[BCMA] Richmond Art Gallery unveils summer exhibitions that explore hybrid forms of storytelling

Mon Jun 23 10:33:18 PDT 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Richmond Art Gallery unveils summer exhibitions that explore hybrid forms of storytelling

[cid:image003.jpg at 01DBE42A.3BE20870]

New exhibition features contemporary takes on classical Chinese aesthetics, spotlighting compelling works by local and international artists

June 23, 2025 (VANCOUVER, BC) — Richmond Art Gallery presents two exciting new summer exhibitions from June 28 to Aug. 24, 2025. Curated by Rebecca Wang, The Roaming Peach Blossom Spring<https://www.richmondartgallery.org/roaming-peach-blossom-spring> features Qiu Anxiong (Shanghai) and Howie Tsui (Vancouver) who find inspiration in ancient mythology and martial arts fiction. Curated by Zoë Chan, Enigmas & Dreams: Works on Paper by Alvin Jang & Anna Wong<https://www.richmondartgallery.org/enigmas-dreams> highlights two under-recognized local Chinese Canadian artists whose radically differing works embrace experimentation, improvisation, and the unconscious.

“The Roaming Peach Blossom Spring brings together for the first time the work of two contemporary artists that draw on the cultural legacy of the Song dynasty (960–1279), a period widely regarded as the pinnacle of artistic achievement in Chinese history,” says Wang. “Richmond provides a unique context for this exhibition, as more than half of its population consists of Chinese immigrants and people of Chinese descent. While the cultural references may particularly resonate with the Chinese community, the compelling visual language offers an enriching experience for all visitors, as the works speak to prevalent global issues such as urbanization, ecological loss, and diaspora.”

Qiu Anxiong (b. 1972) draws on the aesthetic and philosophical sensibilities of Song dynasty court and literati painting in his animated films, which adapt the earliest encyclopedic cosmography, Classic of Mountains and Seas (c. 400 BCE–200 CE). The exhibition will mark the first time all three films in his major series The New Book of Mountains and Seas (2006–2017) will be presented together in Canada. Howie Tsui (b. 1978) transposes the wuxia (martial arts fiction) world into his paintings, lightboxes, and videos. Gif Roulette (2020–ongoing) and Jumbo (2024)—both debuting in Vancouver—draw on looping fragments from the films and animations that shaped his youth, and extend the wuxia realm to the now-sunken floating restaurant Jumbo Kingdom in Hong Kong. Presenting the two artists’ distinct practices and perspectives, The Roaming Peach Blossom Spring explores the cultural complexity within shared ethnic identity and encourages dialogue across its diverse subgroups.

Enigmas & Dreams: Works on Paper by Alvin Jang & Anna Wong pair the work of two local artists. Alvin Jang (b. 1950) presents two sci-fi-inspired series: The Colony (1982), which depicts a colourful world overrun by a dense population of worms, and Pillow Talk (2000), which evokes the surreal realities of hallucinations, dreams, and fantasies. These are accompanied by a series of abstract drawings and prints from the late 1960s, by the late Anna Wong (b. 1930–d. 2013). Bringing to light the hybridity of her visual vernacular, Wong’s work reveals the lively gesturality of Chinese brush painting and the experimental mark-making of Abstract Expressionism.

“I wanted to curate an exhibition that would work well in conversation with The Roaming Peach Blossom, and was drawn to both Alvin Jang and Anna Wong for their focus on drawings and their instinctive way of working,” says Chan. “Alvin and Anna seem compelled to create through the relinquishment of logic, using each work instead to further experiment and play, rather than to stick to restricted, circumscribed paths. Eschewing straightforward interpretation, these enigmatic works resist fixed structures or finality in a really exciting way.”

She adds, “As deeply dedicated artists, both deserve much more recognition for their unique art-making and aesthetics. Jang has maintained a daily studio practice from his home in Steveston since the 1970s, while Wong, who grew up in Vancouver’s Chinatown, studied and taught at the prestigious Pratt Institute in New York for several years.”

Enigmas & Dreams also features a specially commissioned title wall by Brother Jopa, a Vancouver-based lettering artist, designer, and muralist, who specializes in hand-drawn typography and calligraphy.

