“Year of the Dragon” — an exhibition at Yale University Art Gallery celebrating the year 2024 and running now through Nov. 10 — begins with two artworks of waves. One of those artworks happens to be the beyond-famous woodblock print The Great Wave off Kanagawa, by Katsushika Hokusai, dating from the 19th century. The other, printed only in 2023, is by the Philippines-born American artist Peter Soriano.
In the difference between the two pieces lies the angle of the show overall, which offers a taste of the rich history of East Asian art and shows how more contemporary Asian artists have embraced the modern move toward abstraction while staying true to the techniques and aesthetic sensibilities they’ve inherited. “In the West, the dragon has historically been characterized as an evil creature, breathing fire while flying through the air, and thus has been considered something to be conquered,” writes curator Sadako Ohki.“By contrast, in the East the dragon has long been seen as a powerful being that pours out blessings from the celestial realm in the form of rainwater over swirling wind.”
