Twenty-five original paintings depicting scenes of rural life in China are featured in “The Good Earth: Folk Art and Artifacts From the Chinese Countryside,” opening Wednesday, Oct. 8, at Wake Forest University’s Museum of Anthropology.
The exhibit, which runs through Nov. 26, also includes clothing and children’s toys from the Huxian province of central China.
The artworks were created by farmers who were trained as muralists during China’s Cultural Revolution.
“The brightly-colored and highly imaginative paintings, toys and clothing explore color and form and introduce viewers to daily rural Chinese life,” says Mary Jane Berman, director of the museum. “The large and colorful paintings depict farmers engaged in agricultural work such as picking turnips, harvesting grapes and herding cattle.”
Narrative labels explaining the displayed items were written by Mingsheng Yang, a scholar of Chinese popular culture.
Examples of Chinese folk art from the Museum of Anthropology’s permanent collections are also on exhibit. In conjunction with the exhibit, the museum will offer a four-week course on Chinese folk art taught by artist Mona Wu. The class begins Oct. 9.
“The Good Earth” is presented by Exhibits USA, a division of the Mid-America Arts Alliance.
The museum is located on the Wake Forest campus adjacent to Kentner track stadium. Hours are 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday. Admission is free. For information, call (910) 759-5282.
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