Tokuda Yasokichi III (1933-2009), Living National Treasure, Flower Vase, 2005, Porcelain with vivid colored glaze (yôsai), h. 10 1/2 x dia. 5 1/4 in. (26.7 x 14.6 cm)

The Four Elements in Japanese Arts: Earth, Air, Fire and Water
April 5 – May 12, 2023

Hours: Wed & Fri: 1-5pm

Onishi Gallery is proud to present The Four Elements in Japanese Arts: Earth, Air, Fire and Water – a stunning exhibition that showcases the technical mastery of Contemporary Japanese Ceramic artists. For generations, Japanese people have appreciated and incorporated natural elements into their everyday lives. They have adorned the interiors of their homes with natural forms, designed spaces that capture the natural world in the frame of a garden, decorated art objects with subjects found in the wild, and penned haiku poetry about details of the natural environment. In this landmark exhibition, featured artists draw upon the four central elements of earth, air, fire, and water in porcelain creations to communicate core themes and creative visions that ground Japanese art and life.

Saturday April 15th, 2 to 5 pm.
Admission: $20 for general, $10 for members.

At the PPT presentation hosted by Willow Weilan Hai 海蔚蓝, SVP, Director, and Chief Curator of the China Institute Gallery, three contemporary female artists will introduce their artworks and discuss their creations and relationship with nature and flower-and-bird painting, followed by a light reception.

Lu Youlan 陆友兰, in her talk My Father and I, will introduce the artworks of her father Lu Yifei 陆抑非 (1908－1997), a Chinese flower-and-bird painting master of the 20th century, and her own art practice.
Guo Zhen 郭桢 will give light to her approach from traditional to modern through the flower and bird painting subject.
Cui Fei 崔斐 will share her thoughts on using natural materials to build up her artworks and to reflect the nature.

Eventbrite Link

The Court of Yama, God of Death; Attributed to Gursaha (India, active circa 1800); India, Himachal Pradesh, Guler, circa 1800; Ink and watercolor on paper; 19 1/4 x 23 7/8 in. (48.89 x 60.64 cm); Gift of Paul F. Walter (M.75.113.8)

Symposium: To Hell and Back
An exploration of artistic expressions of the afterlife across Asia

In person, Friday, April 14 – Saturday, April 15 at Asia Society

Hell has been embodied and portrayed in terrifying, bizarre, and occasionally humorous incarnations across religions and cultures for millennia. Whether considered as places of eternal or finite punishment, underworlds provide a rich setting for a potent cast of characters that have caught the imagination of artists and patrons who have shaped the visual cultures of Asia’s systems of belief, particularly Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Islam.

Hell is a universal concept, yet few have an understanding of the breadth and depth of the religious and cultural traditions that ponder the afterlife. We hope that this exhibition and symposium brings new dimensions to some of the notions of hell in Asian art, faith, and culture.

Join scholars in the fields of religion, theology, art history, and anthropology for an interdisciplinary symposium on hell(s) that will explore artistic expressions of the afterlife across religious traditions in Asia. Symposium admission includes all sessions, cocktail reception, museum admission, and performance tickets.

For the schedule of events and to buy tickets, click here.

A Buddhist monk's stole (kesa), Japan, Edo period, 1603–1868, silk, Gift of Charles Lang Freer, Freer Gallery of Art, F1916.663

Tuesday, April 11, 12:00-12:40
Sneak Peek—Inside “A Journey of Taste: Freer and Japanese Scroll Mounting”

A little-known aspect of Charles Lang Freer’s collecting was his deep commitment to the aesthetic presentation and care of his East Asian painting collection. In 1916, he hired two scroll-mounters from Japan to remount hundreds of his paintings before they were transferred to the Smithsonian. This set the precedent for the East Asian Painting Conservation Studio, which continues to conserve and remount this growing collection today. In connection with the exhibition A Journey of Taste: Freer and Japanese Scroll Mounting, conservator Andrew Hare and curator Frank Feltens will share some of the behind-the-scenes stories about the hanging scrolls, archival albums, videos, and people that made this journey-themed centennial exhibition possible.

Register here: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ZtYeUinKQnGarXH2A4ByGA

Installation shot, None Whatsoever, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Zenga: Filling in the Lines of Japanese Zen Painting
April 20, 2023 at 5pm EST (New York)

Mention the word 'Zen' nowadays and people will (think they) know what you mean – the concept of Zen has become familiar enough in the US that the term has entered our vernacular. This spring, several museum exhibitions across the country take a closer look at Zenga, or Japanese Zen painting, and tell a more complete story of Zen's background and meaning: of Zen Buddhism's precepts, its key figures, and their fascinating artworks. Panelists involved in those exhibitions will further discuss how Zen was introduced to the US and the pivotal role of art in why it gained such traction in the popular imagination. Additionally, we will hear from collectors whose love of Japanese Zen painting and calligraphy made such exhibitions possible and how their crucial support impacts museums for the future.

