New York, meet Beijing.
Beijing, meet New York.
And arts lovers, meet them both – in Greenwich as the Bruce Museum presents “Tales of Two Cities: New York & Beijing” (May 3-Aug. 31). It’s a show by two curators, Beijing-based Pan Qing and New York-based Michelle Y. Loh, who in turn selected five pairs of artists. Each pair is made up of – you guessed it – a New York-based artist and a Beijing-based one. The works – something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue – are not collaborative but rather complementary. Ultimately, “Tales” is a tale of dialogues, not the least of which is the one among the artist, the artwork and the viewer.
To mark the opening on Saturday, May 3, there will be a symposium, “New York & Beijing” from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The 10 a.m. introduction includes Bruce deputy director Susan Ball along with the show’s curators and Sarah McNaughton and John Rajchman, who worked with them. At 10:30, there’s a lecture on “Invisible Futures: Cultural Landscape in Post-Mao China” by Yibing Huang, associate professor of Chinese at Connecticut College. It’s followed by the curators’ tour of the exhibit at 11:30.
After the lunch break, there are two panel discussions with various artists from the show. Tickets are $25; $15 for members and $5 for students with ID. Reservations are strongly suggested and can be made by calling 203-869-0376.
While you’re at the Bruce, be sure to take in “Pasture to Pond: Connecticut Impressionism” (through June 22), featuring many works from the museum’s own collection. It, too, tells a story of a time in America (the early 20th century) when Connecticut was a hotbed of French Impressionism’s bolder, more muscular cousin. And dig how the gallery’s eggplant-colored walls really bring out the gold frames and rich hues of works by the likes of Childe Hassam and John Twachman.
For more, visit brucemuseum.org. And for more “Tales of Two Cities,” check out WAG’s June “Power Trips” issue. – Georgette Gouveia
