FREER GALLERY OF ART Smithsonian Institution Jefferson Drive at 12th Street, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20560 tel: (202) 357-2700 internet: http://www.si.edu/Asia
		•Daily gallery tours (except Wednesday), 12:30 p.m. •Freer Gallery Highlights, docent guides
		• Selections from the Japanese Collection April 4 - November 28, 1999
			This exhibition features a hanging scroll depicting a symbolic ensemble of crane, sun, and peach on rolling waves--a Japanese adaptation from Chinese and Korean sources. The subject suggests that the scroll was created for an auspicious occasion of transition, such as a birthday. The artist blends two stylistic approaches, both Western and traditional Japanese. Another highlight will be the unveiling of a recently purchased painting as part of the scheduled rotation of objects.
		• Lecture: Tuesday, May 11, 12:00 p.m., James Ulak (Curator of Japanese Art
			A discussion of the Japanese art on view.
		• The Tea Ceremony in Japan Through November 28, 1999
		• Demonstration: Saturday, May 15, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., 12:30 - 1:30 p.m., and 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
			Members of the Urasenke Tea Foundation present demonstrations of their art. Thirty-five tickets per session will be distributed beginning at 10:00am.
		• A Breath of Spring May 17, 1999 - January 9, 2000
			This exhibition highlights the Freer's widely admired Chinese painting, the 14th-century handscroll of the same name. In 1360 an obscure Daoist recluse named Zou Fulei painted his extraordinary handscroll, which shows the branch of a blossoming plum tree rendered entirely in ink. The plum tree blooms in early to mid-winter, when most other vegetation lies dormant. In Chinese tradition, plum blossoms symbolize purity of character, courage in the face of adversity, the transience of things, and the rebirth of hope. The plum tree was a popular theme during the Song dynasty (960-1279), and in the early 12th century artists began to paint flowering plum branches in ink. The genre continued to develop in the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368), when Zou Fulei created this work. Painted in a free, calligraphic style and exhibiting a subtle range of contrasting tones, "A Breath of Spring" is one of the earliest and finest examples of its kind and is widely recognized as a masterpiece. The painting is accompanied by a frontispiece and two colophons, or commentaries, by the artist's contemporaries, as well as a third composed in 1925 by the scroll's last private owner. All of the texts are translated by exhibition curator Stephen D. Allee. The exhibition also includes a slightly earlier Yuan dynasty handscroll of ink plum blossoms in an entirely different style, together with two later paintings of scholars searching for plum blossoms in the mountains. Both works are exhibited with the original silk wrappers and jade clips provided when they entered the Chinese imperial collection in the mid-18th century.
		• Masterpieces of Chinese Painting May 29, 1999 - January 30, 2000
		• Japanese Screens Continuing indefinitely
		• Shades of Green and Blue: Chinese Celadon Ceramics Continuing indefinitely
			Developed in China some 3500 years ago, celadon is the world's largest and most varied family of glazes. This exhibition presents the technical and aesthetic evolution of celadon, revealing the impact of court patronage and celadon's development throughout Asia as an export item.
		• Seto and Mino Ceramics Continuing indefinitely
			Presents a selection of 47 objects from the Seto and Mino regions in Japan, where glazed ceramics have been made for the past 1,200 years. These pieces from the Freer collection illustrate how wares evolved over time in response to new technology and changing taste. Seto and Mino Ceramics, a color-illustrated catalogue of the Freer collection, is available in the Freer Gallery Shop for $45 (cloth) and $25 (paper).
		• Ancient Chinese Pottery and Bronze Continuing indefinitely
		• Buddhist Art Continuing indefinitely
		• Korean Ceramics Continuing indefinitely
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