PANELISTS:
Bradley Bailey, Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Curator of Asian Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
Paul Berry, independent scholar based in Kyoto
Alice and Kurt Gitter, Japanese art collectors and museum patrons
Patricia J. Graham, independent scholar and certified appraiser of Japanese art
Yukio Lippit, Jeffrey T. Chambers and Andrea Okamura Professor of History of Art and Architecture, Harvard University, MA
Morgan Pitelka, Bernard L. Herman Distinguished Professor and Chair of Dept. of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, NC
moderated by Joan Mirviss

To register for this free event, please click here.

Kawanabe Kyōsai (1831–1889), Even in Hell Money Counts (Jigoku no sata mo kane shidai), Bugs in the Food of the Hungry Ghost (Gaki no mono ni mushi), from the series One Hundred Pictures by Kyōsai (Kyōsai hyakuzu), Edo period (1615–1868), 1863–66 (Bunkyū 3–Keiō 2), Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, William Sturgis Bigelow Collection, 11.37028

Friday, April 14 from 3- 4pm
Tour for JASA members of Comparative Hell: Arts of Asian Underworlds exhibition at Asia Society New York

This tour of Comparative Hell: Arts of Asian Underworlds with Adriana Proser (Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Quincy Scott Curator of Asian Art, Walters Art Museum, Baltimore) will explore a carefully studied group of outstanding ritual objects, paintings and religious sculptures that are associated with the concept of Hell in South Asian, Chinese, Korean and Japanese art. This is the first comprehensive exhibition in the United States to explore portrayals of hell across the Asian religious traditions of Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Islam, examining how systems of belief and the underworlds within them are manifest in the rich artistic creations of Asia.

The deadline to sign up is April 5. Sign up in advance is required. Group size is limited to 25 people and guests are permitted. The fee is $20 per person. Click here to register. Please contact Cheryl Gall, membership coordinator, by email at [email protected] or phone 978-600-8128 with any questions.

Tiger with Two Cubs and Two Magpies, Late Joseon Dynasty (18th or 19th Century), Mattielli Collection. Image courtesy of jstor.org

Lecture: Minhwa Korean Paintings of The People, by The People, and for The People
Wednesday, April 5, 2023 at 6:30 pm EDT

In this lecture, Professor Sunglim Kim explores Korean folk painting, minhwa, and examines its origin and development, the different genres within it, and their meanings and functions. She will also illustrate how minhwa paintings were consumed by Koreans in the past and the present.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Sunglim Kim is an associate professor of Korean art and culture at Dartmouth College. She specializes in the material and consumer culture of the late Joseon period and women artists in modern and contemporary Korea.

To sign up in person: click here

To watch the webcast: click here

Large saucer dish with Qilin decoration, Shunzhi/ early Kangxi period, ca: mid-17th century, Courtesy: Ralph M. Chait Galleries, Inc.

Collectors and curators were back in full force this year, now that Covid is largely behind us.  Even those from China came in large numbers due to the recent relaxation in travel restrictions, which resulted in the strongest sales during Asia Week New York since pre-pandemic years.  Curators from over three dozen museums from all over the U.S. and abroad made the rounds of the galleries and were active buyers. 

Among the Chinese porcelain pieces from Ralph M. Chait Galleries, Inc. acquired by collectors was a large circa 17th century Shunzhi/early Kangxi period saucer dish with Qilin decoration.

One of several paintings sold at INKstudio was Splendid Flowers Valley, 2022, a large painting by the Taiwanese artist, Peng Kanglong (b.1962), which was being shown for the first time. It is from his new series of monumental landscape and flower paintings, where he explores integrating these two formerly separate genres.

Peng Kang-long, Valley of Many Splendored Flowers, 2022, Ink and color on bespoke paper, 368 x 145 cm., Courtesy: INKStudio

Two-thirds of The Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection of Chinese Ceramics at Zetterquist Galleries was sold, and its success was certainly enhanced by the increased foot traffic.  Among those was a large Qingbai jar, from the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368), acquired from JJ Lally and Co., in 1988, which was especially popular.

Large Qingbai Jar, Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 AD), China. Height 29.8 cm, Courtesy: Zetterquist Galleries

In the category of Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art, Brendan Lynch, of the London-based gallery Oliver Forge & Brendan Lynch Ltd., reported that among their numerous sales was Buland Darwaza Gateway at Fatehpur Sikri Company School, Agra, circa 1815, purchased by the Princeton University Art Museum.

Buland Darwaza Gateway at Fatehpur Sikri, Company School, Agra, circa 1815, Pencil, pen and ink with opaque pigments on laid paper watermarked Ruse and Turners 1813, black ruled border inscribed The Gateway at Futtypore Sicri, 18 1/8 by 23 2/3 in.; 46 by 60 cm. painting, 21 by 27 2/3 in.; 53.5 by 70.2 cm. folio, Courtesy: Oliver Forge and Brendan Lynch, Ltd

Curators from many museums as well as private collectors came to Kapoor Galleries.  A gray schist relief of Panchika and Hariti, Gandhara, dated 2nd-3rd century was one of the more important pieces to sell, reflecting the strong interest in Gandharan art in the market. 

