Ewer (Brocca) (detail), Medici Porcelain Manufactory, ca. 1575–80. Soft-paste porcelain. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917 (17.190.2046)

Day Symposium
Creative Convening—Monstrous Beauty: A Feminist Revision of Chinoiserie
Saturday, May 17, 2025 from 10:30am–4pm
Free with museum admission (kindly register)
The Met Fifth Avenue – The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium

Dive deep into the themes found in The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s current exhibition,  Monstrous Beauty: A Feminist Revision of Chinoiserie, through dynamic conversations, presentations, and readings by leading scholars, designers, and writers. Explore how the decorative style of chinoiserie shaped both European women’s identities and racial and cultural stereotypes around Asian women in this critical look at the historical style and its afterlives.

Below is the schedule of events:

10:30 am: Welcome and Introduction
Sarah Lawrence, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Curator in Charge, European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, The Met
Iris Moon, Associate Curator, European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, The Met

11 am: Reading
Sally Wen Mao, Poet

11:15 am: Session I – Conversation: Chinoiserie’s Contested Histories
David Porter, Professor of English and Comparative Literature, University of Michigan
Michele Matteini, Associate Professor of East Asian Art, Architecture and Visual Culture, New York University
Moderated by Iris Moon, Associate Curator, European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, The Met

12:15 pm: Roundtable Discussion: Why It’s Time to Rethink Chinoiserie—A Critical Look at Interior Design
Michael K. Chen, Principal, Michael K Chen Architecture
Aileen Kwun, Writer, editor, and creative director
Moderated by Dung Ngo, Editor in Chief, AUGUST Journal

1 pm: Break

2 pm: Session II
Artist Conversation: Heidi Lau and Patty Chang
Moderated by Howie Chen, Curator, 80 Washington Square East Gallery, New York University

2:30 pm: Conversation: Beauty Standards and Aesthetics
Alka Menon, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Yale University, and author of Refashioning Race: How Global Cosmetic Surgery Crafts New Beauty Standards
Elise Hu, Journalist, podcaster, entrepreneur, and author of Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital

3:15 pm: Keynote
Anne Anlin Cheng, Professor of English, Princeton University

4 pm: Closing Remarks
Iris Moon, Associate Curator, European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, The Met

To learn more and register, click here.