This special exhibition at SAM Downtown will showcase the jewels of SAM’s Asian collections, from Chinese bronzes and Japanese lacquers to Korean ceramics and South Asian sculpture and painting. Home to one of the finest collections of Asian art in North America, the Seattle Art Museum has safeguarded many of these treasures for almost eighty years.

Recently, a selection of highlights from SAM’s Asian art collection traveled throughout Japan, where they were enthusiastically received from Tokyo to Fukuoka. To celebrate the homecoming of these Asian treasures, SAM is mounting a major exhibition in its special exhibition space in the downtown galleries. This will be the first time that the museum has displayed its own stellar collection of Asian art in a major exhibition downtown.

To make this historical material even more compelling, leading contemporary artist, Do Ho Suh, will engage with the Asian collection by creating a unique video installation that will prompt unexpected connections between objects and introduce new models of encountering Asian art. As part of the creative process, Do Ho Suh and SAM have opened a dialogue about Asian art and why it matters today more than ever.

–Catherine Roche, Interim Assistant Curator of Asian Art

Seated Indra, Malla dynasty, ca. 13th century, Nepalese, bronze set with semi-precious stones, height: 9 1/2 in., Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection