Gwen Adams

Bio

I obtained my undergrad degree in Art History from York University, Toronto and a Masters in Art History from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver.  While at UBC I developed an interest in Asian Art History and Post-Modern Chinese Art.  It was during this time that I became captivated with propaganda posters and China’s social political history, as well as the Gutai movement - a Japanese reactionary artistic post-war group founded in 1954 by the painter Jiro Yoshihara.

As the ROM’s Technician - Asian Collectons in the Department of World Cultures, I oversee East Asia, Japan, Korea and South Asian collections.  I take care of one of the largest and most comprehensive collections outside China and one of the largest South Asian collections in Canada.  Our South Asian collection geographically covers the countries of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, The Maldives, and the territory of Tibet. Our collection includes Chinese archaeological materials, antiquities, and works of art that originated within today’s political-boundary of the People’s Republic of China.  The East Asian collection includes more than 35,000 objects dating from the beginning of the Neolithic (10,000 years ago) to the 21th century, taxonomically rich and evenly-distributed throughout all periods of Chinese history (particularly for ceramics and bronzes). The highlights of this collection (2,800+ objects) are represented in nine permanent galleries in the museum. I am also responsible for over 10,000 Japanese prints dating from the Jōmon period (14,000 - 4,000 BC) to the Shōwa period (1926-1989), with a strong focus on the Edo period (1603-1868) and the Meiji period (1868-1912).