On a cold February day world renowned designer Tim Yip arrived in Minneapolis to supervise the installation of his design for the bronze exhibit, Eternal Offerings: Chinese Ritual Bronzes, at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia).  Conceived in collaboration with Liu Yang, Curator of Chinese Art at Mia, this installation would break new grounds in exhibit design at museums.

Consistent with his philosophy of presenting the splendor of Chinese artistic heritage as an opportunity of dialogue with world citizens, Tim created six different environments in which to showcase Mia’s huge collection of ancient Chinese ritual bronzes in their original purposes.

Opened to great acclaim on March 6, the exhibit drew large audiences locally and the attention of museum curators all over the country.  Everyone was transported by the natural sceneries, mountainscapes with running streams, forests with dappled shades, an ocular open to the sky, opulent feasts incorporating bronze vessels from the exhibit, and a tranquil temple of exquisitely colored silk panels.  Subtle and focused lighting showed off the awe-inspiring bronzes.  Indeed, no word was necessary to convey the purposes of their creation.

Taking time out of his busy installation schedule Tim joined CHF for an evening of jovial conversations and renewal of friendships formed when he first met us at the world premiere of San Francisco Opera’s production of Dream of the Red Chamber for which Tim was the set and costume designer.