This exhibition brings together over twenty East Asian figural screens, selected around the theme of the human subject. Works on view span a wide range of literary, historical, and vernacular sources, including Dream of the Red Chamber, The Tale of Genji, courtly scenes, imperial portraiture, Daoist subjects, theatrical compositions, and Japanese narrative and folk imagery.
The screen functions as both partition and display, mediating between concealment and revelation. Figural imagery, in turn, operates between physical form and psychological presence.
When opened, the screen presents a constructed visual field; when closed, it withdraws into objecthood. The “image” encompasses both outward likeness and inner disposition—each figure articulating a narrative fragment, each screen constituting a self-contained pictorial system.
This exhibition brings together over twenty East Asian figural screens, selected around the theme of the human subject. Works on view span a wide range of literary, historical, and vernacular sources, including Dream of the Red Chamber, The Tale of Genji, courtly scenes, imperial portraiture, Daoist subjects, theatrical compositions, and Japanese narrative and folk imagery.
Installed within AMBELIE’s Hangzhou space, the presentation situates these works in dialogue with a Western architectural framework. French-style colonnades and arches provide a measured spatial order against which lacquer, pigment, and narrative unfold. The exhibition reflects AMBELIE’s ongoing approach: to frame Eastern works within a Western spatial language, producing a contemporary interpretation of chinoiserie.
The Folded Presence: Figural Art in East Asian Screens AMBELIE HANGZHOU No. 1788 Hongning Road, Xiaoshan District 05 March 2026 – 05 May 2026 Daily: 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
