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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea

Previously On View

The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
Date
September 20, 2025 - February 28, 2026

For thousands of years, East Asia’s cultures have viewed human life as part of a much larger system that encompasses the natural world. Drawn from the BMA’s collection, this exhibition boasts more than 40 objects—from magnificent ink drawings to beautifully crafted stoneware and poignant contemporary photographs and prints. They bring into the galleries the mountains and seas, wild and supernatural animals, and plant life that are extensive across East Asian imagery and often carry symbolic meaning.

Works on view include robust 13th-century ceramic vessels, delicate porcelain, carved jade, intricately sewn textiles, and large-scale photography; collectively, these artworks represent the impulse to fully understand the natural world as foundational to our existence, as shaped by human life, and as an enduring metaphor of survival.

According to Asma Naeem, Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director: “The Way of Nature offers an insightful look at the intertwining roots of artistic expression and the experience of the natural world through vibrant works from the BMA’s Asian art collection. It’s an exciting opportunity to see objects on view for the first time, or in a long time, through a lens that is both accessible and meaningful, as many of us seek connection through and to nature.”

Presented as part of the Turn Again to the Earth environmental initiative.

Curated by Frances Klapthor, BMA Associate Curator of Asian Art.
Sponsored By

This exhibition is supported by the Henry Luce Foundation, E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, and Marc Edelson.

Gallery Images

The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea (61)
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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Gallery Images (61)
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea

Location

Contemporary Wing, 3rd Floor

Select Artworks in this Exhibition

Miniature Mountain with Longevity Motifs

Miniature Mountain with Longevity Motifs

Late 18th-early 19th century
Guard (tsuba) Decorated with the Inari Fox beneath a Half Moon

Hamano Masanobu

Guard (tsuba) Decorated with the Inari Fox beneath a Half Moon

early 19th century
Guard (tsuba) with Inari Fox, Crescent Moon and Rice Husks

Nara Toshinaga I

Guard (tsuba) with Inari Fox, Crescent Moon and Rice Husks

early 18th century
Buddhist Priest’s Robe (Kesa) with Narcissus Design

Buddhist Priest’s Robe (Kesa) with Narcissus Design

1750-1868
Wine Jar Decorated with Biscuit-Reserved Plum Blossoms

Jizhou kilns

Wine Jar Decorated with Biscuit-Reserved Plum Blossoms

13th century
Cizhou-Type Bottle with Cut-glaze Lotus Flower-and-Leaf Design

Lingwu kilns

Cizhou-Type Bottle with Cut-glaze Lotus Flower-and-Leaf Design

13th century
Large Jar Decorated with Dragons

Jingdezhen kilns

Large Jar Decorated with Dragons

Mid-16th century
Arctic Ocean, Nordkapp

Hiroshi Sugimoto

Arctic Ocean, Nordkapp

1991
Tripod Lotus Dish

Tripod Lotus Dish

early 19th century
Imari-style Dish Decorated with a Meandering River and Falling Maple Leaves

Arita kilns

Imari-style Dish Decorated with a Meandering River and Falling Maple Leaves

Late 17th-early 18th century
Hand Guard (tsuba) Decorated with Plum Blossoms and Moon

Hand Guard (tsuba) Decorated with Plum Blossoms and Moon

c. 1850
Fireflies

Tsukioka Kogyo

Fireflies

c. 1910

Wang Mansheng

Red Lotus

2012-2013
Shino-Style Water Basin

Mino kilns

Shino-Style Water Basin

early 19th century
Plum Branch and Full Moon

Kamisaka Sekka

Plum Branch and Full Moon

1905-1915
Ten Symbols of Long Life

Unknown Korean Artist

Ten Symbols of Long Life

Mid-late 19th century

Zhang Kechun

Zhangjiajie

2012, printed 2019
Rasen Kaigan 45

Lieko Shiga

Rasen Kaigan 45

2012
Leaf-Shaped Water Dropper

Dehua kilns

Leaf-Shaped Water Dropper

Early 18th century
Bowl Decorated with Plum Branch and Crescent Moon

Jizhou kilns

Bowl Decorated with Plum Branch and Crescent Moon

13th century
Bottle Decorated with Painted Grass Motif

Jizhou kilns

Bottle Decorated with Painted Grass Motif

Late 12th-13th century
Two Dragon Pines, Taken at West Sea

Wang Wusheng

Two Dragon Pines, Taken at West Sea

1979

Reiko Sudo

Feather Flurries

1993
Shadow #002

Naoya Hatakeyama

Shadow #002

2002, printed 2004
Shadow #009

Naoya Hatakeyama

Shadow #009

2002, printed 2004
Shadow #016

Naoya Hatakeyama

Shadow #016

2002, printed 2004
Shadow #042

Naoya Hatakeyama

Shadow #042

2002, printed 2004
Shadow #050

Naoya Hatakeyama

Shadow #050

2002, printed 2004
Shadow #056

Naoya Hatakeyama

Shadow #056

2002, printed 2004
Shadow #068

Naoya Hatakeyama

Shadow #068

2002, printed 2004
Shadow #076

Naoya Hatakeyama

Shadow #076

2002, printed 2004
Shadow #079

Naoya Hatakeyama

Shadow #079

2003, printed 2004
Chrysanthemums beside a Stream

Tsukioka Kogyo

Chrysanthemums beside a Stream

1900-1910
Summer Landscape

Tokuyama Gyokuran

Summer Landscape

mid-18th century

Comb (kushi) and Hair Stick (kogai) Decorated with Storks, Stream, and Pine Tree

late 19th century
Water and Mountain Landscape

Huang Junbi

Water and Mountain Landscape

1955
Sake Bottle Decorated with “The Three Friends of Winter”

Hasami kilns

Sake Bottle Decorated with “The Three Friends of Winter”

1800-1850
The Snow Woman (Yuki Onna)

Uemura Shōen

The Snow Woman (Yuki Onna)

1922
Jar with Phoenix Design

Bunwon kilns

Jar with Phoenix Design

Late 19th century

Press Contacts

Anne Brown
Baltimore Museum of Art
Senior Director of Communications
abrown@artbma.org
410-274-9907

Sarah Pedroni
Baltimore Museum of Art
Communications Manager
spedroni@artbma.org
410-428-4668

Alina Sumajin
PAVE Communications
alina@paveconsult.com
646-369-2050

Related Events

Saturday, October 11 | 8:30–10:30 a.m.

Contributors Brunch & Talk: The Way of Nature

Saturday, October 25 | 9 a.m.–1 p.m.

Teacher Workshop: The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea

Sunday, March 1 | 1–4 p.m.

Closing Program: The Way of Nature: Art from Japan, China, and Korea
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