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Yearly Archives: 2021

Asia Week New York’s Next Webinar: Transported by Art

February 16, 2021

Asia Week New York is pleased to host a panel discussion, Transported by Art, on Wednesday, February 24 at 5pm EST.

Follow the journey taken by a work of art on its way from the seller to the buyer. It could be more convoluted than you might expect.  Our expert panelists:  Mark Aiston, Aiston Fine Art Services, Susan L. Beningson PhD, curator and collector, Steven Chait, President, Ralph M. Chait Galleries, Mee-Seen Long, Director INKStudio, consultant to Sotheby's, and Ellen Ross, Head of the Fine Arts Practice, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. offer tips on what to look out for and how to negotiate some of the twists and turns.  The conversation will be moderated by Lark Mason, Jr. founder of iGavel Auctions and president of the Appraiser's Association of America.

To Register: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_z-CiaSxkQgee-EhUxsB3ZQ  

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New acquisitions at The Art of Japan

February 15, 2021

New acquisitions include 19th C. triptychs, Pre-Earthquake Hasui Prints, a Yoshida Grand Canyon impression, a rare and desirable print by Elizabeth Keith and an interesting Nagasaki print.

They can be found at www.theartofjapan.com

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Party Like an OX Star! Happy Chinese Lunar New Year!

February 12, 2021

Four bronze long-horned bulls and a horse, Dian kingdom, Yunnan, Western Han dynasty, 3rd-1st century B.C. Lengths: 17.8 to 24.8 cm. (7 to 9 3/4 in.), courtesy of Kaikodo

Looking forward to a less eventful year and wishing you a happy, healthy, safe and prosperous New Year of the Ox!

The Chinese zodiac is a 12-year cycle where each year is represented by an animal, and 2021 is the year of the dependable Ox. According to a myth about how the order of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac calendar was established, the ox came in second in a race to reach the emperor’s party. He had been the frontrunner, but just before the finish line, the rat asked him for a ride across the river and then got off his back and claimed first place. A very trustworthy beast of burden and indispensable in an agricultural society, the ox has always been much valued in Asia. Known for being hardworking and reliable, oxen have frequently been portrayed in Chinese and Japanese works of art.

In addition, each year of the Chinese calendar is associated with one of the ten elements, such as fire, water, air. 2021 is the Metal Ox year so this group of four bronze long-horned bulls and a horse is most fitting. From the Dian kingdom in Yunnan and dating to the Western Han dynasty (3rd-1st century BC), these pieces attest to the ox’s long historical importance in Chinese life.

The approach is more fanciful in a Japanese print by Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III), Fifty-three Stations Along the Tokaido: View of Kanbara, from a bijin landscape series, in which a beautiful young woman is shown riding an ox in a snowbound landscape.


Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) 1786-1865, Fifty-three Stations Along the Tokaido: View of Kanbara, signed Kochoro Kunisada ga, ca. 1838, chuban tate-e 9 7/8 by 7 3/8 in., 25 by 18.7 cm, courtesy of Scholten Japanese Art

Oxen have been depicted in paintings, stone sculpture, wood, jade and other materials as well as in pottery and porcelain. A perennial favorite throughout these media is the image of a boy riding an ox or a water buffalo, and here is a classic porcelain example of that, a Chinese blanc de chine water dropper in the shape of a boy riding an ox, from the Kangxi period/ early 18th century.


Chinese blanc de chine water dropper in the shape of a boy riding an ox, Kangxi period/early 18th century, Height: 3 inches (7.5 cm) Length: 3 1/2 inches (9 cm), courtesy of Ralph M. Chait Galleries

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Zoom webinar sponsored by the Japanese Art Society of America (JASA)

February 11, 2021

Ivory ox, inlaid eyes of amber Kaigyokusai Masatsugu (1813-1882) Formerly in the Buquet Collection, Carmel, CA

LIVE ZOOM WEBINAR: NETSUKE AND SAGEMONO IN THE YEAR OF THE OX

Wednesday, February 17, 6 PM EST

Featuring David Butsumyo, a collector and retired endodontist from Long Beach, California.

