NYFAS Current Exhibition

NYFAS Exhibition: John W. Winkler: The Chinatown Etchings

Between 1916 and 1921 Winkler made at least 120 etchings of Chinatown, which was a popular subject among local artists at the time. But Winkler’s Chinatown imagery differed from the picturesque representations of his contemporaries; sometime late in 1916, his attention turned from the buildings of Chinatown to people at work in the neighborhood. This shift was indicative of the artist’s increasing identification with his fellow workers, immigrants, and ethnic outsiders in San Francisco at the start of World War I. As a German speaker caught up in xenophobic hysteria during the War, Winkler found a metaphor for his struggles in his experiences of Chinatown. Critic Louis Godefroy wrote in 1925 that Winkler’s Chinatown etchings “will remain a vital expression of this paradoxical bringing together of two most opposite races and civilizations. It was precisely that “bringing together”— in other words, Winkler’s identification with the simultaneous centrality of Chinese Americans within, and their alienation from, the city of San Francisco—that drew him to Chinatown during the First World War.

Louise Siddons
Associate Professor of Art History
Oklahoma State University at Stillwater
Panorama, Winter 2015

Mon : Closed
Tue : Closed
Wed : 11:00 am – 04:30 pm
Thu : Contact Us
Fri : 11:00 am – 04:30 pm
Sat : 11:00 am – 04:30 pm
Sun : 11:00 pm – 04:30 pm

NYFAS Exhibition: American Confucius Artists

As descendants of one of the most influential thinkers in Chinese history, both artists carry a profound connection to the traditions, values, and artistic spirit that have shaped Chinese civilization for more than two millennia. Yet their works reveal individual approaches to expressing that heritage in the context of contemporary art.

Kong Xianhua is an abstract artist whose work explores emotion, movement, space, and the relationship between color and form. His paintings move beyond literal representation, inviting viewers to experience Chinese cultural sensibility through an increasingly contemporary visual language. His abstraction reflects a dialogue between tradition and innovation, allowing ancient cultural consciousness to find new forms of expression.

Kong Wei, meanwhile, works within the rich tradition of Chinese painting, drawing upon the techniques and aesthetic principles developed through generations of Chinese artistic practice. His works demonstrate an appreciation for brushwork, composition, rhythm, and the harmony between nature and the human spirit. At the same time, his artistic expression reflects a contemporary perspective, creating a bridge between classical Chinese painting and the visual experience of the modern

Mon : Closed
Tue : Closed
Wed : 11:00 am – 04:30 pm
Thu : Contact Us
Fri : 11:00 am – 04:30 pm
Sat : 11:00 am – 04:30 pm
Sun : 11:00 pm – 04:30 pm