March 20, 2009

The largest exhibition of contemporary Chinese Art ever presented in Philadelphia, Ink not Ink, featuring the work of 40 acclaimed artists including Wenda Gu, Wei Quingji and Lin Tianmiao, opens Thursday, April 2nd. Drexel University is Ink not Ink's only U.S. stop, after museum exhibitions in Beijng and Shenzen and before travelling on to Europe. Ink not Ink includes nearly 100 paintings, prints, sculptures and videos with Wenda Gu's United Nations: Man & Space Year 2000, a colossal 100-ft. tall installation representing the flags of every nation as the center-piece.

On April 1st the Drexel, public and art communities are invited to a symposium of leading scholars from the United States and China including Robert Storr, Dean of the Yale School of Art; Richard Vine, Senior Editor; Art In America; Melissa Chiu, Director of the Asia Society; and Lu Hong, curator of China's Shenzhen Art Museum. The symposium will create a dialogue between Chinese and American scholars on the topic of contemporary Chinese ink painting, which is evolving from a centuries-long central role in the cultural memory and imagination of China. Dr. Pan Qing, curator at the National Art Museum of China, will serve as moderator. For much more information, please click here.

Also, on April 1st, there will be a Gala Preview and Reception (with paid admission) for our visiting Chinese artists and scholars along with dignitaries from the Ministry of Culture, members of the Consulate General's Office in NY, the Chinese Embassy in Washington and American dignitaries. Jenny Chen, a pianist from the Curtis Institute of Music, will perform. For those attending the Gala, every ticket will be entered into a drawing for two free BusinessFirst round-trip tickets to China, compliments of Continental Airlines. For information on purchasing tickets to the Gala Preview and Reception, please click here.

Organized by Dr. Joseph Gregory, Art & Art History Department Head, and Drexel Trustee Abbie Dean, Ink not Ink will be installed in three different locations on the Drexel campus including the I.M. Pei designed Bossone Research Center, the Frank Furness designed Paul Peck Alumni Center and the Pearlstein Gallery. Drexel University's presentation of the exhibition and symposium was made possible through the generous support of the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China, the Marketing Division of the Ministry of Culture of the P. R. of China, the Shenzhen Foundation of Cultural Promotion and Development, Beijing Zhongwenfa International Cultural Exchange Co. Ltd, Continental Airlines and HSBC.