ZANESVILLE – Since moving to Muskingum County from Lanzhou, China, Muskingum University art professor and museum owner Yan Sun has been trying to create a mutual cultural understanding between the two places he calls home.
Earlier this month, he opened the Along the Silk Road exhibit at the Yan Sun Museum earlier this month.
The exhibit, sponsored by the North American Art and Culture Association, features 65 pieces created by the art faculty at Lanzhou University. Mediums such as oil painting, Chinese painting and more graphic designs are used to depict everyday life as well as religious imagery from the city where Sun was born.
“Everything in this art represents the typical spirit along the Silk Road,” he said.
That, in addition to an exchange student program between Lanzhou University and Muskingum University, is part of a larger effort to share culture and knowledge between the two places Sun has called home.
“We bring the Chinese culture and introduce it in America,” Sun said. “The best we can do is build the bridge with art, culture and this show. ... We want to show our hometown of Lanzhou to our hometown of Zanesville.”
Although Zanesville and Lanzhou are on opposite ends of the world, Sun maintains that the areas are very much similar, both being located along a river, having a history as a major ceramics producer, and having a unique bridge as a prominent and celebrated local landmark.
Bringing the exhibit to Zanesville also was a move made to ensure that works such as “Tibetan Girl” by Yan Yu and “My City” by Zhao Xia were not overlooked in a bigger, more artistically saturated city.
“We have hundreds of artists and community supporters here. ... When you show your work here, people focus on the work itself,” Sun said. “Zanesville has opened the door so anytime, if you want to display your work, people will come.”
The Yan Sun Museum previously hosted a similar exhibit 10 years ago, which Sun said was so successful that he had been planning to have another since its close. During that time, he has worked on collecting art by American artists to send to Lanzhou to make the cultural connection complete.
“The best is for both sides to understand each other. We want to represent the nice people in China,” Sun said. “Our dream is to make Muskingum County and Zanesville sister cities with Lanzhou.”
The exhibit will be open through January.
arumer@zanesvilletimesrecorder.com
740-450-6758
Twitter: @AnnaRumerZTR
If you go
The exhibit Along the Silk Road will be displayed through the end of January in the Yan Sun Art Museum at 604 Main St. on an appointment basis. To make an appointment, email Yan Sun at contact@yansun.us.
