Author Description

Like the old masters before them, modern and contemporary luminaries, such as Zhang Daqian, Zhang Hongtu, Liu Jude, Liu Dan, Yu Hong, and others, have sought inspiration from Dunhuang's ancient sculptures and murals. "Inspired by Dunhuang" presents the breathtaking results of their painstaking creative efforts, works which capture the experience of Dunhuang in ways that are powerfully transformative. With its carefully curated group of paintings, calligraphy, sculptures, photographs, and mixed media installations encompassing a variety of themes and forms--plus records of interviews with the artists--this exhibition is a pioneering exploration of the historical, literary, artistic, and conceptual nature of the inspiration and influence exerted by Dunhuang's thousand-year-old tradition on contemporary artistic creation.