A Mushroom Perspective on Sacred Geography

Phoenix Yu-chuan Chen, a PhD candidate in the Department of Art and Art History and a member of our mailing list, has recently curated for the Cantor Arts Center an exhibition entitled, A Mushroom Perspective on Sacred Geography.

In the East Asian cultures, the lingzhi 靈芝 mushroom was believed to be a spiritual organism that thrived only at sacred sites. Drawing from the Cantor’s rich collection of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean art, this exhibition brings together a wide variety of objects (painting, ceramic, jade, lacquer, and works on paper) to examine the dynamic interconnections between humans, natural organisms, and sacred landscapes. The exhibition invites us to consider our own longstanding and ongoing relationship with nature.