Stanley Abe
Associate Professor of Art and Art History
Stanley Abe has published on Chinese Buddhist art, contemporary Chinese art, Asian American art, Abstract Expressionism, and the collecting of Chinese sculpture. He is now writing a narrative account of how Chinese sculpture came into existence as a category of Fine Art during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Office Hours
Friday 2:00–3:00 and by appointment
Current Appointments & Affiliations
- Associate Professor of Art and Art History, Art, Art History & Visual Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2001
- Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Art, Art History & Visual Studies, Art, Art History & Visual Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2016
Contact Information
- 114 S. Buchanan Blvd., Smith Warehouse Bay 9, Room A289, Durham, NC 27708
- Box 90766, Durham, NC 27708-0766
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stanley.abe@duke.edu
(919) 684-2487
- Background
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Education, Training, & Certifications
- Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley 1989
- M.A., University of California at Berkeley 1984
- B.A., University of California at Berkeley 1981
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Duke Appointment History
- Director of Arts of the Moving Image, Art of the Moving Image, Literature 2009 - 2012
- Interim Director, Art of the Moving Image, Literature 2008 - 2009
- Assistant Professor of Art and Art History, Art, Art History & Visual Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 1994 - 2001
- Recognition
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Awards & Honors
- Fellowships for University Teachers. National Endowment for the Humanities. 2007
- Franklin Grants. American Philosophical Society. 2007
- Shimada Prize for Distinguished Scholarship in the History of East Asian Art for the book Ordinary Images. Smithsonian Institution's Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, and The Metropolitan Center for Far Eastern Art Studies, Kyoto, Japan. 2004
- Fellowships for University Teachers. National Endowment for the Humanities. 1997
- Summer Stipends Awards. National Endowment for the Humanities. 1992
- Expertise
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Subject Headings
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Global Scholarship
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Expertise
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- Publications & Artistic Works
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Selected Publications
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Books
- Abe, S. Ordinary Images. University of Chicago Press, 2002.
- Abe, S. A Freer Stela Reconsidered. Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Occasional Paper, 2002.
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Book Sections
- Abe, S, and Elsner, J. "Introduction: Some Stakes of Comparativism." In Comparativism in Art History, edited by J Elsner, 1-15. London: Routledge, 2017. (Introduction)
- Abe, S. "Sculpture: A Comparative History." In Comparativism in Art History, edited by J Elsner, 94-108. Routledge, 2017. (Chapter)
- Abe, S. "General Munthe’s Sculpture Collection." In Gifts, edited by J Haakestad, 42-47. Vestlandske Kunstindustrimuseum, 2012.
- Abe, S. "The Modern Moment of Chinese Sculpture." In Exhibiting Asian Art: Issues and Perspectives, 27–45-27–45. National Museum of Korea; Friends of National Museum of Korea, 2011.
- Abe, S. "Rockefeller Home Decorating and Objects from China." In Collecting China: The World, China, and a Short History of Collecting, edited by V Rujivacharakul, 107–23-107–23. University of Delaware Press, 2011.
- Abe, S. "Locating World Art." In The Migrant’s Time: Rethinking Art History and Diaspora, edited by S Mathur, 130-45. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 2011.
- Abe, S. "Collecting Chinese Sculpture: Paris, New York, Boston." In Journeys East: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Asia, edited by A Chong and N Murai, 432-442. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2009.
- "China, The Buddha, and Modern Aestheticism." In Re-Imagining Asia: A Thousand Years of Separation, edited by S Merali, 124-133. Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, 2008.
- Abe, S. "From Stone to Sculpture: The Alchemy of the Modern." In Treasures Rediscovered: Chinese Stone Sculpture from the Sackler Collections at Columbia University, 7–16-7–16. Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University, 2008.
- Abe, S. "To Avoid the Inscrutable: Abstract Expressionism and the "Oriental Mode"." In Discrepant Abstraction, edited by K Mercer, 52-73. MIT Press, 2006.
