Heaven and Earth spotlights powerful works of art in the Museum’s collections, spanning creative practices in China across several millennia. Historic objects and more recent works are brought into conversation, offering different perspectives on how we make meaning of the world and the diversity and creativity of Chinese artists and makers. Highlights include the Museum’s Han dynasty money tree, made of delicately filigreed bronze branches and leaves, and the Warring States period antlered tomb guardian (Zhenmushou), unique to the Chu culture. Among the highlights of more recent work by living artists is the monumental ink painting Heaven and Earth, by contemporary artist Hung Hsien, from which the exhibition takes its title. A rare, fine-line landscape by Shen Zhou (1427–1509), one of the most famous painters of the Ming dynasty, will be displayed in sections, allowing viewers to experience this exceptional, ambitious handscroll in its entirety over successive rotations.
