Chado: The Way of Tea, an exhibition curated by Stephen A. Morrell that explores the prominent role and significance of the tea ceremony as an art and spiritual practice in China and Japan, will be on view in Wesleyan University’s College of East Asian Studies Gallery at Mansfield Freeman Center, located at 343 Washington Terrace on the Wesleyan campus in Middletown, Connecticut, from Wednesday, Sept. 12 through Friday, Nov. 30. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from nooon to 4 p.m. The exhibition will also be open on Saturday, Oct. 13 and Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018. Admission is free and open to the public.

For more than a century, American artists, architects, and landscape designers have been inspired by the beauty, simplicity, and underlying philosophy of traditional Japanese arts. The aesthetic characteristics that inform these arts and the underlying spiritual basis can be traced back to monasteries in China and Japan where they have evolved for over a thousand years in the arts of Zen. Objects displayed have been selected from the College of East Asian Studies collection and loaned by tea enthusiasts in the Wesleyan community. Several media are represented, including ceramics, lacquer ware, bamboo, wood, iron, textiles, and calligraphy. In addition, photographs from National Geographic photographer Michael Yamashita ‘71 will be featured. This exhibition is supported by a grant from the Freeman Foundation.

There will be an opening reception on Wednesday, Sept. 12 from noon to 1 p.m.

The exhibition will be closed Saturday, Oct. 20 through Tuesday, Oct. 23; and Saturday, Nov. 17 through Sunday, Nov. 25.

Related Events (all events are free and open to the public)

Tea Ceremony Talk and Demonstration with Curator Stephen Morrell

Monday, Sept. 24 at 4:30 p.m.

College of East Asian Studies Gallery at Mansfield Freeman Center, 343 Washington Terrace, Middletown

Film Screening: Rikyu (1989)

Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara

Monday, Oct. 1 at 4:30 p.m.

Seminar Room, Mansfield Freeman Center, 343 Washington Terrace, Middletown

Gallery Talk with Curator Stephen Morrell

Saturday, Oct, 13 2018 at 2 p.m.

College of East Asian Studies Gallery at Mansfield Freeman Center, 343 Washington Terrace, Middletown

Lecture by Assistant Professor of Art History Talia Andrei: Tea Culture and Japanese Aesthetics

Wednesday, Oct. 17 at 4:30 p.m.

Seminar Room, Mansfield Freeman Center, 343 Washington Terrace, Middletown

Tea Ceremony with Ikumi Kamanishi and Curator Stephen Morrell

Saturday, Nov. 3 at 2 p.m.

College of East Asian Studies Gallery at Mansfield Freeman Center, 343 Washington Terrace, Middletown

Sung Poetry and Tea with Assistant Professor of East Asian Studies Ao Wang and Curator Stephen Morrell

Tuesday, Nov. 6 2018 at 4:30 p.m.

College of East Asian Studies Gallery at Mansfield Freeman Center, 343 Washington Terrace, Middletown

More information about the College of East Asian Studies Gallery at Mansfield Freeman Center is available by calling 860-685-2330 or visiting www.wesleyan.edu/ceas/exhibitions. More information about the Center for the Arts is available by calling 860-685-3355, or visiting www.wesleyan.edu/cfa.