See ‘Demons, Ghosts, and Goblins in Chinese Art’ in Cleveland

A regal figure with blue skin is flanked by two warrior demons, one with three eyes and the other wearing a dragon around its neck like a scarf. This strange trio depicted in “Heavenly King Virudhaka,” a painting on a silk hanging scroll that dates back to the Ming Dynasty, was intended to scare off evil spirits from the Buddhist temple in which it would have hung.

The colorful piece is one of 20 sculptures and paintings in the exhibition “Demons, Ghosts, and Goblins in Chinese Art” on display at the Cleveland Museum of Art from Sept. 8 through Jan. 19. The exhibit explores secular and religious works that incorporate supernatural creatures from the sixth century to the 18th century, many of which hail from the Buddhist, Daoist and Confucian belief systems.

While it might be tempting to assume a supernatural creature is meant to depict something inherently evil, that is not necessarily true, according to Clarissa von Spee, curator of Chinese art and chair of the Asian art department at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

“What’s most fascinating for me is they can be good or evil, the same creature, depending on which service they are in and who controls them,” von Spee says. “They can be harmful or they can protect you against evil spirits.”

For example, a pair of fierce-looking, half-animal, half-human “Tomb Guardians” in the exhibition would have originally been situated in the entrance to a tomb. The human-size creatures served two purposes: protecting the deceased inside from outsiders and keeping the soul of the deceased from wandering out.

The same duality is found in a painting that serves as the inspiration for the exhibition, “Demon Queller Zhong Kui” by Gao Qipei. This rare finger painting on loan from a private collection serves as the centerpiece of the exhibit. The painting depicts the story of demon soldiers being sent out by the governor of the region to clear the mountains of creatures and a dragon that caused devastating flooding to the area. In this case, the demons are the good guys.

While the timing of the exhibition coinciding with Halloween and the Chinese Year of the Dragon is a coincidence, it’s the perfect opportunity to explore an aspect of Chinese art people do not typically see, even though it is a common denominator in all cultures.

“It’s not specific to Chinese art,” von Spee says. “It’s a very human phenomenon to have demons and creepy and scary creatures.”

11150 East Blvd., Cleveland 44106, 216/421-7350, clevelandart.org

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