HANOVER, NH.- The Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth, presents Attitude of Coexistence: Non-Humans in East Asian Art, now on view through June 29, 2025. Curated by Haely Chang, the inaugural Jane and Raphael Bernstein Associate Curator of East Asian Art, this exhibition invites visitors to reflect on representations of non- human subjects and their relationship to humanity throughout time. In East Asian art, non-humans— such as deities, mythological beings, animals, natural phenomena, and machines—have been depicted with agency as they coexist alongside their human counterparts. Focusing on works from Japan, China, Korea, and contemporary Mongolia, Attitude of Coexistence explores human attitudes toward non-human subjects through their aesthetic, religious, and vernacular representations in East Asian art. Drawn from the Hood Museum’s permanent collection, the exhibition features work from a variety of time periods, placing contemporary works in conversation with traditional objects many on view for the very first time.

Chang observes, “We live in an era where the presence of non-human entities is more pronounced than ever. From smart devices to artificial intelligence, machines increasingly shape how we think, behave, and navigate our daily lives. The pandemic underscored our deep interconnectedness with invisible forces such as viruses, while climate change has profoundly transformed how we perceive seasons and weather. These experiences prompt us to reconsider our relationship with the non-human world. How can we foster more inclusive and collegial attitudes toward coexistence with these entities in our time? This exhibition offers a thoughtful response to this question through the lens of Asian art from the past and the present. These works provide a valuable opportunity to explore the emotional and intellectual engagement artists have historically had with non-human entities. Their creative expressions reflect a deep desire for harmonious coexistence, offering insights that resonate powerfully with our own contemporary challenges.”

By including multiple new acquisitions, like Ken Matsubara’s Mikazuki Kukai’s View; Crescent Moon 朏 (2017) and Choe U-Ram's kinetic sculpture Gold Cakra Lamp (2013), Chang also shares her vision for the future of the Hood Museum’s East Asian art collection. Since joining the museum in 2023, Chang has expanded the collection’s influence and strengthened the Hood Museum’s relationships to local, regional, and global communities. Her initiatives include integrating the Asian art collection into Dartmouth’s academic curriculum, organizing the museum’s inaugural Lunar New Year celebration, and inviting international scholars from Japan and Korea to conduct research at Dartmouth.

“It is both exciting and satisfying to see the goal of activating the Asian collection at Dartmouth come to life for this exhibition. Working with Raphael and Jane Bernstein over the course of almost a decade has led to a curatorship in East Asian art and new collecting opportunities. Attitude of Coexistence: Non-Humans in East Asian Art is the first concrete manifestation of these dreams,” says John Stomberg, the Virgina Rice Kelsey 1961s Director of the Hood Museum of Art.

Following the success of the Hood Museum’s exhibition Park Dae Sung: Ink Reimagined, which was on view September 24, 2022—May 20, 2023, the Hood Museum is excited to provide the Dartmouth and Upper Valley communities with more opportunities to explore East Asian art across mediums, time periods, and artists.