Journeys: Mapping the Earth and Mind in Chinese Art

Featuring more than sixty works dating from the twelfth to the twenty-first century, this exhibition explores the theme of journeys both real and imagined. Depictions of real journeys range from intimate scenes of individual departures and returns to grand imperially commissioned panoramas of royal inspection tours and extravagantly detailed maps of the Yangzi River and Grand Canal. But Chinese artists have more often been inspired by journeys of the mind: roaming through the mountains or escaping to wilderness retreats or utopian paradises that can provide refuge, if only vicariously, from challenging realities. Contemporary artists have extended these themes, embarking on new journeys through transformations of traditional art forms.