April 3-5, 2026. Schermerhorn Hall, Columbia University.
This conference brought together the most recent research on Chinese painting, focusing on its intersections with image-making practices, ritual traditions, sensory experience, social dynamics, and cross-cultural exchange.
Friday, April 3, 2026
1:00 pm Registration & coffee
1:30 pm Welcome Remarks by Matthew McKelway
1:45 pm. Keynote Talk: Alfreda Murck
2:30-5:00 pm. Panel 1: Depictions of Icons and Liturgies
Michelle C. Wang (Georgetown University)
Bo Sun (National Museum of China)
Ching-Ling Wang (Rijksmuseum)
Shih-shan Susan Huang (Rice University)
Discussant: Ryusuke Masuki (Tokyo University)
5:00 pm. Q&A
5:30-7 pm. Reception and dinner for all attendees
Saturday, April 4, 2026
9:00 am. Registration & coffee
9:30 am. Greetings by Yi-bang Li
9:30 am-12:00 pm. Panel 2: Revisiting Classic Works and Pictorial Conventions
Masaaki Itakura (Tokyo University)
Pinyan Zhu (Emory University)
Yunru Chen (National Taiwan University)
Fei Deng (Fudan University)
Discussant: Jeffrey Moser (Brown University)
12:00 pm. Q&A
12:30 pm. Lunch
2:00 pm-4:30 pm Panel 3: Visualizing the Unseen World in Chinese Painting
Jeehee Hong (McGill University)
Michael Hatch (Trinity College)
Chen Liu (Peking University)
Jennifer Purtle (University of Toronto)
Discussant: Michael Cavayero (Peking University)
4:30 pm. Q&A
5:30 pm. Dinner for speakers and discussants off campus
5:30 pm. Reception for student attendees (Amity Hall)
Sunday, April 5th, 2026
9:30 am. Registration & coffee
10:00 am. Greetings by Jin Xu
10:15 am-12:00 pm. Panel 4: Rethinking Chinese Painting History Outside-In
Haruka Takenami (Kyoto University of Fine Arts)
Yu-chih Lai (Academia Sinica)
Maromitsu Tsukamoto (Tokyo University)
Discussant: Catherine Zhu (Columbia University)
12:00 pm. Q&A
12:30 pm Lunch
2:00-3:45 pm. Panel 5: Figures in Landscapes
Xiaofeng Huang (Central Academy of Fine Arts)
Meng Zhao (The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
Lei Xue (Oregon State University)
Discussant: Cheng-hua Wang (Princeton University)
3:45 pm. Q&A
4:30 pm. Closing remarks and introducing Noriko Miyazaki, Matthew McKelway
4:45 pm. Keynote Talk: Noriko Miyazaki
5:45 pm. Reception for all attendees
