Opening: Chinese Puzzles Exhibition

While the world celebrates the spirit of sports, demonstrated through the physical competition at the Beijing Olympics this August, the Chinese Culture Center introduces the games of the hands and mind for Bay Area residents and visitors in its free Chinese Puzzles exhibition, which runs from July 22 through October 11. A free opening reception is on Tuesday, July 22, at 6 p.m.

The exhibit features antique Chinese puzzles from the Yi Zhi Tang Collection and will include traditional puzzles, such as tangrams, nine rings puzzles, and sliding block puzzles. It will also show examples of puzzling objects, visual puzzles, and cleverly designed practical objects, such as puzzle rings and multi-step padlocks.

Chinese Puzzles is the first exhibit in the U.S. devoted exclusively to the subject of Chinese puzzles. Bay Area residents Wei Zhang and Peter Rasmussen created the Yi Zhi Tang Collection after spending twelve years crisscrossing China and exploring Western antique markets to collect these rapidly disappearing handcrafted puzzles.

"Visitors will learn how people in the old times challenged themselves without video games!" said Nancy Hom, an artist, curator and organizer who has worked in the Manilatown, Chinatown, Japantown and Mission neighborhoods.

"This unique and exciting exhibition will bring much enjoyment to viewers of all ages," said Terese Tse Bartholomew, Curator Emeritus, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

In China, puzzles are called yizhi youxi (intelligence games), and for many generations they have challenged the minds of young and old and tested the ingenuity of rich and poor alike. Along with its history of art, culture and science, China also has a rich tradition of puzzles and a fascination with puzzling objects. Besides, many traditional Chinese puzzles are artistic creations that reflect classical art forms and display extraordinary craftsmanship. An important part of the Chinese Puzzles exhibition will be its hands-on component. While the antique puzzles on display will please the eye, visitors will also have a chance to challenge their hands and minds by playing with and solving an assortment of newly made Chinese puzzles.

For more information, visit www.c-c-c.org or call 415-986-1822.

Date : July 22 through October 11, 2008.

Gallery Hours: Tue-Sat, 10AM - 4PM

Admission: Free

Opening Reception : Tuesday, July 22, at 6 p.m.

Location: Chinese Culture Center Gallery, 750 Kearny Street, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94108.