Across religious traditions, the practice of contemplation has been and remains integral to cultivating an awareness of self, the divine, and the nature of reality. The Meditative Object features artworks that have served as direct or suggestive objects of such contemplation, from a Buddhist figure that dates from the first to fourth century CE to modern abstraction in Southern California. The exhibition includes traditional meditative objects, such as Japanese mandalas that Buddhists use as visualization tools for spiritual practice, as well as objects such as Qur’anic calligraphy and abstract painting, which both invite contemplation on how the act of creation itself can be a highly focused meditative practice.
Organized by Victoria Sancho Lobis, the Sarah Rempel and Herbert S. Rempel ’23 Director of the museum and associate professor of art history, with curatorial assistant Tristen Alizée Leone ’26
