INSTALLING LIU JIANHUA AT THE ASIAN ART MUSEUM
The Atthowe Fine Art Services crew recently reinstalled Collected Letters by Chinese contemporary artist Liu Jianhua at the Asian Art Museum, where it is now on view in the second-floor Loggia.
The work is a nod to the building’s past life as a library (the history of which is recalled by phrases carved throughout the museum walls). In addition, each of Jianhua’s 1600 characters are made of porcelain, reflecting the material on display on the same floor of the museum.
While actually weighing over a ton in total, the work appears suspended in the air as if a shelved book had been shaken loose, its sentences scattered and frozen mid-fall.
These multi-dimensional layers allow the piece to interweave reflections of materiality and function, language and culture, past and present, living and ancient.
A big thank you to the Atthowe and AAM crews for their professionalism, precision, and care throughout the installation. Your expertise is what makes projects like this possible.
Reinstalling a suspended, thousand-plus-piece porcelain artwork is exactly the kind of project that lives at the intersection of engineering and care. It's meticulous work, and it depends on close coordination between the installation crew and museum staff who know the piece and the space best.
It's also the kind of project that reflects what Atthowe does best: precise, patient handling of artwork that asks to be treated with the utmost skill and careful stewardship.
If you're visiting the museum, be sure to spend some time with Collected Letters—it's a beautiful work that rewards a closer look!
Video credits: Asian Art Museum
Still image credits: Atthowe Fine Art Services
