by Emily Dobby
Have you been longing for an art fix? A way to add art to your life during these long, dreary winter days?
You’ll likely find it in Blue and White, the AGGV exhibition opening on January 30th.
The exhibit examines blue-and-white porcelain as a global product that contains a sundry of cultural traits. Blue-and-white has come to embody cross-cultural communication.
Blue-and-white refers to the white porcelain featuring cobalt blue pigment ornamentation first manufactured in China during the 14th century. After its global debut, blue-and-white ceramics ‘went viral,’ emulated and innovated around the globe for centuries.
Blue and White showcases porcelain from China, Japan, the UK and European countries including Holland, with pieces dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries. A contemporary section of the exhibition includes blue-and-white works of different mediums and artistic forms made in the 20th and 21st century.
Blue and White displays over 200 items from the AGGV collection, including many extraordinary pieces from the renowned AGGV Asian collection and is curated by Heng Wu, AGGV Curator of Asian Art.
“This exhibition is our initiative in experimenting with new curatorial approaches to our permanent collections by breaking the boundaries that have been artificially placed on these collections, such as Asian vs. Canadian or Historical vs. Contemporary. Each object has multiple layers in its cultural identity,” said Wu. “As curators, our job is to, through curatorial work, reveal and present the richness of the cultural identity of our collections, and to make them more accessible and appreciated by our audience.”
For more information visit aggv.ca