October 1, 2025
CLARK ART INSTITUTE PRESENTS BOOK TALK
WITH BONNIE TSUI, AUTHOR OF ON MUSCLE
Williamstown, Massachusetts—On Wednesday, October 22, the Clark Art Institute hosts a book talk with author Bonnie Tsui. Tsui discusses her 2025 book On Muscle, in which she brings her signature blend of science, culture, immersive reporting, and personal narrative to examine not just what muscles are but what they mean to us. The free event takes place in the Clark’s Manton Research Center auditorium at 6 pm.
In On Muscle, Tsui traces how muscles have defined beauty—and how they have distorted it—through the ages, and how they play an essential role in our physical and mental health. Woven throughout are Tsui’s own drawings and stories of her childhood with her Chinese immigrant artist dad—a black belt in karate—who schooled her from a young age in a quirky, in-house Muscle Academy. On Muscle shows us the poetry in the physical and the surprising ways muscle can reveal what we’re capable of.
Free. Accessible seats available; for information, call 413 458 0524. Copies of On Muscle will be available for sale at the event. A book signing follows the talk. For more information, visit clarkart.edu/events.
ABOUT THE CLARK
The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, consisting of nearly 300,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.
The Clark, which has a three-star rating in the Michelin Green Guide, is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Its 140-acre campus includes miles of hiking and walking trails through woodlands and meadows, providing an exceptional experience of art in nature. Galleries are open 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Sunday from September through June, and daily in July and August. Admission is free to all from January through March and is $22 for adults, $20 for adults age 65+, $10 for adults ages 18-25, and $10 for college students with a valid student ID from April through December; admission is free year-round for Clark members and all visitors under age 18. Free admission is also available through several programs, including First Sundays Free; a local library pass program; and the EBT Card to Culture. For information on these programs and more, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.
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