EXHIBITIONS
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA FLANDRAU SCIENCE CENTER AND PLANETARIUM 2013
Exhibited in 2013, Crystalline Treasures was a huge hit at the University of Arizona’s Flandrau Science Center.
“Don’t miss Flandrau’s new exhibit, Crystalline Treasures: the Mineral Heritage of China. You’ll see astonishing mineral specimens from China that have never been seen before in a public exhibition. And you’ll learn about the ancient history and culture of China, a civilization that goes back five thousand years, a civilization that changed the world with the invention of gunpowder, paper, and silk.”
NATURE’S ART: THE MINERAL BEAUTY OF CHINA
PEROT MUSEUM, Dallas, TX
DEC 11, 2019 - May, 2021
Selections from the collection are featured as part of the Nature’s Art exhibit.
Collecting rocks and stone carvings has been popular in China for thousands of years. However, this interest did not necessarily extend to minerals. The country’s abundant mineral resources were historically used for industrial purposes only. This changed in the mid-1980’s when remarkable Chinese specimens entered the Western market and not only amazed collectors worldwide, but also later via the internet created a rising interest within China itself to collect minerals.
Marvel at breathtaking specimens including a metallic masterpiece of stibnite, feet-shaped azurite and malachite, a mountainous fluorite covered in snow-like calcite and much more.
SELECTIONS FROM THE COLLECTION OF DR ROBERT LAVINSKY
SANTA BARBARA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
6/11/2022 - 9/5/2022
Far more than a dazzling display of gems and minerals, Rare Earth tells the story of how we can value the natural world in a new light. Copper may be worth a few dollars per pound, but a beautiful piece in its (remarkable) natural form is worth far more than that. The question is why? We humans inherently assign value to beautiful things above and beyond their utility. It’s why we value impressive minerals like these higher than their price as a mere commodity. Whether it’s a mineral, a tree, or an ecosystem, viewing nature purely in terms of “price per pound” undervalues the resource and deep down, we know it. The minerals and crystals you see here are treasures in their own right, worthy of being displayed (and valued) like any other fine art.
Rare Earth: The Art and Science of Chinese Stones
Crow museum of asian art at the university of texas, dallas
3/26/2022 - 2/26/2023
This exhibition explores the different ways that Chinese and Western cultures have celebrated the beauty found in, and created from, natural stones. Reflecting the educational mission of The University of Texas at Dallas to unite scientific and artistic thinking, this exhibition pairs works of Chinese art from the Crow Museum’s permanent collection with connoisseur-level samples of raw minerals from China. It uniquely displays these natural and reshaped minerals in contexts that invite multiple, interrelated responses: to appreciate their beauty, ponder their cultural significance, and be inspired to understand the natural forces that created them. As science can enhance our appreciation of beauty, perhaps beauty can lead us to study the wonders beneath the earth as well as in the heavens.
This exhibition is co-organized by the Crow Museum of Asian Art of The University of Texas at Dallas and the Center for Asian Studies of The University of Texas at Dallas, in partnership with the UT Dallas Department of Geosciences and the Dr. Robert Lavinsky Mineral Collection.