Montana artists' works exhibited in China

Works by Montana artists and from the Montana Museum of Art & Culture at UM are gracing the walls of the National Art Museum of China. The exhibit, “Out West: The Great American Landscape,” opened in Beijing in late March. Geoffrey Sutton, program manager at the Montana World Trade Center at UM, was assistant curator of the exhibit and part of the delegation that traveled to Beijing for the opening.

Sutton reported that the exhibition opened with an elaborate ribbon-cutting ceremony by American Ambassador to China Clark Randt and Vice Minister of Culture Zhao Weisui. “Out West” shared the museum with an exhibition from the Guggenheim Museum, “Three Hundred Years of American Art.”

“While ‘American Art’ chronicles how American art evolved into what is today, ‘Out West’ allows viewers to further explore the wealth of American art, especially human history and the unique landscape of the cowboy states,” said Fan Di’an, director of the museum.

The exhibit presents 68 paintings by 54 artists in seven states. With 18 artists, Montana has by far the largest representation in the exhibit. Included are works from the Dana Gallery in Missoula, the Missoula Art Museum, the Montana Museum of Art & Culture and loans from artist and collectors. UM alumni represented include Dana Boussard, George Gogas, Stephanie Frostad and Monte Dolack.

The exhibit will travel to the Chinese cities of Urumqi, Xi’an, Shanghai, Qingdao, Guangzhou and Hong Kong before returning to the United States for a closing show.