Beyond the Mountain: Contemporary Chinese Artists on the Classical Forms

China’s rich legacies in art, language, and culture are conceptualized by the artists in Beyond the Mountain: Contemporary Chinese Artists on the Classical Forms as visual, auditory, and kinetic experiences to tackle urgent and complex issues facing our globalized world. They allude to Chinese tradition—from the materials of ink, brush, and paper to the time-honored genre of landscape painting—to depict present-day events, such as street protests and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. New works by Yang Yongliang and Lam Tung Pang join those by Ai Weiwei and Zhang Huan from SAM’s collection in contemplating the societal tolls of modernity and globalization and the challenge that humans create for the natural world. Developed in collaboration with University of Washington students, Beyond the Mountain is the second special exhibition presented in the newly renovated Seattle Asian Art Museum.