FQM is pleased to share The Arts of Community: The Wang Fangyu Collection of Asian Art, an exhibition of the Walsh Gallery at Seton Hall University’s special collection in Asian Art which Wang Fangyu (1913 - 1997) helped to build. The exhibition opens on August 31st and will be on view through December 11th, 2026.
FQM artist Wang Fangyu is a master of modern Chinese calligraphy with a grounded training in the conventional methods. He modernized the genre of art by pushing the essential concepts beyond their traditional forms, which redefines Chinese writing with a vivid connection with nature and life. Aside from his artist identity, Wang is also known as a prominent collector in Chinese art with a specialty in the artworks of the Qing Dynasty art master Bada Shanren (1626 - 1705).
As a professor and the chair of the Department of Asian Studies and Non-Western Civilization at Seton Hall University from 1965 to 1978, Wang Fangyu helped to build the university’s Asian art collection at the Walsh Gallery with his expertise in Chinese art and ceramics from Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) to the 20th century and his friendly relationships with other collectors. This exhibition thus traces the scholarly legacy and social relationships behind over 300 artworks in the university’s special collections across paintings, ceramics, artifacts and Wang Fangyu’s calligraphical works. The exhibition features more than 20 exhibits drawn from the collection.
The exhibition will be accompanied by several public events, with a lecture by Qiumeng Fu, the founder and director of FQM, on November 4th from 5: 30 to 6: 30 p.m.. The lecture will situate the exhibits within the larger context of Chinese paintings in light of our presentation of the documentary exhibition Authentic or Forgery: How does a Chinese Connoisseur Work? Fangyu Wang’s Research on Bada Shanren in 2020, which studies Wang’s method of connoisseurship through archival materials.
