Arts & Culturevia Smithsonian National Museum of Asian ArtFree. No registration or tickets (walk-up only)
Conservation Cart Talk | Art in a New Light
Friday, November 6, 2026
11:00 PM UTC – Saturday, November 7, 2026, 12:00 AM UTC
Hosted by Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art
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About this event
Celebrate Diwali: https://asia.si.edu/whats-on/events/celebrations/diwali/, the Hindu festival of lights, by exploring how light can reveal new perspectives on art. Join conservation scientist Matthew Clarke to discover how X-ray, infrared, and other forms of light allow researchers to look beneath the surface of paintings, textiles, sculptures, and more. Through examples from scientific research on Asian art—including a recent study of Indian pichwais: https://asia.si.edu/whats-on/blog/posts/beyond-the-visible-using-imaging-to-study-pichwai-paintings/—learn how scientists uncover details about artists’ materials, techniques, and histories that are invisible to the naked eye.
Image credit: National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Photo by Hutomo Wicaksono
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