Monstrous Beauty: A Feminist Revision of Chinoiserie

Monstrous Beauty: A Feminist Revision of Chinoiserie offers a bold reinterpretation of European porcelain and the chinoiserie style through a contemporary feminist lens. When porcelain first arrived in early modern Europe from China, it inspired a wave of fascination that blended fantasies of the East with emerging ideas about gender, sexuality, and race. This exhibition reveals how the delicate yet powerful medium of porcelain both reflected and shaped perceptions of women and Asian identity, exposing chinoiserie as a site of cultural projection rather than innocent decoration. Featuring nearly 200 works—from 16th-century European masterpieces to contemporary installations by Asian and Asian American women artists—Monstrous Beauty bridges centuries of artistic expression to explore how porcelain’s associations with femininity, fragility, and desire evolved over time. Recasting the narrative through empowerment and critique, the exhibition invites viewers to see chinoiserie anew—as a space where beauty, power, and identity collide.