The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art presents Tea & Immortality Contemporary Chinese Yixing Teapots from the James T. Bialac Collection. On view April 2, 2011 – May 15, 2011.
The exhibition opens with a reception at 7 p.m. Friday, April 1, at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma. The exhibition is organized by the Phoenix Art Museum, which received the collection as a gift from Bialac. The Museum Association will host the opening reception and invites the public to attend the complimentary reception.
The stoneware clays of Yixing, China, known locally as “zisha” or “purple sand,” have been shaped into handsome utilitarian objects since the 14th century. By the 17th century, local craftsmen were using Yixing clay to create aesthetically sophisticated teapots for the scholar gentry of China. This selection of contemporary Yixing teapots from the James T. Bialac collection represents the delightfully whimsical culmination of this tradition. This exhibition was organized by Phoenix Art Museum.