The Nassau County Museum of Art is poised to present its first exhibition devoted to Chinese art. "China Then and Now" presents a range of work from the classical, early modern and contemporary periods from China. The works include rarely seen Ming and Qing Dynasty porcelains from the Frick Collection, first millennium stone sculpture from the Arthur M. Sackler Collection at Columbia University, and contemporary ink of paper by contemporary Beijing artist Liu Dan. The exhibition opens at Nassau County Museum of Art on November 22, 2014 and remains on view through March 8, 2015.

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Northern Qi (550-577), Head of a Bodhisattva. Sandstone, 13 3/8 x 7 1/4 x 7 3/4 inches. Sackler Collections, Columbia University. Art Properties, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University in the City of New York, Sackler Collections.

Northern Qi (550-577), Head of a Bodhisattva. Sandstone, 13 3/8 x 7 1/4 x 7 3/4 inches. Sackler Collections, Columbia University. Art Properties, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University in the City of New York, Sackler Collections.

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"China Then and Now" is presented in three galleries on the first floor of the museum. Each is designed to showcase the elegant beauty of Chinese art of a specific era and medium. One of the show stoppers is an installation of blue-and-white porcelains from the Ming and Qing eras (17th to 18th centuries) collected by Childs and Frances Frick and on loan, for the first time, from The Frick Collection in New York.  The installation is also meaningful because of the setting--the works are having a homecoming of sorts as they were formerly displayed in the Georgian-style Bryce-Frick mansion that is now the Nassau County Museum of Art. 

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Chinese, Qing Dynasty (1644-1912), Triple Gourd Vase (one of pair), 1662-1722. Porcelain, blue and white, 9 15/16 x 5 1/4 inches. The Frick Collection, New York (1965.8.121).

Chinese, Qing Dynasty (1644-1912), Triple Gourd Vase (one of pair), 1662-1722. Porcelain, blue and white, 9 15/16 x 5 1/4 inches. The Frick Collection, New York (1965.8.121).

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A second gallery highlights eleven large-scale classical stone sculptures lent by the Arthur M. Sackler Collections at Columbia University.

Related programming is the lecture on Saturday, December 20, at 3 p.m. “A Thousand Graces: Chinese Buddhist Sculpture in America Then and Now” will be presented by Daisy Yiyou Wang, Ph.D., Curator of Chinese and East Asian Art at the Peabody Essex Museum. Wang will trace the journeys of Chinese Buddhist sculptures from early 20th-century temples to their installations in American art museums. She will also share findings of her new research on Charles L. Freer, the founder of the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art, exploring his collection of Chinese Buddhist art.

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Late Northern Wei (386-534), Relief with Guardian Figure. Limestone, 24 1/8 x 11 x 4 1/2 inches. Sackler Collections, Columbia University. Art Properties, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University in the City of New York, Sackler Collections.

Late Northern Wei (386-534), Relief with Guardian Figure. Limestone, 24 1/8 x 11 x 4 1/2 inches. Sackler Collections, Columbia University. Art Properties, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University in the City of New York, Sackler Collections.

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The third gallery in "China Then and Now" presents ink paintings by contemporary Beijing artist Liu Dan (born 1953) whose works bridge traditional forms with contemporary practices. Peeling back some of his process is the screening of “The Other Eye” by Fan Xiaochun. The documentary excerpt will screen at the museum from November 22, 2014 to March 8, 2015. The film reveals some of Liu Dan's process as he makes a large-scale landscape. Reservations for the screening are not needed and are included with museum admission.

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"Winter Landscape" by Liu Dan (b. 1953), 2002. Ink on paper, 24 3/4 x 102 1/2 inches. Private collection.

"Winter Landscape" by Liu Dan (b. 1953), 2002. Ink on paper, 24 3/4 x 102 1/2 inches. Private collection.

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China Then and Now is co-organized by guest curators Amy G. Poster, Curator Emerita of Asian Art at the Brooklyn Museum, and Kaijun Chen, Ph.D., post-doctoral Fellow at the Max-Planck-Institute for the History of Science. Taken as a whole, "China Then and Now" aims to shed turn its attention to America's recent engagement and fascination with China and its arts. It also reveals the curated interests of a few American collectors of Chinese works from the past and present.

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Chinese, Ming Dynasty, (1368-1644), Bowl, late 16th, early 17th centuries. Porcelain, blue and white, 4 9/16 x 8 inches. Frick Collection, New York (1965.8.68).

Chinese, Ming Dynasty, (1368-1644), Bowl, late 16th, early 17th centuries. Porcelain, blue and white, 4 9/16 x 8 inches. Frick Collection, New York (1965.8.68).

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The interest in Chinese arts continues on the museum's Second Floor in “Long Island Collects: The Arts of China”. The exhibition presents rarely-seen works and art that’s never been exhibited before. All are held in private collections of Long Islanders. The show coincides with “China Then and Now”.

Also opening on the Second Floor is a solo show by Gavin Rain in the Contemporary Collectors Gallery. A native of Cape Town, South Africa, Rain’s work has been exhibited internationally. In the Permanent Collection Gallery, “Louis Comfort Tiffany: Works on Paper” opens. Both shows will be exhibited from November 22, 2014 through March 8, 2015.

BASIC FACTS: "China Then and Now" opens on November 22 and remains on view through March 8, 2015. The Nassau County Museum of Art is located at 1 Museum Dr, Roslyn, NY 11576. www.nassaumuseum.org. A series of lectures and programming will be held in conjunction with the exhibition. For details, visit www.nassaumuseum.org.

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