CBS is pleased to welcome Dr. John Johnston as a new fellow of the Center. Dr.
Johnston is a curator and historian of East Asian art and Buddhist visual and
material culture. He received his PhD from SOAS, University of London in the
History of Art and MA from the University of Hawaii in Chinese Studies. He has
worked as a curator and professor internationally including over 10 years of
experience in Asia (China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Bhutan). He has visited
hundreds of Buddhist temples and monasteries in the course of extensive fieldwork.
Dr. Johnston has served in curatorial roles in American museums and galleries
including Curator of Asian Art at the San Antonio Museum of Art, and was Assistant
Professor of Art History at the Academy of Visual Arts in Hong Kong. Dr. Johnston is
author or co-author of several books and numerous articles on diverse aspects of
Asian art and Buddhist visual culture. Currently, Dr. Johnston is organizing and co-
curating the first art historical presentation of Ōbaku Zen works of art in Western
collections. Other ongoing research interests include the material culture of lay
Buddhist practice and the role of altar ware in the history of Chinese ceramics.