This event is co-sponsored by the International Netsuke Society.

Click here to register for the Zoom event: February 17 Zoom Webinar.

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Panel Talk on Zoom: Pixy Liao in conversation with Christopher Phillips– February 11, 2021 2:30PM EST

February 10, 2021

Looking Up To My Man, 2019, Digital C-Print.

Chambers Fine Art is pleased to announce an artist & curator conversation between Pixy Liao and Christopher Phillips on Thursday, February 11th, 2021. The discussion will focus on Pixy Liao's recent works that are part of her current exhibition “New Wife, Old House” with Chambers Fine Art, and an upcoming solo exhibition at Fotografiska in New York.

Christopher Phillips is an independent curator and critic based in New York City. He teaches courses on the history and interpretation of photography and media art at Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. From 2000 to 2016 he was a curator at the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York. During the past 20 years he has organized many exhibitions that examine contemporary Asian photography and media art. These exhibitions include “Between Past and Future: New Photography and Video from China” (2004, co-curated with Wu Hung); “Shanghai Kaleidoscope” (2008); “Heavy Light: Recent Photography and Video from Japan” (with Noriko Fuku, 2008); and “Life and Dreams: Contemporary Chinese Photography and Media Art” (2018). He serves as a board member of Asia Art Archive in America, and is a contributing editor of the magazine Art in America.

Pixy Liao was born in Shanghai, China, in 1979. Liao received her MFA in photography from the University of Memphis in 2008. Liao is a recipient of NYFA Fellowship in photography, Santo Foundation Individual Artist Awards Jimei x Arles International Photo Festival Madame Figaro Women Photographers Award, En Foco’s New Works Fellowship and Lens Culture Exposure Awards. She has been a resident at University of Arts London, Pioneer Works, Light Work, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Center for Photography at Woodstock, and Camera Club of New York. Liao’s photography have been exhibited worldwide, including He Xiangning Art Museum (Beijing), M Woods Museum (Beijing), UCCA Center For Contemporary Art (Beijing), Museum of Sex (New York), Asia Society (Houston), and National Gallery of Australia (Sydney). She currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Zoom Link: https://nyu.zoom.us/j/96768211655 No RSVP is necessary for this event.

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An online conversation on Zoom at Joan B. Mirviss LTD
Thursday, February 11 at 5pm EST

February 8, 2021

To accompany the online exhibition opening on February 8, Cascades and Glacial Landscapes, New clay sculptures by Jeff Shapiro, Joan Mirviss will moderate a discussion with prominent clay artist Jeff Shapiro and ceramic collectors Halsey and Alice North on Jeff's unique journey: from ceramic training in Japan as a young man, through his decades-long evolution into an independent artist creating highly original works that draw from his varied experiences.

The audience is invited to submit questions they may have for Jeff and the Norths, which may be selected for the Q & A portion of the event.

To RSVP to this event and send in your questions: [email protected]

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It’s about time!

February 5, 2021

Maharaja Sarabhoji Accompanied by His Minister, Tanjore, Company Style, circa 1790, Opaque water-based pigments with raised gold on board, 23 1/2 x 17 1/4 in. (60 x 44 cm.), Kapoor Galleries

Provenance:
Given as a gift to Lady Henrietta Clive (1758-1830) in 1800 by the Maharaja Sarabhoji (r. 1798-1832).
Sophus Andreas Bergsøe (1838-1896), Aalborg circa 1880.
Thence by descent.

It seems incongruous to include an elaborate European ormolu clock in an Indian Tanjore Company Style painting of Maharaja Sarabhoji Accompanied by His Minister, circa 1790. The maharaja, depicted as a heavily bejeweled figure with an elaborate turban and side-whiskers, stands formally facing outward with the index finger of his left hand pointing downward towards his ceremonial sword, and a minister with pressed palms faces the maharaja awaiting instructions. They are framed on one side by a curtain with gold fringe and tassels and are flanked by two European-style gilt-legged tables. The clock is placed upon one of the tables. The European accoutrements of the room are inspired by European portraiture, and this portrait is painted in a style that developed in the mid-eighteenth century, which catered to the tastes of the British colonials. The raised gold is typical of Tanjore painting.

