A statue of a lion or Foo Dog in a moon gate is a popular subject for garden art in China, and offered Rebecca Sentgeorge a fitting subject for a watercolor. Submitted photo

A new exhibition of watercolor paintings by Rebecca Reed Sentgeorge at RiverSea Gallery takes viewers on a vicarious journey to Suzhou, China, the beautiful garden city where the artist lived and taught for the past year. “The Middle Kingdom: Off the Beaten Path in China” is the artist’s response to her adventures and explorations there. The show opens with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, July 26, and the work will remain on display through Aug. 5.

A thirst for adventure caused Sentgeorge and her husband to leave their comfortable life in Astoria and spend a year in China. Along the way, they encountered both the expected and the unexpected while Sentgeorge spent a year teaching art at an international school in Suzhou. They viewed China through the eyes of tourist and outsider, as well as being allowed into the inner circle and hearts of some Chinese friends.

One of Sentgeorge’s favorite pastimes in China was to take long walks down the many lanes and alleys, looking for old houses, bridges and the many scenic canal views the city has to offer. Her friends and family enjoyed helping her look for possibilities for painting subjects, and frequently accompanied her on her forays into ancient Suzhou, sharing with her the photographs they took on their expeditions together. She has used some of her favorite photographs as the inspiration for her watercolor paintings, many of which depict iconic sculpture and intricate architectural details framed in lush foliage. The title of her exhibition, “The Middle Kingdom: Off the Beaten Path in China,” is drawn from Chinese history. The Chinese call their land the Middle Kingdom, because in ancient times they viewed it as the center of the world.

The aspects of the Middle Kingdom that Sentgeorge seems to be especially captivated by are views of the gardens, water, and ancient architecture around Suzhou. Her work offers a contemplative look at those historic elements still to be found in an ever-developing society, showing the way light hits objects and the green tranquility found in growing things.

Sentgeorge notes that most Chinese people prize the new and modern, but she was drawn to the sights of the old: the views into private courtyards, time-worn buildings tucked down lanes, the signs of the old Middle Kingdom, and used them as inspiration for her paintings. By viewing them, one can see, not the progressive view of China that the country is scrambling to present during the 2008 Olympics, but the China that can be found when wandering the back alleys and areas untouched by the recent modernization.

RiverSea Gallery is located at 1160 Commercial St. For more information, call (503) 325-1270 or visit www.riverseagalleryastoria.com