Serene Contemporary Architecture and Present-Day Art Contribute to Uniquely Illuminating Experience of Buddhist Traditions, as Foundation Inaugurates Its Tenth-Anniversary Season
A superb selection of some of the greatest Buddhist sculptures and hanging scrolls held in United States collections, representing several major traditions and sites of production from the late 2nd to the 18th centuries, will be on view to the public in the serene and light-filled Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts from September 9, 2011 through March 10, 2012 in the exhibition Reflections of the Buddha. The exhibition opens with a public reception on Friday, September 9, from 5 to 9 p.m.
Reflections of the Buddha is the first loan exhibition of Pan-Asian Buddhist art in St. Louis. It presents over twenty masterpieces from seven important American collections. The artworks represent a wide swath of Buddhist cultures that date from as early as the second century CE. Primarily sculptures, these works come from Afghanistan, China, Korea, India, Japan, Nepal, Mongolia, and Tibet. The aim of this exhibition is to inspire the inquisitive visitor to delve deeper into the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha, as well as the ideas and artistic traditions that evolved to produce these superb works of art.
Reflections of the Buddha will display these works in dialogue with the Pulitzer Foundation’s building by Tadao Ando, one of Asia’s leading architects. Through his mastery of light and space, Ando designs buildings that he considers both sacred and secular to allow the individual either possibility through the serene openness of the place. In our galleries, we hope to present these works not only as compelling examples of diverse Buddhist traditions but also as visual expressions of the indescribable state of being known as enlightenment. Each work will be given ample space and will respond to the architecture in such a way as to encourage mindful looking and contemplation.
Image: Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. Nepal. Transitional period, late 10th-early 11th century. Gilt copper alloy with inlays of semiprecious stones. H. 26 3/4 x W. 11 1/2 x D. 5 1/4 in. (67.9 x 29.2 x 13.3 cm). Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.47. Photograph by Lynton Gardiner.