Eternal Offerings: Chinese Ritual Bronzes at the Minneapolis Institute of Art
Eternal Offerings
Chinese Ritual Bronzes
A Special Exhibition Designed by Oscar-Winning Artistic Director Tim Yip
March 4, 2023 — May 21, 2023
Bronze vessels held great ritual significance in ancient China. Used to make offerings to heavenly and ancestral spirits, these exquisite objects were also symbols of power. Mia’s Chinese art curator Liu Yang and world-renowned art director and film designer Tim Yip (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) have created an experiential exhibition that engages the senses. Featuring some 150 Chinese bronze objects from Mia’s collection, “Eternal Offerings” offers an immersive experience designed to evoke the mystery of heavenly and ancestral worship. Each gallery embodies a facet of the rituals enacted to honor the divinities, from the solemnity of the temple, to the intoxication of lavish banquets. This exhibition features lighting design by A.J. Weissbard.
About Tim Yip
Tim Yip is a visual artist, costume designer, and art director for theater and film. Using ancient culture as inspiration, he works in contemporary art, costume, film, and more. His work on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2001) won him an Oscar for Best Art Direction and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award for Best Costume Design; he is the first Chinese person to receive such awards. His costumes have appeared in stage productions of The King and I and Rite of Spring, the Netflix production Marco Polo, the Hong Kong Ballet and the English National Ballet, and the Chinese Olympic team. His art has been featured in exhibitions in Taiwan, France, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United States.
About Liu Yang
After completing his PhD at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London in 1997, Liu Yang served as the senior curator of Chinese art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney. There he mounted an impressive number of major exhibitions, including shows on Chinese painting, Buddhist sculpture, jades, and bronzes. Since joining Mia as Chair of the Department of Asian Art in 2011, Liu has curated several popular exhibitions, including “China’s Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor’s Legacy” (2013), and “Power and Beauty in China’s Last Dynasty” (2018), an unprecedented collaboration with theater artist Robert Wilson highlighting the drama, rituals, and opulence of the Qing Empire.
Minneapolis Institute of Art
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