Sensing Things

Exhibition Description 

‘Sensing things’ refers to the emotions roused by our interactions with ‘things’. They are natural feelings that emerge in the present day as they always have in the past. On this, Liji (The Book of Rites) stated, ‘Moved by sensing external things’, while Wenxin diaolong (The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons) claimed, ‘Poets are roused by the sensing of things’. Traditional literature has recorded how our forebears described their relationships between sensing things and the arts, how they expressed that sentiment in their artistic and literary creations—thereby leaving a rich corpus of music and literary works for later generations to enjoy. Artists’ abilities to sense things can also be seen in the flourishes of their paintbrushes, or in the intricate creations moulded by their hands. In creating paintings and ceramics that are unique in style and subject matter, the artists reveal their talents, spirits, and passions. Beyond that, the ‘thingness’ of artworks also affects how people later view and appreciate ‘things’. Through both consulting past literature and sharing their theories, we engage in a dialogue between humans and ‘things’ which stretches across time and space. 

Entitled Sensing Things, this exhibition aims to extend this discussion on ‘things’. Through the Chinese artwork of the Chamber of Young Snow Collection, it explores how artists and connoisseurs express the emotional links between humans and objects through creating and appreciating things. Two narratives run through this exhibition: ‘The Joy of Landscape’ and ‘The Way of Playing with Objects’. ‘The Joy of Landscape’ refers to the happiness of travelling and being in nature, as the harmonious coexistence between us and nature is an important element of Chinese culture. This section features nearly twenty works of art by celebrated artists of the 20th century, which are displayed in two rotations. The subject matter of these works varies greatly from famed landscapes, secluded dwellings to fantastical flora. They all invite viewers to consider how artists expressed their own emotions and the spirit of interconnectivity with the world through the landscape, bird-and-flower and figure they depict. Through different types of Chinese ceramics dating from the Song to the Qing dynasties. ‘The Way of Playing with Objects’ uses a connoisseur’s lens to examine the past and present. The different glazes, forms and decorations of these objects bridge the past and present experiences of appreciation by allowing viewers to admire the mastery and craftsmanship of our forebears. Viewers can even link the external value of these ‘things’ with the inner cultivation of people, try to integrate ‘things’ into the quiet elegance of daily life, and expand the aesthetic imagination of objects from their sensual characteristics. 

Since we feel differently and feel different things, the emotions of ‘sensing things’ are also manifested and expressed in different ways. It is therefore impossible to generalise what ‘sensing things’ might mean to both the creators and appreciators of art. Although our reactions and artistic responses to ‘sensing things’ might vary, we hope that you can appreciate the intrigues of Chinese art through ‘sensing things’ in this exhibition, that you can reflect on your thoughts and understanding of the times, and that you will seek to express them.