- Abe, S. "Xu Bing de zhenshi de yishu 徐冰的真实的艺术 (The Genuine Art of Xu Bing)." In Xu Bing – Yancao jihua 徐冰 – 烟草计划 (Xu Bing: Tobacco Project), edited by WH 巫鸿, 106–114-106–114. Beijing: Zhongguo Renmin daxue chubanshe, 2006.
- Abe, S. "Why Asia Now? Contemporary Asian Art and the Politics of Multiculturalism." In Shades of Black: Assembling the 80s, A transatlantic dialogue on Afro-Asian arts in post-war Britain, edited by DA Bailey, I Baucom, and S Boyce, 109-114. Duke University Press, 2005.
- Abe, S. "Bei Liang shita yu Mogao ku zaoqi san ku de niandai wenti (Northern Liang stone pillars and the dating of the earliest Mogao caves." In Dunhuang xue guoji yantaohui wenji , Shiku kaogu juan (Collected works of the 1994 International Conference on Dunhuang studies, Cave temple archaeology volume), edited by DYDR academy, 159–65-159–65. Lanzhou: Gansu minzu chubanshe, 2000.
- Abe, S. "Nanbokucho no dokyo to zokei (Daoist sculpture of the Northern-Southern Dynasties period)." In Sekai bijutsu daizenshu, Toyo hen (New History of World Art: Asia), 362–68-362–68. Tokyo: Shogakkan, 2000.
- Abe, S. "Shaanxi sheng de Beiwei diaoke: Laiyuan, zanzhu, yuanwang (Northern Wei Sculpture from Shaanxi Province: Provenance, Patronage, Desire)." In Between Han and Tang: Religious Art and Archaeology in a Transformative Period, edited by W Hung, 461–88-461–88. Beijing: Cultural Relics Publishing House, 2000.
- Abe, S. "Reading the Sky." In Cross-Cultural Readings of Chineseness, edited by W-H Yeh, 53–79-53–79. Berkeley: Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, 2000.
- Abe, S. "No Questions, No Answers: China and A Book from the Sky." In Modern Chinese Literature and Cultural Studies in the Age of Theory: Reimagining a Field, edited by R Chow, 227–50-227–50. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 2000.
- Abe, S. "Chugoku o miseru (Exhibiting China)." In The Present, and the Discipline of Art History in Japan, edited by TNRIOC Properties, 192–206-192–206. Tokyo: Heibonsha, 1999.
- Abe, S. "Inside the Wonder House: Buddhist Art and the West." In Curators of the Buddha, edited by D Lopez. University of Chicago, 1995.
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Journal Articles
- Abe, SK. "Pulitzer foundation workshop." Archives of Asian Art 62 (December 1, 2012): 81-81. Full Text
- Abe, SK. "Absence and the image." Archives of Asian Art 62 (December 1, 2012): 102-103. Full Text
- Abe, S. "Review of Ning Qiang, Art, Religion, and Politics in Medieval China: The Dunhuang Cave of the Zhai Family." Journal of Asian Studies 64 (2005): 454-56. (Review)
- Abe, S. "Review of Marsha Weidner, ed., Cultural Intersections in Late Imperial Chinese Buddhism." Journal of Asian Studies 61 (May 2002): 715-16. (Review)
- Abe, S. "Review essay of Lukas Nickel, ed., Return of the Buddha: The Qingzhou Discoveries." Aribus Asiae 62 (2002): 293–99-293–99. (Review)
- Abe, S. "Review of Stephen Little with Shawn Eichman, Taoism and the Arts of China." Journal of Chinese Religions 29 (2001): 332-34. (Review)
- Stanley Abe, . "Provenance, Patronage, and Desire: Northern Wei Sculpture from Shaanxi Province." Ars Orientalis 31 (2001): 1-30. (Academic Article)
- Stanley Abe, . "Tobacco Art: Xu Bing's Tobacco Project." Duke University Libraries 14, no. 1 (October 2000): 3-7. (Academic Article)
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Exhibitions, Screenings, & Performances
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Artistic Works & Non-Print Media
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Exhibits
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- Teaching & Mentoring
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Recent Courses
- Scholarly, Clinical, & Service Activities
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Presentations & Appearances
- Duplicates and Copies in Chinese Sculpture. Percival David Foundation Annual Lecture. British Museum. 2017 - 2017 2017
