Artificial Rock #10

Zhan Wang Chinese
2001
Not on view
The strangely eroded rocks long revered by Chinese scholars were typically formed through geologic processes. Connoisseurs appreciated these natural sculptures for many of the same reasons they admired calligraphy: the sense of dynamic form, energy, and the interplay of positive and negative space. Artisans also produced facsimiles of naturally occurring rocks in various materials, including jade, glass, and ceramic. Zhan extends this tradition into the present day by recreating a scholar’s rock in an industrial medium. He began by molding sheets of stainless steel around the surface of a traditional Chinese scholar’s rock, then removed these sheets, welded them together, and burnished the surface until the seams disappeared. The resulting work challenges us to redefine the parameters of tradition and to ask how tradition sustains itself by evolving in the contemporary world.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Artificial Rock #10
  • Artist: Zhan Wang (Chinese, born 1962)
  • Date: 2001
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Stainless steel
  • Dimensions: H. 29 1/2 in. (75 cm); W. 17 11/16 in. (45 cm); D. 7 1/2 in. (19 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2006
  • Object Number: 2006.244a–c
  • Rights and Reproduction: © Zhan Wang
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.