New for Ascot 2023 – Fresh: Art Fair is delighted to welcome the Muban Educational Trust to the autumn fair.
The Muban Educational Trust – An exhibitor that’s also a charity – educating the world about Chinese Woodblock Art.
The Muban Educational Trust, nased in Putney, London, was set up to preserve the extensive collection of over 6,500 Chinese woodblock prints assembled by Christer von der Burg and Verena Bolinder-Müller in the late 1990s. The Muban Foundation was formed in 1997, with it’s current iteration – The Muban Educational Trust – succeeding it in 2009
So what was the catalyst for such an extensive and interesting collection? In their own words, the Muban Educational Trust wrote about the moment that the idea was formed:
‘The British Museum’s exhibition ‘The Images of the Western Lake: the revival of the colour print in contemporary China’ (10 November 1995-21 April 1996) displayed the museum’s newly acquired prints by artists associated with the China National Academy of Fine Arts.
The impact of seeing this exhibition led Christer and Verena, friends for many years and sharing a love of Chinese woodblock prints to establish the Foundation with the aim of collecting Chinese woodblock prints, woodblock printed books and other printed material. They were both concerned for the gradual decline in woodblock printmaking in contemporary China and intended the Foundation to be a focus for the study and appreciation of Chinese printmaking by comparing contemporary Chinese practice with that of other cultures.
A generous gift from Verena in 1996 enabled the Foundation to begin the collection of Chinese prints, now unique in the breadth of its holdings, that would be a basis for exhibitions, publications and scholarly research. Christer von der Burg had collected books and prints since childhood and a small number of these formed the nucleus of the Muban Foundation’s collection.
The Foundation’s most ambitious project was the commissioning in 1997 of a portfolio of woodcut prints by 60 contemporary Chinese artists. The initial impetus was to devise a project to bring contemporary Chinese woodblock prints to the attention of other printmakers, collectors, dealers and museums outside China’
With this insight into the collection, shown above in the three beautiful original woodblock prints by Cao Yu, Guo Shaung, and Chen Yuping, we are excited to see the range of works displayed by the Muban Educational Trust at the Ascot fair.
Still need tickets? Don’t forget, Friday is always FREE, children under 16 go FREE, and you can purchase on the door, but if you wish to purchase your tickets at the discounted online price, click HERE.
We look forwards to seeing you from 22-24 September at Ascot Racecourse!
