From Dazu Rock Carvings to StoneCubes:
An Eight-Century Reunion of Eastern Spirit

‍In June 2026, the renowned Dazu Rock Carvings of Chongqing, China, will be presented in New York for the first time at the Memor Museum. More than an international exhibition of cultural treasures, this marks a rare encounter between two distinct worlds: the spiritual traditions of medieval China and the contemporary cultural landscape of New York.

Created between the late Tang and Southern Song dynasties, the Dazu Rock Carvings represent one of the highest achievements of Chinese rock-cut art. Unlike earlier grotto traditions that emphasized divine grandeur, Dazu turned inward, exploring human consciousness, morality, compassion, and the inner life. Carved into mountainsides over centuries, these sculptures embody a uniquely Eastern understanding of time, spirituality, and self-cultivation.

In dialogue with these historic works, New York-based artist Stone Chun Shi presents three newly created StoneCubes paintings inspired by the exhibition, including Compassionate Mind (Ci Nian), a work that also serves as the cover image for his newly released music album of the same name. Through thousands of meticulously layered color blocks, StoneCubes gradually reveal an image over time. While ancient craftsmen removed stone to uncover form, Stone adds color to generate form. One is subtraction, the other accumulation, yet both share the same artistic pursuit: making the invisible visible.

The exhibition extends beyond objects and images. Stone’s Ci Nian project unfolds simultaneously as painting, music, digital imagery, and live performance. During the opening celebration, Stone will present a live Flow Music DJ Set within an immersive environment featuring 12K naked-eye 3D visual projections of the Dazu Rock Carvings. Artifacts, paintings, sound, light, and moving images merge into a single experiential space where past and present coexist.

From rock carving to painting, from painting to music, and from music back into space, this exhibition reveals a continuous thread running across eight centuries. What is being preserved is not merely an artistic tradition, but an enduring Eastern contemplation of the inner world, one that remains profoundly relevant in our increasingly accelerated and fragmented age.
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Foreword

Over 1,300 years ago, in the Dazu region of Southwest China, the curtain rose on the creation of grotto sculptures. Originating in the Tang Dynasty and flourishing during the Song Dynasty, the Dazu Rock Carvings represent the pinnacle of Chinese grotto art from the 9th to the 13th centuries. This artistic tradition continued without interruption, ultimately forming a treasure trove of grotto art comprising 141 grotto temple sites, over 50,000 statues, and more than 100,000 inscribed characters. In December 1999, the Dazu Rock Carvings were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, becoming the second grotto site in China to receive this distinction.

Outstanding Universal Value

The Dazu Carvings represent the pinnacle of Chinese rock art in their high aesthetic quality and their diversity of style and subject matter. Tantric Buddhism from India and Chinese Taoist and Confucian beliefs came together at Dazu to create a highly original and influential manifestation of spiritual harmony. The eclectic nature of religious belief in late Imperial China is given material expression in the exceptional artistic heritage of the Dazu rock art.