Wang Mansheng (born 1962), Deep in the Mountains, Searching for Ancient Trees 11, 2014, ink on paper

Cloud Wanderings of Wang Mansheng, Hammond Museum and
Japanese Stroll Garden
Now on view through August 13
Opening reception and Artist's Talk, Saturday, June 9, 1-4pm
Chinese Calligraphy Demonstration with Wang Mansheng, Saturday, July 9, 2pm
Yunyou Writing Workshop, Saturday, August 6, 2-3:30pm, limit 10 people

This exhibition presents paintings and calligraphy in the Chinese tradition by Wang Mansheng that explore the spirit of the natural world and venture into contemporary meaning. Divided into three parts, the show includes landscape paintings and calligraphy in Guild Hall, colorful paintings of lotus in the Hays Gallery, and a selection of album paintings and artist’s tools in the central Goelet Gallery.

This exhibition juxtaposes the traditional and contemporary in multiple ways. In pre-modern times, the concept of “cloud travel” (yunyou in Mandarin Chinese) was largely associated with the wanderings of sages and immortals. In this way, yunyou paintings embodied notions of spirituality and aimlessness and were connected with Daoism, Buddhism, and folk beliefs. Drawing on the contemporary use of the word “cloud” for online data storage, the term yunyou has now taken on a new connotation of travel through the internet. In this exhibition, Wang Mansheng explores both meanings of yunyou and thereby, creates a dynamic and timely bridge between China’s past and our own day.

The Hammond Museum and Japanese Stroll Garden, in North Salem, New York, was founded in 1957 by Natalie Hays Hammond (1904-1985) as a place where Eastern and Western cultures could be appreciated and visitors could enjoy the beauty of nature. The highlight of the Hammond is the Japanese Stroll Garden, which occupies 3 ½ acres, is centered around its pond, and includes numerous rare Japanese plants and trees, as well as species native to Westchester.

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