Maharaja Serfoji II of Tanjore (also known as ‘Sarabhoji,’ r. 1798-1832), the last ruler of the Maratha Bhonsle Dynasty of Tanjore, was installed by the British as the titular head of Thanjavur. He was the adopted son of Maharaja Thulajah. As a young man, he was entrusted to the care of a Danish missionary, Reverend Christian Freidrich Schwartz, who sent him to Madras for his formal education. He enjoyed an excellent relationship with the British after he acknowledged their administration of Tanjore and was then granted sovereignty over the lands surrounding the Fort of Thanjavur as well as a pension (see Archer, Rowell, and Skelton, Treasures from India: The Clive Collection at Powis Castle, London, 1987, p.124; and John Chu, Game of Thrones in an ‘Asiatic World’: Henrietta Clive and Anna Tonelli in British India, National Trust Historic Houses & Collections Annual, 2018, p. 40.).

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Zoom webinar sponsored by the Japanese Art Society of America (JASA)

February 3, 2021

Wrapping cloth (Uchikui) Hemp, stencil and resist dyed, Okinawa, early Showa period, 20th century, David M. Kahn Collection

LIVE ZOOM WEBINAR: COLLECTING MINGEI: THREE PERSPECTIVES

Sunday, February 7, 5 P.M. EST

Japanese folk art and crafts both fall into the collecting category Mingei. This overarching term covers everything from preindustrial crafts to handmade everyday tools and vessels. Discussing their approach on collecting will be Kyoko Utsumi Mimura, Waseda University arts faculty member and former Director of the Mingeikan in Tokyo; Ty Heineken, Joint Director, Studio Japan, in Kingston, New Jersey, and author with his wife, Kiyoko, of Tansu: Traditional Japanese Cabinetry, published by John Weatherhill in 1981, the first cultural overview on the subject in a foreign language; and David M. Kahn, Executive Director of the Adirondack Experience in upstate New York and a JASA board member.

Click here to register: February 7 Zoom Webinar.

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Pieces of China with Peggy Wang on Wang Guangyi’s Great Criticism

February 2, 2021

Wang Guangyi’s Great Criticism series, which juxtaposes revolutionary images with the Coca Cola and other western commercial logos, has become an iconic representation of China’s contemporary art movement. The series has been described again and again as a form of subtle political protest. But what did Wang really mean? Do we oversimplify Chinese art? Peggy Wang, author of the new published The Future History of Contemporary Chinese Art, examines China’s most famous “political pop” and challenges the way the art world views Chinese art.

Pieces of China is an online series that tells the story of China, one object at a time. Each live-streamed 15-minute episode features experts, thought leaders, and friends, who will share objects, places, and ideas—personal or culturally significant—that combine to build a unique picture of modern China.

Peggy Wang is associate professor of art history and Asian studies at Bowdoin College. Her research explores how meanings and histories are constructed in light of cultural globalization. Her new book, The Future History of Contemporary Chinese Art, which focuses on methods of interpretation and narratives of agency, speaks to Wang’s inquiries into what it means for histories of contemporary art—and Art History more generally—to be inclusive.

To Register: https://www.chinainstitute.org/event/pieces-china-peggy-wang-wang-guangyis-great-criticism/

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New exhibition at Egenolf Gallery Japanese Prints

February 1, 2021

Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) In the Snow, Nakayama Hichiri Road, Hida, dated 1924

KAWASE HASUI: MASTER OF SNOW

Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) is one of the 20th century's most celebrated Japanese landscape shin hanga artists. His genius was in capturing a specific place during a specific season and time of day, creating surprisingly personal scenes that also have universal appeal. The refined techniques of the printers and carvers of the late Taisho and early Showa periods also are the finest of the century. We celebrate the recent storms with a select group of Hasui snow prints, which are some of his most appreciated and sought-after works. Stay tuned: more Hasui works to come!

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