Bingyi (Chinese, born 1975). <em>Cloud Atlas</em>, 2014. Ink on paper treated with resistance, 13 3/8 x 236 1/4 in. (34 x 600 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mrs. Robert G. Olmstead and Constable McCracken, by exchange, 2015.69. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: , 2015.69_section_A_view01_PS11.jpg)

Bingyi (Chinese, born 1975). Cloud Atlas, 2014. Ink on paper treated with resistance, 13 3/8 x 236 1/4 in. (34 x 600 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mrs. Robert G. Olmstead and Constable McCracken, by exchange, 2015.69. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: , 2015.69_section_A_view01_PS11.jpg)

DOWNLOAD

Cloud Atlas

Bingyi

Asian Art

In Cloud Atlas, Bingyi’s lyrical and elegant meditation in ink explores the creation and metamorphosis of the cosmos. The viewer is transported on a volatile journey, propelled by wind gusts and solar cycles through transient wisps of clouds, nuanced and minutely detailed in different layers of ink. Climate changes transform the calm sky into dark and menacing nimbus clouds that threaten destruction, with tornados and thunderstorms created painstakingly with dark brush strokes. The unique mounting of the hand scroll expands the artist’s dialogue with historical traditions. As she says:

I invented the method of “naked mounting” to deliver a sense of freshness and magic. The mounting methods, including the application of the bamboo sticks, are modern adaptations of the mounting of a rare Tang-dynasty (9th–10th century) Buddhist sutra. The silk used for mounting is an authentic lining of an unknown woman’s dress. The patterns on the silk resonate with the theme of clouds yet add additional layers of intimacy and secrecy. The biezi buckle, a miniature sculpture with cloud forms, carries the spirit and form of the forever-evolving landscapes.

What Bingyi describes as a biezi buckle refers to the ceramic clasp, in the shape of a cloud, that she designed to secure the cord that wraps around the closed scroll. At the end of the scroll, there is a large section that she left empty to symbolize the yet-unwritten colophons of generations to come. As the painting demonstrates her artistic dialogues with past and present, the blank space waits for the conversations she imagines will occur between future viewers and her painting.

ARTIST Bingyi, Chinese, born 1975

MEDIUM Ink on paper treated with resistance

DATES 2014

DIMENSIONS 13 3/8 x 236 1/4 in. (34 x 600 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Asian Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 2015.69

CREDIT LINE Gift of Mrs. Robert G. Olmstead and Constable McCracken, by exchange

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Bingyi (Chinese, born 1975). Cloud Atlas, 2014. Ink on paper treated with resistance, 13 3/8 x 236 1/4 in. (34 x 600 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mrs. Robert G. Olmstead and Constable McCracken, by exchange, 2015.69. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: , 2015.69_section_A_view01_PS11.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 2015.69_section_A_view01_PS11.jpg., 2018

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

The Brooklyn Museum holds a non-exclusive license to reproduce images of this work of art from the rights holder named here. The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org. If you wish to contact the rights holder for this work, please email copyright@brooklynmuseum.org and we will assist if we can.

RECORD COMPLETENESS

Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.

Collection Menu

Cloud Atlas

Bingyi

Asian Art

RELATED OBJECTS