Ink, Spirit, and Cultural Resonance: Xu Zhongou's Solo Exhibition 'Beauty of Harmony & Unity' Opens at MEMOR Museum

Globe and Mail

03-06-2025

NEW YORK, NY - Memor Museum, New York's only museum dedicated to Asian cultural expression on the Upper East Side, presents Beauty of Harmony & Unity, a solo exhibition by Chinese artist and educator Xu Zhongou, opening June 3 with a preview artist conversation on May 23. The exhibition showcases Xu's acclaimed 'color-ink' series, a profound reinterpretation of Chinese calligraphy as a contemporary visual and philosophical language.
Poster of Beauty of Harmony & Unity. Image Courtesy of Memor Museum.
This exhibition continues Memor's commitment to cross-cultural dialogue through artistic depth. 'In a world increasingly fragmented, we hope to offer an answer from the East: not confrontation, not rupture, but harmony, coexistence, and symbiosis,' said Willa Ao, director and curator of Memor Museum. 'Xu Zhongou is not only a deeply thoughtful artist, but he is also an educator whose work aligns with our mission of cultural and spiritual reflection.'
Best known for his long-running series In the Name of Walnut, Xu's practice transforms traditional materials into vehicles for spiritual inquiry. In Beauty of Harmony & Unity, he dissolves the boundary between ink and image, freeing the brush from textual meaning and allowing color to play a central role — an act he calls 'releasing writing from the character system.'
Color, drawn from temple aesthetics, is used not as ornamentation but as a symbolic language grounded in folk traditions and ritual. As the artist writes, 'Writing is no longer just about the act of writing. It becomes a way to summon the senses, activate emotion, and connect with belief.'
From left to right: Executive Curator Wera Wei, Artist Xu Zhongou and Willa Ao, Director of Memor Museum. Image Courtesy of Memor Museum.
The exhibition is curated by Willa Ao, with executive curation by Wei Mengying, who describes the collaboration as transformative:
'Working alongside Professor Xu has been an experience of profound nourishment. He is never the distant 'authority,' but a warm, humble educator who brings deep care to every moment — his persistence, his reverence for thought, his precision in every detail left a lasting impression on me,' said Wei. 'His works are not just visual languages, but spiritual practices. And the 'harmony' we speak of is not just a curatorial theme — it's who he is.'
Xu began his explorations into color-ink abstraction in the 1990s while serving as a visiting professor at Maryland Institute College of Art. In 1995, he was commissioned to paint a portrait of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, now housed in the Bush Presidential Library. His works are held in permanent collections including the British Museum and the Muban Educational Trust in the U.K.
'In a time when art must respond to the deeply layered structure of the world,' Xu writes, 'we must move from a flat perspective to a dimensional one — to think and create in step with the rhythm of our time.'
Artist Xu Zhongou. Image Courtesy of Memor Museum.
Beauty of Harmony & Unity will run through summer 2025 at Memor Museum, accompanied by public programming including guided tours, family workshops, and artist talks.
About Memor Museum:
Memor Museum, the organization behind this exhibition, is a global leader in pioneering museum experiences at the intersection of culture and technology. With multiple sites worldwide, it is dedicated to cultural heritage preservation through innovative exhibition planning, immersive and interactive experiences, and a diverse range of activities that bring history to life. The museum complex frequently engages in projects related to artifact preservation and restoration, development of relevant technologies, and the creation of cultural heritage IPs. Memor Museum's commitment to protecting and utilizing cultural heritage ensures that exhibitions like Sanxingdui Encounter remain dynamic, educational, and deeply engaging.
Visit them on the Upper East Side at 1130 Madison Ave.
For more information on the exhibition and to explore Memor Museum's global initiatives, visit www.memormuseum.com.