Thomas Christensen

Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

Kaz Tsuruta

Bridge to Understanding, commemorating the opening of the new Asian Art Museum in the spring of 2003, is a comprehensive introduction to the museum and its collections. The book traces the history of both the museum and its new home, the former main public library in San Francisco's Civic Center; discusses architect Gae Aulenti's transformation of the dark, gloomy library into a bright, dynamic modern museum; and leads the reader on a unique exploration of the galleries, featuring room-by-room discussions of some of the museum's most intriguing (and until now most seldom displayed) works, presented here in high-quality, full-color, full-page reproductions.

The Art and Architecture of San Francisco's Asian Art Museum - Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture

Bridge to Understanding

Forrest McGill

Through dozens of beautiful art pieces and lively commentary, this charming art book explores the legacies of five centuries of interaction between Asia and Europe. The mutual fascination began with the sea contact made during the early Renaissance. Although relations beween East and West could often turn deadly, there were also many moments of lightness and frivolity, and it is these that are given special attention here. Such moments enchant and disarm, yet, as this book shows, they also bear deeper implications. A Curious Affair was produced to accompany an exhibition of the same name, presented at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. The exhibition featured more than 75, sculptures, furniture, ceramics, and other decorative arts. Included were artworks made in Great Britain, the United States, and France, as well as in China, India, Japan, and other Asian countries. They were drawn from private San Francisco Bay Area collections and the collection of the Asian Art Museum.

Kaz Tsuruta

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