The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia will host Melissa Chiu for an Ellen Bayard Weedon Lecture in the Arts of Asia on Sept. 27. Her lecture, “The Art of Contemporary Ink Painting,” will be held at 6:30 p.m. in Campbell Hall, room 153.

Chiu’s lecture will accompany museum’s new exhibition, "Ancient Master in Modern Styles: Chinese Ink Paintings from the 16th-21st Centuries," on view through Dec. 16.

This exhibition of Chinese ink paintings from the museum’s collection and the Lijin Collection examines the influence of this long tradition on later artists and how they sought to balance reverence for the art of old masters with their own impulses for artistic expression. The exhibition demonstrates the rich variety of ink painting in China over many centuries and the continuing relevance of tradition to Chinese artists today.

Ink painting in China has a long tradition, yet in the 1980s artists began to experiment with a distinct departure from the tradition. Chiu’s lecture will chronicle some of the works that pushed the boundaries of the idea of ink painting.

Chiu is museum director and vice president for global art programs at the Asia Society in New York, where she has worked since 2001 to expand the scholarship of Asian art through major initiatives such as the launch of a contemporary art collection to complement the museum’s outstanding Rockefeller Collection of traditional Asian art. Previously, she was founding director of the Asia-Australia Arts Centre in Sydney, Australia (1996–2001). As a leading authority on Asian contemporary art, she has organized nearly 30 exhibitions of artists from across Asia, including China, Japan, Iran, Pacific Islands and Korea.

The Weedon Lectures are made possible by support from the Ellen Bayard Weedon Foundation.

The lecture is free and open to the public. For information, call 434-243-2050 or e-mail museumoutreach@virginia.edu.