Friday 5 December 2008Contemporary Asian artists bring a striking new meaning to Christian Art

Published by the Museum of Biblical Art, New York in association with D Giles Limited, the London-based fine art publisher, this striking new book marks the opening of a major new exhibition, The Christian Story: Five Asian Artists Today, at the Museum of Biblical Art (MOBIA) in New York in June 2007.

This colourful catalogue features paintings and statements by five leading contemporary Asian artists Sawai Chinnawong (Thailand), He Qi (China), Nalini Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka), Nyoman Darsane (Bali) and Wisnu Sasongko (Thailand), which highlight the very different ways in which artists of diverse cultures today perceive Biblical tales. Over forty new paintings are explored to show how the Judeo-Christian narrative has been adapted for both western and indigenous audiences. Though these paintings were conceived by the artists as both an expression of their faith, and as a means of conveying this to their own native audiences, they are primarily aimed at patrons in the West. The book considers the importance of these works to the development and exportation of Asian Biblical Art to the West and its reception, audience, and patronage.

Through a scholarly and thoughtful exploration of the indigenous characteristics of Asian painting this book shows that, although the artists represented share one medium, they tell their stories very differently, depending on visual forms, signs and symbols that appeal to their particular cultures. Though greatly influenced by these regional and cultural traditions, many of the artists have also been exposed to western Judeo-Christian, and it is this mixture of images which is so striking in their work.

Essays by leading scholars Patricia C. Pongracz, Ph. D, curator-at-large of MOBIA, John W. Cook, Professor Emeritus, Yale University, and Volker Küster, Professor of Intercultural Theology, Kampen Theological University, The Netherlands, put these works into context, as works of art in the Judeo-Christian tradition and as part of the larger framework of contemporary Asian Art.

The Authors
Patricia C. Pongracz is curator-at-large , Museum of Biblical Art, New York. She is the co-author of The Next Generation: Contemporary Expressions of Faith (US 2005) and Threads of Faith: Recent Works from the Women of Color Quilters Network (US 2004). John W. Cook is Professor Emeritus, Yale University and co-author of The New Testament: An Introduction to It’s Literature and History (US 1992). Volker Küster is Professor of Intercultural Theology, Kampen Theological University, The Netherlands, and co-author of The Many Faces of Jesus Christ: :Intercultural Christology (US 2001)

168 pages, 9 ½” x 9 ½” (241 x 241mm)
68 colour illustrations, 6 black and white illustrations, paperback
Text: Up to 43,000 words
ISBN: 978-1-904832-20-1 (13 digit)
Price: US$37.50/UK£19.95
Publication date: May 2007
Publisher: D. Giles Limited, London

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About the Museum of Biblical Art, New York
MOBIA grew out of the work of The Gallery at the American Bible Society, which was established in 1998 as New York’s only exhibition space dedicated solely to art inspired by the Bible. The Gallery’s exhibitions ranged from the history of the Holy Land to 20th-century Guatemalan and Peruvian folk art; from Romanov icons to contemporary Biblical art; and from medieval and Renaissance sculpture to African-American quilts. In 2004, the American Bible Society’s Board of Trustees voted to create the Museum of Biblical Art, an independently chartered educational institution.

The Museum of Biblical Art’s aim is to serve as a neutral ground where visitors can learn about art, scholarship and religion, and to foster an understanding and appreciation of art inspired by the Bible and its legacy through the centuries