n the Analects, Confucius remarked, “Wildness results when nature overpowers refinement. Superficiality results when refinement overpowers nature. One can only become a gentleman when refinement and nature are balanced.” While Confucius was reflecting on how to live one’s life, practicing artist Mansheng Wang believes this philosophy applies equally to art. Join us for a talk in which Mansheng discusses a balance between the refined and the natural—between art and artlessness—as the aesthetic sense he strives for in his artistic practice.

This event is supported by the Ellen H. Johnson Endowed Fund for Contemporary Art.