyo to Fukui and Kyoto (1977) and expanded into China in the early 1990s. Her curatorial dispatches, Stir-fry, of 1977, a forerunner of blogs, is still online. She helped assemble the Museum’s premiere media collection.
Music in the Gallery: East Meets West
Sunday, April 6, 4 PM, in the Gallery
Tickets: $20 adults, $10 children and seniors, Concordia students free
The visual and performing arts come together again as Concordia Conservatory faculty members – cellist Annette Espada and violinist Yana Goichman – present a program of music inspired by China’s ancient culture, including folk songs, folk instruments, new compositions, and modern instruments.
Click here for more information on the Art at Concordia program!