Story-Telling: Narrative Paintings in Asian Art

Pictures that tell stories serve as powerful vehicles to illuminate important events, promote cultural and religious values, or express personal views. This exhibition features eight narrative paintings from China, Japan, India, and Tibet, showcasing the diversity of the format and expressive versatility of these Asian cultures. Dating from the 17th through 19th centuries, the paintings offer a variety of distinct approaches to pictorial storytelling. This includes, among others, examples of continuous narration within a single frame, a handscroll annotated with extensive text, and a monumental textile panel comprised of dozens of successive scenes. The exhibition is drawn from the Museum’s permanent collection with loans from local collectors, and coincides with the contemporary survey Valeska Soares: Any Moment Now, exploring Soares’ experimentation with temporality, narrative, and memory.