Women in northern China stitch together patchwork door curtains to keep out winter drafts or carve delicate paper-cuts to paste on windows. Each integrates traditional techniques passed down for generations with her own personal aesthetic and personality. Self-taught painters also contribute their works to family halls and house exteriors. Though art historians never recorded these artists' names, many of their works remain artistically successful self-expressions that deeply resonate and touch viewers. Explore the wide variety of techniques (paper-cuts, embroidery, patchwork) practiced in villages, as well as works in more classically recognized art techniques (brush and ink, oil painting, and calligraphy) by self-taught artists, and examine changing attitudes towards these artists.

Nancy Berliner, Wu Tung Curator of Chinese Art