- Duplication in Chinese Sculpture. Burke Lectures. Department of Art History. 2017 - 2017 2017
- Duplication in Chinese Sculpture. Goldberg Lecture. Department of Art History. 2017 - 2017 2017
- Towards a Theory of the Substitute in Chinese Sculpture. East Asia Art & Archaeology Research Seminar. Department of Art & Archaeology. 2017 - 2017 2017
- Copies and Duplication in Chinese Sculpture. Department of Fine Arts, Chinese University of Hong Kong. 2016 2016
- Copies and Duplication in Chinese Sculpture. New Perspectives on Buddhist Visual and Manuscript Cultures of the Silk Road. Georgetown University. 2016 2016
- Copies in Chinese Sculpture. Christie's Education, London. 2016 2016
- Discussant. "Dredging the Deep End: Expanding the Parameters of Chinese Art History". Annual Meeting, Association for Asian Studies. 2016 2016
- Imagining Sculpture in China. University of Texas, Austin. 2016 2016
- Locating World Art, Again. World Studies: Approaches, Paradigms, and Debates. University of Hong Kong. 2016 - 2016 2016
- Moderator and Respondent. "Modernities in Korean Art" workshop. Nam Center for Korean Studies and History of Art Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. 2016 2016
- Sculpture: A Comparative History. Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong. 2016 2016
- Sculpture: A Comparative History. Asia Art Archive. 2016 2016
- Convernor, "Dislocations: Remapping Art Histories". Tate Research Centre: Asia-Pacific. Tate Modern. December 2015 2015
- Bringing Asian Art to Berlin. Museum of Asian Art. August 19, 2015 2015
- Eduard von der Heydt and the Museum Rietberg. Museum Rietberg. August 16, 2015 2015
- Necessary Fictions: Imagining Sculpture in China. Museum of East Asian Art. August 14, 2015 2015
- Osvald Sirén and Stockholm. Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities. August 11, 2015 2015
- Problems of Small Northern Wei Stele from Shaanxi in Foreign Collections. Art, Archaeology and History: New Horizons in Researching and Rethinking Images. National Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies, Fudan University (Shanghai). November 2014 2014
- The Copy in Chinese Buddhist Images. February 12, 2014 2014
- Innumerable Contexts. December 30, 2013 2013
- Moving Buddha: Imagining Sculpture in China. November 10, 2013 2013
- Necessary Fictions: Imagining Sculpture in China. November 10, 2013 2013
- Imagining Chinese Sculpture. June 5, 2013 2013
- Moving Buddha: Chinese Sculpture and Global Modernity. May 14, 2013 2013
- Moving Buddha: The Discovery of Chinese Sculpture. April 18, 2013 2013
- Earliest forms of Buddhist Imagery in China. October 19, 2012 2012
- The Modern Moment of Chinese Sculpture. October 17, 2012 2012
- The Early Silk Road and Beyond. October 12, 2012 2012
- Discussant for “The Reception of Antiquity” Conference. September 28, 2012 2012
- Sculpture in the Golden Age of East Asian Art Collecting. March 16, 2012 2012
- Discussant for "500 Luohan" Workshop. February 18, 2012 2012
- Discussant for Symposium on the Conservation and Display of Buddhist Art. February 1, 2012 2012
- The Modern Moments of Chinese Sculpture. Silberger Lecture. Institute of Fine Arts. 2012 2012
- Moderator and Discussant for “Buddhist Art: Objects and Contexts”. November 10, 2011 2011
- The Modern Moment of Chinese Sculpture. November 6, 2011 2011
- Rockefeller Collecting: China and Beyond. October 17, 2011 2011
- Discussant, "Art and Material Culture of the Northern Qi Period" symposium. June 4, 2011 2011
- Discussant for panel “Revisiting Alexander Soper,” Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting, Honolulu. April 3, 2011 2011
- Order and Things: The Transformation of Chinese Objects into Sculpture. March 16, 2011 2011
- Order and Things: The Transformation of Chinese Objects into Sculpture. March 10, 2011 2011
