The Monochrome Principle

3 December 2010 - 6 March 2011

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This exhibition, organised by the Baur Foundation in collaboration with the Museum für Lackkunst of Munster, is devoted to Chinese monochrome lacquerware and ceramics from the Song (960-1279), Yuan (1271-1368), and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. This group of prestigious works from the Baur Collection, from a private Swiss collection, and from the Munster Museum express the serene beauty and subtle tones characteristic of monochrome art. These works, which reveal the sophisticated taste of the Chinese emperors, embody the purest expression of lacquer and ceramic ware and offer a perfect balance between matter and form.

Built around aesthetics and excellence, this exhibition also proposes a novel and original approach thanks to the loan of several Western monochrome paintings and woodblock prints by the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MAMCO), the Cabinet d’arts graphiques (MAH), the Contemporary Art Fund of the City of Geneva, the artist Franklin Chow and a private collector.

The catalogue accompanying the exhibition, The Monochrome Principle, Lacquerware and Ceramics of the Song and Qing Dynasties, has been published separately in English and German.

This exhibition is supported by the Wilsdorf Foundation.