Spiritual Mountains: The Art of Wesley Tongson

January 12–June 12, 2022

This exhibition debuts a recent gift of eleven Tongson paintings and pairs them with historic paintings from BAMPFA’s extensive Chinese painting collection, demonstrating the relationship between his genius and that of past masters.

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Wesley Tongson: Untitled, from the Mountains of Heaven series, 2000; ink and color on board; 28 3/8 x 38 3/8 in.; BAMPFA, gift of Lilia and Kenneth Tongson.
Wesley Tongson: Untitled, from the Spiritual Mountain series, 2012; ink on paper; 49 x 96 in.; BAMPFA, gift of Lilia and Kenneth Tongson.
Wesley Tongson: Boundless Compassion, 1993; ink and color on board; 23 x 15 in.; BAMPFA, gift of Lilia and Kenneth Tongson.
Portrait of Wesley in front of his own work.

Upcoming
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Upcoming
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Selected
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Past
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Past
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Past Events

Saturday, March 12, 11:30 AM
Gallery + Studio: Expressive Landscapes

Inspired by Wesley Tongson’s paintings, use watercolor, ink, brushes, and pens to create your own expressive landscape.

BAMPFA

For ages 6–12 with accompanying adult(s)
Saturday, March 12, 2 PM
CANCELED—Catherine Maudsley on The Cave and the Mountain: Insights into the Art of Wesley Tongson

Art historian Catherine Maudsley, the leading authority on the art of Wesley Tongson, discusses the cave and the mountain as powerful paradigms for understanding Tongson’s art.

BAMPFA

This event has been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. We anticipate rescheduling this program in the coming weeks.
Sunday, January 23, 3 PM
Julia White on Spiritual Mountains: The Art of Wesley Tongson with Cynthia Tongson

BAMPFA Senior Curator for Asian Art Julia White and Cynthia Tongson, the artist’s sister, discuss Hong Kong artist Wesley Tongson’s artistic achievement along with insights into the influence of other Chinese artists whose works from the museum’s collection are paired with his.

BAMPFA

Past Films

Abode of Illusion: The Life and Art of Chang Dai-chien (Zhang Daqian) (1899–1983)
- Saturday, March 5 7 PM
Carma Hinton, Richard Gordon
United States, 1994
The creators of the classic documentary The Gate of Heavenly Peace turn their attention to the work and legacy of one of the greatest, most fascinating twentieth-century painters, Chang Dai-chien (Zhang Daqian).

Carma Hinton and Winnie Wong in Conversation

Spiritual Mountains: The Art of Wesley Tongson

January 12–June 12, 2022

Spiritual Mountains debuts a recent gift to BAMPFA of eleven paintings by the Hong Kong artist Wesley Tongson (1957–2012). His work draws heavily on traditional Chinese painting techniques and processes, including painting with his fingers and hands, but takes these a step further to create a personal expression that is wholly his own. This exhibition combines Tongson’s works with historic paintings from BAMPFA’s extensive Chinese painting collection to demonstrate the relationship between his genius and that of past masters. Throughout Tongson’s practice, we perceive a strong admiration and acknowledgement of the past, even as he pursued a new direction in his own work. It is in his highly lyrical brushwork and exuberant style of painting—which included large-scale landscapes and intricately patterned, dense examinations of the natural world—that we comprehend his range and genius.

The exhibition’s...

The exhibition’s title reflects the importance of spirituality in Tongson’s journey as an artist; he was a student of many forms of devotion, from the teachings of Buddhism, Daoism, and Christianity to references to the natural world. His later paintings are frequently inscribed “Mountain Daoist” (Shandao Daoren), while some of his painting series are given titles of Spiritual Mountains and Mountains of Heaven.

Tongson’s experimentation in painting with his hands and fingernails finds precedence in the works of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century masters like Gao Qipei (1672–1734), while his dramatic use of splash color treatment seems in harmony with Zhang Daqian’s (1889–1983) work of the mid-twentieth century. The exhibition includes works by these artists, other historical painters who may have provided inspiration, such as Shitao (1642–1718) and Li Fangying (1695–1754), and modern masters who were more directly involved in his development, including Liu Guosong (born 1932), with whom he briefly studied, and his teacher and mentor Huang Zhongfang (Harold Wong) (born 1943).

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Download the exhibition brochure (PDF)

Spiritual Mountains is organized by Julia M. White, BAMPFA’s senior curator of Asian art, with the support of Associate Curator Stephanie Cannizzo and independent curator Rosaline Kyo. The exhibition is supported in part by the Asian Art Endowment Fund and the Wesley Tongson Charitable Trust.

Spiritual Mountains: The Art of Wesley Tongson

January 12–June 12, 2022

Past Events

Gallery + Studio: Expressive Landscapes

CANCELED—Catherine Maudsley on The Cave and the Mountain: Insights into the Art of Wesley Tongson

Julia White on Spiritual Mountains: The Art of Wesley Tongson with Cynthia Tongson

Past Films

Abode of Illusion: The Life and Art of Chang Dai-chien (Zhang Daqian) (1899–1983)