Chinese opera, Shanghai friends and an illustrated classic京剧、上海友人与一本《水浒传》

Miguel Covarrubias travelled through China on his journeys to and from Bali in the 1930s. His friendships with Shao Xunmei, Zhang Guangyu and other figures in Shanghai’s publishing world placed him within a lively exchange of images and ideas. Chinese Opera Characters records his attention to theatrical movement and the possibilities of line.

The exhibition places Covarrubias’s opera sketches alongside his illustrations for Pearl S. Buck’s translation of All Men Are Brothers, including the 1948 Limited Editions Club edition. Following the sketches and books changes the geographical frame of his work: New York, Shanghai, Beijing, Bali and Mexico become connected sites of looking, publishing and artistic response.

1930年代，珂佛罗皮斯在往返巴厘岛的旅途中经过中国。他与邵洵美、张光宇等上海文化界人物的交往，使其进入活跃的出版与图像交流网络。《中国戏曲人物》记录了他对舞台动作与线条表现力的兴趣。

展览把这种对中国的深入接触，与他为赛珍珠英译《水浒传》所绘的插图联系起来，并呈现1948年纽约限量发行俱乐部版的相关材料。沿着速写、出版物与插图移动，纽约、上海、北京、巴厘岛和墨西哥便成为彼此关联的观看与创作现场，帮助我们重新理解现代艺术的跨文化形成。