The Silk Road Superstars

21st Sept – 12th October 2018

The Directors of CCASM Modern & Contemporary are delighted to announce the opening of their latest exhibition with a public preview evening on Thursday 20th September at their gallery spaces on the first floor of Sommerville House on Phillips Street in St. Helier.

This group exhibition brings together some of the most interesting and highly acclaimed international artists practising today all of whom have works displayed in national museum collections from Beijing to Istanbul.

The curated theme for the show explores the blending and dissemination of art along the staging posts of the Silk Road and how it closely related to the larger context of the travel of people, their beliefs, culture and merchant trade from east to west.

Religion was an important inspiration for art everywhere, and much of the art of the Silk Road was religious in origin. This includes not only the extravagant visual art of Buddhism, which created a legacy of thousands of statues, murals, and illustrated texts across much of Central and East Asia, but also the glazed tilework of Islamic mosques, which stresses calligraphic, geometric, and other nonrepresentational artistic motifs.

But as justly famous as this Buddhist art is, it is only one of many types of art that have flourished or been transported along the Silk Road over the centuries. Artistic artifacts and influences of many cultures, in many media and in many styles have traveled in both directions along the Silk Road, and have exerted their influences over surprisingly long distances. In addition to sculpture and pictorial art, the art of the Silk Road includes textiles, ceramics, metalwork, glass, and a wide variety of decorative techniques applied to objects of beauty and utility.

Each of the artists featured in this exhibition have drawn their inspiration from the ancient trade routes and this show provides a unique opportunity to see contemporary cultural interpretations of thousands of years of humanity by artists from Turkey, Uzbekistan, China and the former Soviet Union.

The Directors of the gallery will be giving an informal presentation at 6.15pm on the preview evening. Drinks and canapes will be served. Those unable to attend on the opening are invited to make an appointment to view the exhibition.

Co-Founder and Director Chris Clifford said “I am especially pleased that the gallery has been able to secure such an extraordinary treasure trove of some of the most incredibly beautiful, intricate and powerful imagery from artists of truly international significance. This extraordinary exhibition, which has taken many months to plan, is a must see for anybody with an interest in seeing art work that is truly breath taking and visually arresting in every sense”.