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ART: Shimmering Beauty Kingfishers in Art and Poetry – RI School of Design (RISD) Museum
Photo, above, RISD Museum – Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重, Kingfisher, Nandina Berries, and Reeds , Edo Period. Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
Asian Gallery Japanese Prints (RA 602A), Asian Art
Brilliant and jewel-toned, the kingfisher has inspired artists and poets for centuries. In Japan, this iridescent bird frequently appears in kachō hanga (bird-and-flower prints), paired with blossoms and poetry to celebrate its vitality and shimmering beauty. In China, its radiant feathers once adorned jewelry and luxury objects. Drawing from the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller collection, this exhibition brings together nearly 20 exquisite Japanese prints and examples of rare Chinese featherwork, illuminating the kingfisher’s cultural significance across poetry, printmaking, and ornament from the 1700s through the 1900s.
Wai Yee Chiong
RISD Museum is supported by a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, through an appropriation by the Rhode Island General Assembly and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and with the generous partnership of the Rhode Island School of Design, its Board of Trustees, and Museum Governors.