Wang Mansheng working on Without Us. Image courtesy of the artist. | © 2024 Wang Mansheng.
An art installation that imagines a world without humans is now on display at The Huntington’s Chinese Garden. “Wang Mansheng: Without Us,” featuring 22 hand-painted raw silk panels suspended from the ceiling, opened May 17 in the Studio for Lodging the Mind within Liu Fang Yuan.
“‘Without Us’ imagines a world without humans. Of course, gardens are man-made,” said Wang Mansheng, who serves as the Cheng Family Foundation Visiting Artist in the Chinese Garden. “The work’s scope incorporates my experiences in traveling and hiking in many different places.”
The exhibition, running through August 4, explores the interconnectedness of all living beings. Wang painted the works using traditional ink and black walnut ink on raw silk, crafting his own tools including reed brushes made from plants near his Hudson River home.
Born in 1962 in Taiyuan, China, Wang worked at China Central Television from 1985 to 1996 before moving to New York to pursue art full-time. The exhibition includes excerpts from classical Chinese philosophers and poets on the gallery walls.
“Mansheng has a very scholarly approach to painting,” said curator Phillip E. Bloom, the June and Simon K.C. Li Curator of the Chinese Garden. “He knows the history of painting intimately, and responds to art history thoughtfully.”
“It’s overwhelming to see how much we have built with steel and concrete and to wonder how much of the natural world remains untouched,” Wang reflected.
Free 20-minute drop-in talks about the exhibition, conducted in Mandarin, are available to visitors.
Wang Mansheng: Without Us On view through August 4. Studio for Lodging the Mind, Liu Fang Yuan (Chinese Garden). The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, at 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. For more call (626) 405-2100 or visit https://www.huntington.org/exhibitions/wang-mansheng-without-us
