Image: Excerpt from A Feast by Li Jin (2001)
This week on the site, we reviewed the fast casual spot Chiko with its combination of Chinese and Korean cuisine. So for our Saturday sojourn to the world of art, we went poking around the intertubes looking for a classic Chinese painting about food. Instead of something old, we found something new. A Feast is in the holdings of the Seattle Art Museum. Like classical Chinese painting it is a mixture of text and image, but done in a very contemporary way.
From the museum’s description of the work:
“The scroll begins with an essay, composed by a friend of the artist over email, about the importance of food in Chinese culture, politics and history. Halfway through, the scroll interjects vivid images of Chinese cuisine, utensils and ingredients, which form the core of the scroll.”
The scroll is sixty feet long in ink on Xuan paper. It ends with artist’s words to, “Eat as much as you can.”
“Li Jin is a Chinese painter best known for his ink wash depictions of physically imperfect yet voluptuous people. His figures are engaged in banal or intimate activities like eating a feast, bathing, or dressing for a costume party. Reminiscent both of Marlene Dumas and traditional Chinese brush painting, Li utilizes the watery strokes and wobbly edges of the brush to great effect. Born in 1958 in Tianjin, China, Li graduated from the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts in 1983. The artist currently lives and works in Tianjin, China. Today, his works are in the collections of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the National Arts Museum of China in Beijing, the Seattle Art Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, among others.”
Hungry yet? If you are in D.C. and looking for a great place to eat, then please peruse our dining guide with more than 200 recommended restaurants in the District. You can sort by neighborhood, cuisine, and rating, in either MAP or LIST format.
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