Qiu Anxiong & Howie Tsui: The Roaming Peach Blossom Spring is presented with the support of the Audain Endowment for Curatorial Studies through the Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory in collaboration with the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery at the University of British Columbia.

Public programming

Visit the Gallery’s website<https://www.richmondartgallery.org/> and social media<https://www.instagram.com/richmondartgallerybc> for the most up-to-date information on upcoming programs and registration. Scheduled events include, among others:

Opening Reception and Curatorial Tours<https://www.richmondartgallery.org/summerexhibits>

Saturday, June 28: 2-4 pm

The Gallery kicks off the opening of their summer exhibitions with an informal tour of the exhibitions by curators Zoë Chan & Rebecca Wang and some of the artists.

Virtual Artist Talk with Qiu Anxiong and Howie Tsui<https://www.richmondartgallery.org/artisttalkqiutsui>

Wednesday, July 16: 7-8pm

Join the exhibiting artists of The Roaming Peach Blossom for a discussion of their fascinating practices. More details at richmondartgallery.org/artisttalkqiutsui

Film Screening and Conversation: The Swordsman 笑傲江湖 (1990)<https://www.richmondartgallery.org/hkscreening>

Thursday, July 31: 6–9:00pm

Richmond Cultural Centre: Performance Hall

Learn more about Hong Kong cinema with UBC Hong Kong Studies professor Helena Wu and guest curator Rebecca Wang. After watching this martial arts thriller set in Ming dynasty China, join us for a conversation on the cultural context of jianghu, and how the martial arts fiction genre is referenced in the current exhibition.

Public Critique on Qiu Anxiong & Howie Tsui: The Roaming Peach Blossom Spring<https://www.richmondartgallery.org/publiccritique>

Thursday, Aug. 5: 4–5:30pm

Join guest curator Rebecca Wang and Vancouver Art Gallery curator and critic Diana Freundl for the public critique of Wang’s Practicum Curatorial Project, presented as part of her MA in Critical and Curatorial Studies at UBC.

免費中文導覽&水墨工坊 – Exhibition Tour in Mandarin & Chinese Ink Workshop<https://www.richmondartgallery.org/tourcalligraphy>

Saturday, Aug. 9: 2–3pm

歡迎參加由客座策展人王晨釔主持的國語導覽，透過導覽和茶歇交流，深入了解展覽主題。導覽之後，本地藝術家蘇健剛將主持一場特別的水墨工坊，帶領大家體會水墨與書法的魅力。名額有限，請提前預約。

Drop in for a tour of the current Richmond Art Gallery exhibition in Mandarin with curator Rebecca Wang. Learn more about the themes of the exhibition through a guided visit and informal discussion over a cup of tea, followed by a demonstration of ink calligraphy painting with local artist Jiangang Su.

About Richmond Art Gallery

Richmond Art Gallery (RAG) is a non-profit municipal art gallery established in 1980. The Gallery produces an array of exhibitions and programs that connect, empower, and provoke conversation with our diverse Richmond, BC communities. RAG actively contributes to Richmond’s cultural communities through our commitment to supporting artists via its exhibitions, educational programs, publications, and permanent collection.

Address

Richmond Art Gallery

Richmond Cultural Centre

7700 Minoru Gate Richmond, BC V6Y 1R8

Hours

Monday–Friday from 10am–6pm

Saturday–Sunday from 12–5pm

Press kit and photos

bit.ly/RAGSummer2025

Press contact

Ines Min

604 440 0791

ines at inesmin.com<mailto:ines at inesmin.com>

Image credit: Alvin Jang, The Colony (excerpt), 1982, Courtesy of the artist, Photo: Byron Dauncey

- 30 -

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.museum.bc.ca/pipermail/listserv-museum.bc.ca/attachments/20250623/736ef01d/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 64398 bytes
Desc: image003.jpg
URL: <http://lists.museum.bc.ca/pipermail/listserv-museum.bc.ca/attachments/20250623/736ef01d/attachment.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: RAG_Enigmas-Roaming Peach_Press Release_Final.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 185277 bytes
Desc: RAG_Enigmas-Roaming Peach_Press Release_Final.pdf
URL: <http://lists.museum.bc.ca/pipermail/listserv-museum.bc.ca/attachments/20250623/736ef01d/attachment.pdf>