Artists & Identity

Flowers and Birds of the Twelve Months, one of a pair (1703), by Yamamoto Soken (1683-1706). Japan. Six panel folding screen; Ink and colors on silk. The Avery Brundage Collection, B60D82+.1.

Farmers working and resting, 1955, by Fernando Amorsolo (Filipino, 1892 – 1972), Oil on canvas, Gift of Alexander and Cornelia Calhoun, 2005.99. Photograph © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

A kit’alar is a calligraphic work written on a rectangular piece of paper pasted onto a cardboard backing. Equal margins are left around the calligraphy in which the artist decorates with marbled paper (ebru) or illumination.

Overview of the Hokusai and Hiroshige: Great Japanese Prints from the James A. Michener Collection, Honolulu Academy of Arts exhibition that took place at the Asian Art Museum from September 26–December 6, 1998 (filmed at former museum location in Golden Gate Park).

Bottle Gourds, 1930–1957, by Qi Baishi (1863-1957). Hanging scroll; ink and colors on paper. The Avery Brundage Collection, B69D15.

Utilizing the special exhibition “Yoga: The Art of Transformation” as a point of departure, this short, dynamic talk, or Baat Cheet, focuses on California’s unique role in the adoption, evolution, and popularization of yoga today.

Artist Cece Carpio takes over the Village Artist Corner this summer to radiate the themes of the exhibition Divine Bodies into the community surrounding the museum. Divine Bodies asks us to look for the divine in the human, and Carpio has found it in women living and working in the Tenderloin. With a series of painted portraits paired with their stories captured on video about the participants and their lives, Carpio shines a light on those who are needed to be seen.

Watch Javanese artisans make batik and learn more about their refined techniques.

Xu Bing is renowned for his artistic explorations of the role of language in human life.

Valerie Luu and Katie Kwan of Rice Paper Scissors bring Vietnamese street food to California. For this Tasting Menu, they explore how food and fashion are passed down through generations — namely by our grandparents. Joining them is Andria Lo of local blog Chinatown Pretty, which celebrates the street style of seniors in San Francisco’s Chinatown.