- A Modern Taste for Chinese and Japanese Art. Forgotten Japonisme: The Taste for Japanese Art in Britain and the USA, 1920s–1950s. Research Centre for Transnational Art, Identity, Nation, Victoria and Albert Museum, London. 2010 2010
- Duplicates in Chinese Stone Sculpture. New Research on Buddhist Sculpture. Victoria and Albert Museum, London. 2010 2010
- Duplicating and Reproducing Chinese Buddhist Sculpture. Department of Art History and Archaeology, Seoul National University. 2010 2010
- Déjà Vu All Over Again: Old Collections and New Discoveries from Shaanxi. University of Chicago. 2010 2010
- Déjà Vu Once Again: Old Collections and New Discoveries from Shaanxi Province. Institute of East Asian Art History, Universität Heidelberg. 2010 2010
- Locating World Art. Asia and Europe in a Global Context. Universität Heidelberg. 2010 2010
- Moving Buddha, Making Sculpture. Department of Art History and Archaeology, Seoul National University. 2010 2010
- Order and Things: Art History and Chinese Sculpture. Institute of Art History, University of Glasgow. 2010 2010
- Order and Things: Art History and Chinese Sculpture. School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 2010 2010
- The Fuxian Style Once More. School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 2010 2010
- China and Japan in Early Rockefeller Collecting. Research Centre for Transnational Art, Identity, Nation, University of the Arts, Chelsea College of Art & Design, London. 2009 2009
- Circa 1909: Moving Japanese and Chinese Sculpture to the United States. Circa 1909 Symposium, Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst, Köln. 2009 2009
- Figures of China—Transnational Perspectives. Global History and East Asia conference. Duke University. 2009 2009
- Discussant for panel “Bringing Chinese Art to the West: Duanfang and an Early 20th-Century Network of Dealers, Collectors, and Scholars”. Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting, Atlanta. 2008 2008
- Introduction and discussant at the preview for the exhibition "Treasures Rediscovered: Chinese Stone Sculpture from the Sackler Collections at Columbia University". 2008 2008
- Locating World Art. (World) Art? Art History and Global Practice. Northwestern University. 2008 2008
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Service to the Profession
- Member. External Review Committee, Art History Program. University of Minnesota. 2017 - 2017 2017
- Member. Peer Review Panel, NEH Fellowships. National Endowment for the Humanities. 2017 - 2017 2017
- Member. Academic Advisory Committee. Tate Modern Research Centre: Asia. 2016 - 2019 2016 - 2019
- Member. Academic Advisory Committee. Tate Modern Research Centre: Asia Pacific. 2013 - 2016 2013 - 2016
- Reviewer. Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowship. American Council of Learned Societies. 2013 - 2015 2013 - 2015
- Editor in Chief and Chair of the Editorial Board. Archives of Asian Art. 2011 - 2018 2011 - 2018
- Member : Editorial Board, Cross-Currents: East Asian History and Culture Review. 2011 - 2016 2011 - 2016
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Service to Duke
- Director of Graduate Studies. Department of Art, Art History & Visual Studies. 2016 - 2019 2016 - 2019
- Graduate School. Executive Committee of the Graduate Faculty. 2014 - 2016 2014 - 2016
- Director. MFA in Experimental and Documentary Arts. 2010 - 2011 2010 - 2011
- Office of the President. University Priorities Committee. 2010 - 2012 2010 - 2012
- Arts & Sciences Council. Executive Committee. 2008 - 2010 2008 - 2010
- Director. Arts of the Moving Image. 2008 - 2012 2008 - 2012
- Arts & Sciences Council. 2007 - 2011 2007 - 2011
- Director of Graduate Studies. Department of Art and Art History. 2002 - 2003 2002 - 2003
- Duke University Press. Editorial Advisory Board. 2002 - 2008 2002 - 2008
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