Hell: Arts of Asian Underworlds at Asian Art Museum
Hell
Arts of Asian Underworlds
June 16, 2023 — September 18, 2023
Hell: Arts of Asian Underworlds is a rollicking romp through the many ways that Asian visual cultures have imagined the afterlife of the condemned over time. Paintings, sculptures, maps, puppets, and religious objects from India, Tibet, China, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, and the Philippines offer a colorful variety of visions of the underworld, ranging from the serious to the light-hearted. “There is a presumption that all representations of Hell across Asian cultures are the same or continuous,” says Jeff Durham, Curator of Himalayan Art at the Asian Art Museum, “but in fact, whether they appear in ancient traditions or the work of contemporary artists, depictions of Hell have been extraordinarily diverse: some are terrifying and gruesome, but many are humorous and playful.”
The exhibition is organized as a journey: beginning at the gates of Hell, the visitor passes through various conceptions of the underworld, finally arriving at depictions of the ways one might potentially make an escape or exit from Hell. “This exhibition is like a rollercoaster,” says Durham, “taking the visitor from excitement to relief; in the end, it shows that Hell is only as bad as we imagine it to be.” The majority of the 48 works on view are on loan from other institutions and collections; of the pieces from the museum collection, several are newly acquired and are being shown here for the first time.
July 9, 2023
The Golden Soirée
Ready for one hell of a good time? Daybreaker is bringing their signature, soul-nourishing mix of love and mischief to the museum with The Golden Soirée, a dance party in honor of Hell: Arts of Asian Underworlds. After touring the exhibition to explore how cultures across Asia imagine the realm of perdition, hit the dance floor to lose yourself in a celebration of being alive. Come dressed as the deity that you are — whether sprinkled in gold or covered in it from head to toe — and enjoy live DJs and yoga instruction, non-alcoholic cocktails courtesy of Parch, superfood-rich snacks from Perfect Bar, and some devilishly fun surprises.
