As  part  of  its   50th  anniversary  celebration,  the  Asian  Art  Museum   has  unveiled  a  major  new  installation  by  renowned   contemporary  artist  Liu  Jianhua.  A  gift  from  the  Society   for  Asian  Art  entitled  Collected  Letters,  the  site-­specific   commission  by the  society  on  behalf  of  the  museum  is   now  on  view  in  the  second-­floor  Loggia.    
 
Inspired  by  the  museum  building’s  original  incarnation   as  the  San  Francisco  Main  Public  Library,  Liu  has   created  a  multi-­ton installation  composed  of   suspended,  commingled  white  porcelain  forms:  the   letters  of  the  Roman  alphabet  and  the  radicals  that   make  up  Chinese  characters.  

For  these  Collected  Letters,  Liu  designed  bold  typographical  forms  sculpted  and  fired  in   Jingdezhen,  the  centuries-­old  capital  of Chinese  porcelain  production.  Densely  arranged   on  dangling  strands  in  the  museum’s  soaring  classical  Loggia,  they  both  echo  and deconstruct  the  wise  maxims  inscribed  on  the  old  library  walls  as  well  as  the  aphorisms   painted  onto  the  historic  Chinese ceramics  nearby,  reminding  visitors  of  the  building’s   current  and  former  lives.  
 
“It’s  a  study  in  the  unity  of  differences.  English  and  Chinese.  Accessible  and  esoteric.   Reverence  for  the  past  and  exploration  of the  new,”  explains  Assistant  Curator  of   Contemporary  Art,  Karin  Oen.  “These  forms  can  be  seen  as  sculptural  compositions  in   their  own  right.  The  beautiful  illegibility  of  the  piece  is  surprisingly  refreshing  to  our   modern  eyes,  which  are  so  used  to  an overabundance  of  text.”

At  age  fourteen,  Liu  Jianhua  was  accepted  as  an  apprentice  at  the  Jingdezhen  Ceramics   Factory,  where  he  worked  for  the  next eight  years  mastering  the  artisanal,  technical,  and   practical  aspects  of  the  field.  Liu  is  known  for  his  deep  connection  to porcelain  and  for   creating  intriguing  artworks  comprised  of  conventional  objects  made  strange  by  their   scale,  material,  color  or placement.    
 
Liu’s  early  work  in  porcelain  included  surreal  renderings  of  female  bodies,  headless  or   limbless,  reclining  on  fine  dishes.  Other installations  involved  masses  of  books,  toys  and   everyday  tools  rendered  in  stark  white  porcelain.  Arranged  across  floors,  they evoke   dystopian  cityscapes;;  suspended  from  ceilings,  they  create  floating  worlds;  assembled  in   otherwise  predictable environments,  their  power  is  a  ghost-­like  surprise.     “The  assemblage  here  of  white  radicals  and  letters  nods  to  the  past  while presenting   tempting  possibilities  for  as-­of-­yet-­unwritten  prose  and  poetry,”  adds  Oen.  “At  the  same time,  the  simple  beauty  of fine porcelain  serves  as  an  alluring  starting  point  for  visitors  to   engage  with  the  museum’s  ceramics  collection,  one  of  the  most significant  holdings  of   East  Asian  ceramic  art  in  the  world.”  

As  an  artist  who  emerged  with  the  Chinese  avant-­garde  in  the 1980s,  Liu  Jianhua’s   contemporary  work  is  included  in  the permanent  collections  of  institutions  such  as  The   Victoria  and  Albert  Museum,  London;  Art  Gallery  of  New  South  Wales, Sydney;   Shenzhen  Art  Museum;  Guangdong  Museum  of  Art;  Solomon  R.  Guggenheim  Museum,   New  York;  Today  Art  Museum,  Beijing; USC  Pacific  Asia  Museum,  Pasadena;  and  the   Yuz  Museum,  Shanghai,  and  has  also  featured  in  the  Asian  Art  Museum’s  2010   Shanghai  exhibition.  
 
Contemporary  art  and  programming  key  to  Asian  Art  Museum’s  next  50  years  
 
“Collected  Letters  is  about  giving  new  audiences  memorable  experiences  with   significant  works  of  contemporary  art  in  a meaningful,  and  maybe  unexpected,  way,”   says  Asian  Art  Museum  Director  Jay  Xu.  “This  installation  furthers  the  museum’s   commitment  to  sparking  conversations  about  what’s  next  —  in  short,  starting  the  next  50   years  on  the  right  note.”  

Through  its  ongoing  commissioning  and  collecting  of  new  contemporary  works,  the   Asian  Art  Museum  invites  visitors  to  reflect on the  living  traditions  of  Asian  art  and   cultures.  To  offer  audiences  fresh  insights  into  contemporary  art  practices  like  Liu   Jianhua’s,  the  museum’s  multimedia  and  education  teams  will  create  videos  of  Liu   discussing  his  process  and  inspiration  for Collected  Letters  along  with  interviews  in   Chinese  and  English  with  visitors  after  experiencing  the  installation  for  the  first  time.  

“On  the  occasion  of  this  milestone,  we’re  commemorating  our  time  in  this  magnificent   building  and  planning  for  our  future here,” says  Linda  Lei,  president  of  the  Society  for   Asian  Art,  which  helped  found  the  Asian  Art  Museum  in  the  1960s  by  bringing  the celebrated  collection  of  philanthropist  Avery  Brundage  to  San  Francisco.  “With  Collected   Letters,  we  wanted  to honor  the  forward-­looking  spirit  of  the  museum  by  connecting  an   ancient  art  form  with  what’s  happening  in  the  world  now.”  
 
Collected  Letters  is  organized  by  the  Asian  Art  Museum  of  San  Francisco.  This   acquisition  was  made  possible  by  the  Society  for Asian  Art  in  honor  of  the  Asian  Art   Museum's  50th  Anniversary.  
 
The  Asian  Art  Museum–Chong-­Moon  Lee  Center  for  Asian  Art  and  Culture  is  one  of  San   Francisco's  premier  arts  institutions  and home  to  a  world-­renowned  collection  of  more  than   18,000  Asian  art  treasures  spanning  6,000  years  of  history.  Through  rich  art experiences,   centered  on  historic  and  contemporary  artworks,  the  museum  unlocks  the  past  for  visitors,   bringing  it  to  life  while serving  as  a  catalyst  for  new  art,  new  creativity  and  new  thinking.     Information:  415.581.3500  or www.asianart.org