Artwork usually is hung in galleries—rooms designed for viewing paintings, drawings, photographs, and sculptures. But what if you happened upon an artwork on your afternoon walk in the city, or while strolling in a garden, outside in the sunshine and fresh air? That experience is at the heart of the Museum’s latest outdoor exhibition, The 10,000 Things by Cleveland artist Jordan Wong.
The 10,000 Things interweaves inspirations from traditional Chinese painting, Japanese manga and anime, video games and comic books with graphic design, iconographies, and Wong’s philosophical musings. The work is metaphorical as much as it is referential, containing themes of perseverance, triumph, belonging, and growth.
The 10,000 Things—a Taoist phrase used to reference and describe the universe—evokes a journey to create artwork that aspires to be as vibrant, immense, and wonderfully mysterious as existence itself. The exhibition, Wong says, “aims to inspire, delight, and encourage viewers to generously listen, look, wonder, contemplate, play, and dream.”
Visitors are invited to enjoy Wong’s large-scale works throughout the Bud and Susie Rogers Garden all summer. The artworks will also serve as inspiration for Family Day events and provide adventure through self-guided scavenger hunts.
Learn more about the exhibit and museum hours at akronartmuseum.org.
Photo courtesy Jordan Wong.
