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Current Exhibitions

Sulphur Blue Smeck, 2005, Michelle Stitzlein, mixed junk, 62 x 84 x 11 inches.
Sulphur Blue Smeck, 2005, Michelle Stitzlein, mixed junk, 62 x 84 x 11 inches.
Trash Menagerie

THROUGH MAY 1, 2010

Trash Menagerie presents over 30 improbable works of art created from things most of us simply throw away. This playful and poignant exhibition challenges visitors to think differently about the creative potential lurking in everyday objects. From an iridescent trout made from 70 different pieces of refuse to a flock of cheery birds made from tin cans, Trash Menagerie explores animals imaginatively made from recycled rubbish. The exhibition features hands-on activities, such as a trash collage magnet board and weekend art drop-in activities, to encourage visitors of all ages to think creatively about trash in the museum and beyond. Trash Menagerie is on view in the Peabody Essex Museum's interactive Art & Nature Center June 20, 2009, through May 2010.  MORE

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The Golden Age of Dutch Seascapes

THROUGH SEPTEMBER 7, 2009

During the 1600s, as the Dutch rose to power as a trading nation, artists set out to capture battles at sea, bustling ports and the natural vistas of wind, sky and sunlight on water. These luminous seascapes introduced the world to a new source of inspiration— the drama, tranquility and romance of land and sea. With more than 70 of the finest oil paintings on view in The Golden Age of Dutch Seascapes, you can see why, for the Dutch, the ocean was their window on the world.  MORE

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Seascape with Sailors Sheltering from a Rainstorm, c. 1640, Bonaventura Peeters the Elder, ©NMM, Greenwich, London.
Seascape with Sailors Sheltering from a Rainstorm, c. 1640, Bonaventura Peeters the Elder, ©NMM, Greenwich, London.
©Waiting for her Lover, 1974, Jogen Chowdhury, Oil on canvas, 24 x 24 in., The Chester and Davida Herwitz Collection, Peabody Essex Museum
©Waiting for her Lover, 1974, Jogen Chowdhury, Oil on canvas, 24 x 24 in., The Chester and Davida Herwitz Collection, Peabody Essex Museum
ReVisions
Indian Artists Engaging Traditions

THROUGH MARCH 21, 2010

Explore how some of India's leading artists draw inspiration from themes found in traditional Indian art. This unique exhibition pairs some of the finest works from PEM's world-renowned contemporary Indian art collection alongside rare traditional Indian art from the Harvard Art Museum.  MORE

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SurfLand
Photographs by Joni Sternbach

THROUGH OCTOBER 4, 2009

Utilizing 19th century tintype photographic techniques, emerging artist Joni Sternbach captures portraits and seascapes along America’s coastal regions. For her premiere solo museum exhibition, Sternbach presents a recent body of work focused on tintype portraits of surfers. These images mine the tradition of anthropological photography to explore the enduring culture of surfing within Sternbach’s own country. SurfLand: Photographs by Joni Sternbach is the debut exhibition for the Peabody Essex Museum’s newly appointed Curator of Photography, Phillip Prodger.   MORE

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Ed, Joni Sternbach, 8 x 10 inches, tintype.
Ed, Joni Sternbach, 8 x 10 inches, tintype.
Embroidered Panel of Roof Tiles and Calligraphy, late 19th century.
Embroidered Panel of Roof Tiles and Calligraphy, late 19th century.
Perfect Imbalance, Exploring Chinese Aesthetics

THROUGH JANUARY 1, 2010

Chinese culture is diverse, longstanding and ever-changing. Yet common ties unite. This exhibition offers an approach to understanding Chinese culture through a study and celebration of the aesthetics of Chinese art. Objects included reveal key aesthetic clues that define the art of China, and distinguish it from art produced by neighboring regions, or art made in China for the export market. These aesthetic standards prevailed with the passing of time and foreign influences. Ultimately they are a testament to the power of art. The exhibition features 30 objects that date from the Neolithic era to 2004 in a range of media including paintings, jade, textiles, porcelain and prints.   MORE

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All of My Life
Contemporary Works by Native American Artists


The sculptures and paintings in All of My Life embrace the experiences and worldviews of nine contemporary Native American artists who call upon and reinterpret both Native American painting and sculpting traditions that are thousands of years old as well as those of modern art. Artists such as Mateo Romero and David Bradley have chosen oil painting and social realism as their means of tackling the political landscape of being Native American in today's changing world. Truman Lowe interprets the Eastern shorelines in sculpting an abstracted, suspended structure in willow. Other artists represented in the exhibition include Barbara Cerno, Tammy Garcia, Dan V. Lomahaftewa, Judith Lowry, Rick Rivet and Kathleen Wall.   MORE

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Shopping (detail), 1996, Judith Lowry. Nevada City, California.
Shopping (detail), 1996, Judith Lowry. Nevada City, California.
Muninseok (scholar figures), 17th–18th centuries.
Muninseok (scholar figures), 17th–18th centuries.
Auspicious Wishes and Natural Beauty in Korean Art

NEWLY OPENED IN THE YU-KIL CHUN GALLERY OF KOREAN ART AND CULTURE

Newly redesigned and reinstalled, the museum’s Yu Kil-Chun Gallery of Korean Art and Culture features a new exhibition – Auspicious Wishes and Natural Beauty in Korean Art – exploring the use of symbols and natural materials in Korean aesthetic tradition. Drawing from PEM’s extensive collection, the exhibition features works from the 17th century to the present, many on view for the first time. Highlights from the new gallery include a pair of 5-foot tall carved stone scholars (17-18th century) created to guard the sacred space of a family tomb and an extraordinary model of the men’s quarters of an upper-class Korean home. Dating from around 1900, this 4½-foot long model is the only one of its kind known to exist. PEM's Korean collection, more than a century old, was the first of its kind in the United States and has grown to become one of the most important in the country.   MORE

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Fish, Silk, Tea, Bamboo
Cultivating an Image of China

THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2010

Through delicate works on paper and other select objects, explore four essential motifs Westerners often associate with China -- fish, silk, tea, bamboo. Each was cultivated for artistic expression as well as profit. All helped shape the emerging concept of the Middle Kingdom in 18th-century Europe.  MORE
Goldfish, about 1790, Opaque watercolor on paper, Peabody Essex Museum.
Goldfish, about 1790, Opaque watercolor on paper, Peabody Essex Museum.
Syamakantha Fighting a Tiger (detail), 19th century, Calcutta.
Syamakantha Fighting a Tiger (detail), 19th century, Calcutta.
Of Gods and Mortals
Traditional Art from India

TRADITIONAL INDIAN ART GALLERY

In India, art is an integral part of daily life. The importance of paintings, sculpture, textiles and other art forms comprises two basic categories, one related to religious practices and the other to the expression of prestige and social position. This new installation of works from the Peabody Essex Museum’s collection of Indian art will feature approximately 28 pieces, principally representing the 1800’s to the present.  MORE
Yin Yu Tang
Enter the Huang family ancestral home to gain a rare perspective on Chinese art, architecture, and culture

During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), a prosperous merchant surnamed Huang built a stately sixteen-bedroom house in China’s southeastern Huizhou region, calling his home Yin Yu Tang. Among the many literary interpretations of this name is the desire for the home to shelter generations of descendants. Yin Yu Tang was home to the Huang family for more than two hundred years until 1982 when the last descendants moved from the village.  MORE

Visit the online exhibition
Yin Yu Tang, a late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) Chinese merchant's house, is the only installation of its kind in North America.
Yin Yu Tang, a late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) Chinese merchant's house, is the only installation of its kind in North America.


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