The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 28, 2024

Taihu Garden Stone

Taihu Garden Stone

0
160 x 65 x 50 cm (63 x 25 9/16 x 19 11/16 in.)
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The donor, Liu Dan, is the most prominent and celebrated painter of rocks in contemporary China.

Description

In China, rocks are considered elements of nature that possess spirit and life energy. With its upward winding masses, perforations, weathered surface, and multiple viewpoints, the stone exhibits sculptural qualities and embodies constant transformation through natural forces and human intervention. A solid piece of rock, it was originally sourced from the Lake Tai region. Stones were collected, set up in gardens, or installed on scholar’s desks as miniature mountains. Traditionally, Taihu stones were the most desirable type of rock. This stone is a gift by the contemporary artist Liu Dan, known for his depictions of rocks, who calls them "the stem cells of Chinese landscape."
  • ?–2021
    (A local stone dealer near Lake Tai, Wuxi city, Jiangsu province, China, sold to Liu Dan)
    2021–2022
    Liu Dan 劉丹 [b. 1953], Beijing, China, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2022–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Von Spee, Clarissa. “Gift of a Lake Tai Stone: An image of transformation through natural forces.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine vol. 62, no. 3 (September 2022): 22-23. Reproduced: P. 23; Mentioned: P. 22.
  • China's Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10, 2023-January 7, 2024).
  • {{cite web|title=Taihu Garden Stone|url=false|author=|year=0|access-date=28 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2022.23