Gray schist relief of Panchika and Hariti, Gandhara, dated 2nd-3rd century, 17 ½ in. (44.4 cm.) wide, Courtesy:  Kapoor Galleries

Thomas Murray saw many museums and serious collectors who focused on Indonesian textiles and Indian trade cloths, which represent great market value in his opinion.  Among the pieces that were snapped up was an 18th century Ramayana Trade Cloth, India, for the Indonesian Market.

Ramayana Trade Cloth (16837), India, for the Indonesian Market, Cotton; painted mordant and resist, 18th Century, 38 x 203 in (96.5 x 515 cm), Courtesy: Thomas Murray

Japanese art, particularly prints and modern and contemporary works, were in great demand.

Ippodo Gallery featured Terumasa Ikeda: Iridescent Lacquer, the artist’s first exhibition outside Japan, focused on his revolutionary laser-incised raden technique, a method he spent eight years developing. Collectors bought Ikeda’s delicate jewel-like pieces including “Shore” Incense Container, made of Urushi lacquer, cypress, mother-of-pearl, turbo snail pearl, silver lip oyster, and gold.

Terumasa Ikeda, “Shore” Incense Container, 2023, Urushi Lacquer, Cypress, Mother-of-Pearl, Turbo Snail Pearl, Silver Lip Oyster, Gold, H1.24 x W2.75 x D1.92 in (H3.15 x W7 x D4.9 cm), Courtesy: Ippodo Gallery

Included in Japanese Paintings and Prints: 1800-1860 at Sebastian Izzard LLC Asian Art, a print by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), Large Map of China, a large, imaginary view of China and the last map made by Hokusai, was among those by the artist that were sold.

Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), Large Map of China, 1840, Color woodblock print: baiōban yoko-e, 16½ x 21⅝ in. (41.9 x 54.9 cm); 1840, Signed: Sōbō ryokyaku Gakyō rōjin Manji yowai hachijüichi (Manji, the old man crazy to paint, aged eighty-one, traveler to Kazusa and Awa provinces), Block-cutter: Egawa Sentarō, Publisher: Seiundō (Hanabusaya Bunzō), Courtesy: Sebastian Izzard LLC Asian Art

There was a steady flow of serious Asian art connoisseurs and enthusiasts at Joan B Mirviss LTD. Most of the works from Painted Clay: Wada Morihiro and Modern Ceramics of Japan, her exhibition of Wada’s oeuvre alongside the many Japanese artists who paint on clay found buyers.  Renraimonki, by Wada Morihiro, Connected Flower Buds Vessel, 1992 was one of them. 

Wada Morihiro (1944-2008), Renraimonki, Connected Flower Buds Vessel, 1992, Courtesy: Joan B Mirviss LTD

Nana Onishi of Onishi Gallery welcomed numerous collectors and museum curators.  One of the pieces she sold was her most important work by Osumi Yukie (b. 1945), Silver Vase, Bakufu (Waterfall), 2011.  Osumi is the first female artist who was designated as Living National Treasure in history in the field of metalwork.

Osumi Yukie (b. 1945), Living National Treasure, Silver Vase Bakufu (Waterfall), 2011, Hammered silver with nunomezōgan (textile imprint inlay) decoration in lead and gold, h.10 x dia.9 7/8 in. (25.4 x 25.1 cm), Courtesy: Onishi Gallery

At Scholten Japanese Art prints and watercolors from their Modern Masters show found buyers as did numerous prints from their other exhibition, Ukiyo-e Woodblock Prints from the Shin Collection. Several excellent examples of landscape prints by Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) from that collection sold well, notably a rare impression of Night Rain at Karasaki from the Eight Views of Omi, driving additional sales of Hiroshige prints from the gallery’s collection.

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858), Eight Views of Omi: Night Rain at Karasaki, ca. 1835, woodblock print, 9 3/4 by 14 1/4 in., 24.9 by 36.2 cm, Courtesy: Scholten Japanese Art

First-time participants, Shibunkaku, a prominent Kyoto- and Tokyo-based gallery, exhibiting postwar and abstract Japanese calligraphy and paintings at Joan B Mirviss LTD, sold works to a museum and private collectors.  Those included a four-panel folding screen in ink on paper by Morita Shiryu, Kumo-mushin, circa 1964.

Morita Shiryū, Kumo-mushin (The cloud is egoless; the cloud is egoless; Like drifting clouds we should live spontaneously) c.1964, CR no. XVI-904, Ink on paper, a four-panel folding screen 333 x 153.5 cm (overall), Courtesy: Shibunkaku

Heakyum Kim of HK Art & Antiques LLC, who specializes in Korean ancient and contemporary art, sold contemporary paintings by Kim Sou, Cho Yong-Ik, Kim Hyungguen, and Lee Daiwon.  One of these is a striking work by Cho Yong-Ik (b. 1934), 69-521, 1969.

Cho Yong-Ik (b. 1934), 69-521, 1969, Oil on canvas, 25 x 21in. (64 x 53.3cm.), Courtesy:  HK Art & Antiques LLC