Yesterday on a cold Sunday afternoon, my family and I went to Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery to see art exhibits. It was my idea to go see the Hokusai: Mad about Painting Japanese exhibit because I wanted to see it since the artist, Hokusai was famous for painting the widely known “Great Wave off Kanagawa,” but that painting is not on display in D.C. which is something that I didn’t know until my sister googled that on her cell phone. Nevertheless, Hokusai has other numerous paintings on display in this gallery! When my mom, my sisters, and I walked in while my dad was parking the car, we saw a cafe that according to a sign, it is a new cafe for visitors to sit and enjoy their snack or drink a lukewarm coffee. We ordered two desserts and one teapot with jasmine flowers. I loved drinking the tea while it is cold outside. The pastry was not bad. The employee at the cafe was kind to find a table for us because all tables were occupied, but he asked a person if she could move to a different table and we were able to sit down and enjoy our tea time. Then we went downstairs and visited the gift shop. I wished I could buy something at the gift shop, but I decided to save money. Still, the gift shop has cool items such as the iconic “Great Wave off Kanagawa” painting printed on a shirt, necklace, or earrings or origami swan earrings ($18 retail price). I saw a pair of earrings with Chinese characters 愛 (love in Chinese) that I wanted to buy! The jewelry appears to be artisan style something that you would see at a local agricultural fair or on stalls. I like to support small businesses especially where you see hand craft products! Next, we went to find China art section because this museum is big! Apparently there are two adjoining buildings where you can see many exhibits in two hours.

We saw buddhist statues, Korean pottery imported from National Museum of Korea (fun fact: I went there with my sister this past summer!), Japanese paintings, Japanese mythological statues in the hallway, photographs of Iranian people taken by Iranian women photographers, ancient Chinese bells, Hindu artifacts, and western paintings. My family and I visited the “Peacock Room” where you can see beautiful Chinese pottery with its iconic colors: blue and white. Did you know that according to a historical fact, many westerners loved these Chinese pottery that they ordered a lot to be imported in their countries!? I highly recommend you stop by the Peacock Room, but it might be crowded so try to go there when it is not crowded so you can find a spot to take a picture in front of the pottery. The room wall is green painted with gold accents so the color nicely contrasts with the blue and white! There were helpful paragraphs stating historical background or the artist’s biography on the wall for people to read and learn, but there are no translations beside the paragraphs for foreign visitors unfortunately. It would be a good idea if the museum or the U.S. government could provide translations so that visitors from all over the world can enjoy visiting museums in the U.S. capital Washington D.C. In the Ancient Bells of China exhibit, you can use a stick to tap on two bells, one American bell and one Chinese bell. The Chinese bell has two tones and the American bell only has one tone.

After we left the Freer-Sackler Gallery, we went to eat dinner at Ted’s Bulletin. We got an appetizer–hummus and pita bread with vegetables. I ordered French toast with strawberries, sausage, and hash potatoes. It was a big plate that I didn’t finish in one serving! It was a great day with my family and I had fun. I definitely will remember this memory. The day went by quickly! I recommend the exhibits for everyone who is interested in learning about Asian or western art or history! I also recommend the jasmine tea or pastry if you are feeling a bit hungry! It is free admission and the security guard will check your bags for security reason. Note that the Hukusai: Mad about Painting exhibit will be there at Freer-Sackler Gallery for only one year. It will depart in November 2020 so be sure to see it before they close the exhibit!

Here is the link to read more about the exhibits: https://asia.si.edu/exhibitions/

Have you visited the Freer-Sackler Gallery yet? Which exhibit was your favorite? Let me know in the commentary below!