Durham, NC - Four contemporary Chinese artists offer new perspectives on the world's largest hydroelectric power plant, on the Yangzi River in China, in an exhibition at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University.

"Displacement: The Three Gorges Dam and Contemporary Chinese Art" will be on view from March 25 through July 25.

The Three Gorges Dam displaced more than 1 million people and submerged more than 1,000 towns and villages. Supporters in China point out that the dam supplies one-ninth of the country's electric power, lowers greenhouse gas emissions, boosts trade to the interior and controls deadly flooding.

Four artists -- Chen Qiulin, Yun-Fei Ji, Liu Xiaodong and Zhuang Hui -- have responded to the dam with performance and new media art, traditional ink painting, realist oil painting and conceptual photography. The New York Times recently praised Yun-Fei Ji's "subtle, subversive watercolors" in his solo show, now on view at James Cohan Gallery in New York.

"We might have expected the Chinese artists to simply criticize the dam, which forced so many people to relocate, submerged important historical and archaeological sites and disrupted ecosystems," said Kimerly Rorschach, the James H. and Mary D.B.T. Semans Director of the Nasher Museum. "But the artists offer nuanced, thought-provoking perspectives on a project with great social, environmental and global impact. The work is indeed powerful."

"Displacement" was organized by University of Chicago scholar Wu Hung at the Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago, in 2008. The Nasher Museum is the final venue for the exhibition.

The Nasher Museum's presentation of "Displacement" includes a hand scroll ink painting on loan from the Art Institute of Chicago called "King Yu Moving a Mountain to Control the Floods" (Ming dynasty, 1368 -- 1644). The 17th-century scroll offers a historical context for the subject matter of the exhibition and a stylistic context for the work of Yun-Fei Ji.

"Displacement" will be complemented by public programs at the Nasher Museum, including a free family day event, a film series, teacher workshops and other programs. Curator Wu Hung will give a lecture as part of the opening event on March 25. Artist Chen Qiulin will give a talk on April 1. The exhibition is accompanied by a 160-page, full-color catalogue, available at the Nasher Museum Store.

"Displacement: The Three Gorges Dam and Contemporary Chinese Art" has been organized by the Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago. The exhibition is curated by Wu Hung, who is consulting curator of the Smart Museum, the Harrie A. Vanderstappen Distinguished Service Professor of Art History, and director of the Center for the Art of East Asia, University of Chicago, in consultation with Jessica Moss, Smart Museum assistant curator of contemporary art, and Stephanie Smith, Smart Museum director of collections and exhibitions and curator of contemporary art.

The exhibition and related programs are supported by Dan Bo, the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, the University of Chicago Women's Board, and the Center for East Asian Studies. The accompanying publication was made possible by a generous gift from Fred Eychaner and Tommy Yang Guo.

At the Nasher Museum, the exhibition is supported by the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, Duke's Asian/Pacific Studies Institute and Nicholas School of the Environment, the Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina, Diane Evia-Lanevi and Ingemar Lanevi in honor of their daughter Sammy Lanevi, the North Carolina Chinese Business Association and The Chronicle.

The Nasher Museum, at 2001 Campus Drive at Anderson Street on the Duke campus, is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday; and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The museum is closed Mondays. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and members of the Duke Alumni Association, $3 for non-Duke students with identification and free for children 15 and younger. Admission is free to all on Thursday nights. Admission is free to Duke students, faculty and staff with Duke Cards. Admission is also free to Nasher Museum members.

Additional information is available at www.nasher.duke.edu.