National Gallery of Art acquires work by Mel Chin
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Saturday, November 2, 2024


National Gallery of Art acquires work by Mel Chin
Mel Chin, Landscape, 1990. Sheetrock cut to topography of 30th parallel, dirt from local landfill, plywood, oil on canvas, tempera and silver on paper, ground azurite, malachite and other pigments on silk, gold. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Gift of the Collectors Committee, 2023.8.1. Photo: Bert Janssen Maastricht.



WASHINGTON, DC.- Mel Chin (b. 1951) is a conceptual artist known for his research-based approach that encourages greater awareness of and dialogue around social and environmental issues. The National Gallery of Art has recently acquired Landscape (1990), the first work by the artist to enter the collection, through a gift of the Collectors Committee. Landscape addresses idealized representations of nature in the past and the reality of nature in the present.

A pivotal work in Chin’s career, Landscape comprises a 14-by-14-foot room featuring three works of art, each referencing specific cultures with strong historical painting and philosophical traditions relating to the landscape.

The first work, on the wall opposite the room’s entrance, is created in the style of a 14th-century Persian miniature. Featuring hills, sky, and a river, the painting references the Zoroastrian belief in the earth as a spiritual entity from which a river flows. The river’s sheen comes from silver leaf, which darkens over time to suggest pollution from the contemporary oil industry.

On the left wall is an oil painting in the style of 19th-century American romantic landscape artist Albert Pinkham Ryder. The work’s gilt frame evokes the affluence of Ryder’s time, while the shallow relief moldings echo the topography of the 30th parallel. The painting depicts trees native to the United States at that latitude, including pines, live oaks, and junipers. The artist applied darkening glazes across the entire composition, like a patina of acid rain.

The work on the right wall is based on a Yuan Dynasty scroll after the style of Zhao Mengfu (1254–1332) that depicts five blue-green mountains, alluding to the five Chinese elements. Chin has replaced the traditional scholar and trees with a subtle tiger-skin pattern on the blank portions of the scroll, a reference to the fading of untamed nature in modern times.

Chin’s meticulously crafted paintings are not exact depictions of their original sources; rather, each one is somehow purposefully inadequate. This is underscored at the bottom of each of the room’s walls, where a condensed contour of the 30th parallel is cut. Landfill, with traces of modern-day refuse, seeps out below, suggesting the unseen consequences of the consumption and historical idealization of nature. This fourth landscape brings viewers out of the historical past and into the present.

One of Chin’s most significant works, Landscape has been included in several of the artist’s major shows from 1990 through 2018. Chin is a MacArthur Fellow and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, among other honors.










Today's News

May 26, 2023

Radical rethinking at Biennale: Africa and the future share pride of place

Sofia Mitsola now represented by Galerie Eva Presenhuber

Towner Eastbourne to host retrospective on iconic British artist Barbara Hepworth

McNay Art Museum awarded $250,000 grant for new artwork acquisition

The most complete Photography Centre now open at V&A

Jim Dine now presenting 'Three Ships' including rows of intimate self-portraits

'Painted Love: Renaissance Marriage Portraits' at The Holburne Museum

Les Lalannes shine at €16.6 million Sotheby's Paris Design Sale

May auctions at Michaan's brings music to everyone's ears

Chinese works achieve more than £9 million at Bonhams Asia Week sales in London

Rehabilitation plans for Iraq's Daesh-damaged Mosul Cultural Museum mark memory of attack

Navy destroyer sunk in World War II is discovered off Okinawa

Nagasaki Cathedral's surviving church bell sells for $40,264 at auction

Guitar's place in American art features paintings, photography, and seminal instruments

Review: These rites of spring push back at ruthlessness

National Gallery of Art acquires work by Mel Chin

Gabriella Smith's music marvels at nature with grooving joy

Michel Verjux: "THE ADVANTAGE OF CLARITY" now on view at Centre d'art Chasse-Spleen

American artist Jessica Cannon now on view at Polina Berlin Gallery

Xavier Hufkens presents monographic of work by American artist Milton Avery

Beautiful antique Quebec furniture pieces dominate the list of top lots from Belzile Collection

'Alchemy' featuring many post-war and contemporary artists now on view at Thaddaeus Ropac

American architect, artist and educator Steven Holl presents 'Half Earth' linked to the protection of Nature

Todd Tubutis selected as director of the Center for Creative Photography

7 things you should consider before choosing a toto site

Nile River Tours Activities

Choosing the Right CDN Hosting Provider for Your Business

The Do's and Don'ts of Dressing for a Wedding as the Mother of the Bride

How to Create an Art Studio Space At Home

Mastering On-Page SEO for Artistic Websites: Tips and Strategies

Artist's Depression and EMDR Therapy




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Holistic Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful