Courtesy Alisan Fine Arts

Join Alisan Fine Arts as they celebrate their latest exhibition, Hidden Stories, with an evening reception on October 30th and an Artist Talk featuring one of the exhibiting artists, René Balcer, in conversation with Patricia Marroquin Norby, Associate Curator of Native American Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, on the afternoon of November 2!

Hidden Stories
Opening Reception: Wednesday, October 30 from 6-8pm
October 30 – December 21, 2024

Hidden Stories features six contemporary artists who work with photography as their primary medium. The artists in the exhibition are all storytellers; René Balcer, Stephen King and Myeong Soo Kim form narratives through their depictions of natural landscape, while South Ho, Ho Tam and Pixy Liao’s imagery is more personal, showing glimpses of everyday life, cityscapes and moments that enter the surreal.

To learn more, click here.

Artist Talk
Hidden Stories: The Arctic 
Saturday, November 2, 2024 at 2pm

This special conversation between artist René Balcer and Patricia Marroquin Norby, Associate Curator of Native American Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, will delve into the stories behind Balcer’s photographs of Inuit communities in the Canadian Arctic, enriched by Patricia’s unique insights.

René Balcer began his photography career in 1968. Eschewing studio work and staged images, Balcer seeks natural compositions that convey a sense of disquietude and an implied or hidden narrative, as well as images that engage his interest in social justice.

Ms. Norby made history in 2020 as the Met’s first full-time curator of Native American art. She has since curated a number of groundbreaking exhibitions during her tenure at the museum.

To learn more, view their Instagram here.

Taynush before Iskandar and the visit to the Brahmans, folio from the Great Mongol Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi (d.1020), National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection, Purchase—Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, S1986.105.1.

Zoom Talk: Alexander the Great between East and West
Tuesday, October 29, 2024
12-1pm

Throughout history, many authors have recounted Alexander the Great’s deeds and quests, real or fictional. In Iran, Alexander is known as Iskandar, and because of his Persian ancestry he is recognized as a legitimate ruler. In Europe, he is a model of virtue and piety for Christian rulers. In both traditions, Alexander is a relentless adventurer who journeys to the end of the world in an unsuccessful quest for immortality.

Join curator Simon Rettig and professor Mark Cruse as they explore Alexander’s centrality in the cultures of the global late Middle Ages, focusing on fourteenth-century illustrated manuscripts of Firdawsi’s Shahnama (Book of kings) and copies of the Romance of Alexander from the contemporaneous Latin West.

This program is held in conjunction with their exhibition An Epic of Kings: The Great Mongol Shahnama, now on view through January 12, 2025.

To learn more and register, click here.

Courtesy the Artist and The Korea Society

Artist Talk: Hayoon Jay Lee
Tuesday. October 29 at 6:30pm
In-person and Online

In the modern tradition of abstract art, artists look beyond what we physically see. Using color, shape, line, and texture, they express strong emotional content without constraints of representation.

Hayoon Jay Lee uses rice as object, motif, metaphor and visceral biomorphic forms, meticulously and meditatively arranging individual grains of rice into a surface with modeling paste to create physical and emotional topographies.

In this Artist Talk, Lee will be in a conversation with art critic Seph Rodney about her art and career.

To learn more and register, click here.

Installation view with artists, SAYAKA + SAYAKA: Contemporary Ceramics by Shingu and Oishi Sayaka, Dai Ichi Arts Ltd.

SAYAKA + SAYAKA: Contemporary Ceramics by Shingu and Oishi Sayaka
Closing Friday, November 1, 2024
18 East 64th St, Ste1F, NYC

There’s still time to catch Dai Ichi Arts’ latest exhibition, SAYAKA + SAYAKA: Contemporary Ceramics by Shingu and Oishi Sayaka, where flora and fauna converge, giving rise to captivating contemporary ceramics before it closes on November 1st.

Highlighting two young women artists from a new generation of Japanese ceramics, this show explores the potential of “decoration” as a primary mode of artistic expression through the contemporary visions of Shingu Sayaka and Oishi Sayaka.

Shingu Sayaka’s work places a significant emphasis on the symbolism of flora and botanical forms, allowing her to explore profound Japanese themes of mutability and ephemerality through both sculptural and functional pieces. In this exhibit, she introduces a new series of “Lotus” pieces, sculpting the iconic lotus flower and its leaves into sensitive and daring ceramic sculptures that remind us of nature’s fragility.

Oishi Sayaka crafts surreal compilations of fauna in her sculptural and functional creations, where metaphysical themes of nature, human identity, time, and mortality converge through the mode of decoration. For this exhibit, she creates work that showcases an exquisite array of fauna, including eagles, turtles, coral reefs, koi fish, deer, lions as well as her signature “Apple” forms that show an amalgam of her animated motifs.

Both artists from Kansai, who share the same given name and have become fast friends, have explored the tension between form, function, and surface to create new works in dialogue with one another.

To learn more, click here.

Rasalila, illustration from a dispersed Harivamsha series, numbered 86 on the reverse, attributed to Purkhu, Kangra, c. 1800-15, opaque pigments and gold on paper, folio: 36 x 47.2 cm (including red border)

Autumn Highlights
Purkhu Harivamsha Folios and the Rind Album Pages

Francesca Galloway is delighted to present their Autumn Highlights, featuring a fine selection of works from private collections, many of which are newly available to the market. Amongst these, The Purkhu Harivamsha folios and the Rind Album pages in particular are exciting folios, as are a small group of Mughal material acquired on the London market in the 1970s.

Two of the paintings from the Purkhu Harivamsha Series belong to a well-known Pahari series of the Harivamsha (Genealogy of Hari [Vishnu]). Comprising 16,374 shlokas and traditionally credited to the ancient sage Vyasa, the text of the Harivamsha recounts the life of Krishna in a level of detail matched only by the Bhagavata Purana. This particular series, which consists of large number of paintings without a running text or even a brief synopsis on the reverse, is widely associated with the work of Purkhu, a leading artist of the Punjab Hills.

Other standout pieces include two large watercolors made for the the Rind Album, compiled by Major James Nathaniel Rind (baptised 1753-1814). Born in Scotland, Rind traveled to India in 1778 and was stationed there until 1801, spending much of his time based in Calcutta from 1793 to 1801. Paintings from Rind’s extensive album were first introduced to a wider audience at Sotheby’s in 1971, when part of his collection was sold by his descendants, including their Portrait of a Bengali (lot 48). While many of Rind’s paintings are relatively conventional, some are truly extraordinary, including their large and impressive painting, A Bengal Catfish from the Hugli River. Almost certainly painted from life and to scale, this is one of a relatively small number of paintings of fish commissioned by Europeans from Indian artists in the closing years of the 18th century.

The gallery warmly invites you to schedule a private appointment to explore these magnificent works and more in their space in Holland Park.

To view them and learn more, click here.

Yang Renkai, Ink and Inspiration, 翰墨缘, 2006, Chinese ink on paper 水墨纸本, 16 1/2 x 30 in. (41.9 x 76.2 cm)

Ink and Inspiration
October 24 – December 14, 2024
Opening Reception: Nov 7, 2024 from 5-8pm

As autumn deepens, Fu Qiumeng Fine Art is pleased to present their year-end group exhibition, Ink and Inspiration.

At the heart of East Asian painting and calligraphy is a deep understanding of the “brush,” and inseparable from that is the use of “ink.” Together, brush and ink have given rise to artistic traditions that have evolved over thousands of years and continue to influence the modern world today. This dynamic interplay between simplicity and complexity—depth and breadth—creates endless possibilities, much like the ancient game of Go, where simple rules lead to infinite strategies.

The theme of this exhibition is drawn from a plaque by Yang Renkai, titled Ink and Inspiration. Yang Renkai was a prominent member of the appraisal team that authenticated Chinese paintings and calligraphy in the early years of the People’s Republic of China. He conducted extensive research on priceless works lost from the Forbidden City during the late Qing dynasty, rediscovering treasures like Along the River During the Qingming Festival. In 1975, Yang Renkai visited the U.S. to study Chinese paintings and calligraphy in American museums, and he wrote widely about his findings. In 2006, at the age of 91, Yang Renkai created the above work, demonstrating his lifelong dedication to brush and ink. His work serves as a reflection of FQM’s long-standing mission to celebrate these artistic traditions.

This exhibition features works by Huang Junbi (1898-1991) and Hu Yefu (1908-1980), representing traditional approaches to brush and ink. We also showcase an early work from 1941 by C. C. Wang, which captures his youthful obsession with mastering brush techniques. This piece is contrasted with a later work from Wang’s mature years, revealing the evolution of his artistry. Yu Peng (1955-2014) brings a fresh, unconventional approach to brushwork, introducing bold colors and innovative compositions that pushed the boundaries of ink painting at the turn of the 20th century. Chen Danqing (b. 1953), known primarily for his oil paintings, demonstrates a deep respect for traditional calligraphy, with brushwork that recalls the style of Ming dynasty masters. Finally, the collaborative work of Michael Cherney (b. 1969) and Arnold Chang (b. 1954) represents the modern extension of brush and ink into the contemporary art world, where tradition and innovation meet.

To learn more, click here.

Courtesy Alisan Fine Arts

Hidden Stories
Opening Reception: Wednesday, October 30 from 6-8pm
October 30 – December 21, 2024

Save the date for Alisan Fine Arts’ upcoming exhibition, Hidden Stories, featuring six contemporary artists who work with photography as their primary medium. The artists in the exhibition are all storytellers; Rene Balcer, Stephen King and Myeong Soo Kim form narratives through their depictions of natural landscape, while South Ho, Ho Tam and Pixy Liao’s imagery is more personal, showing glimpses of everyday life, cityscapes and moments that enter the surreal.

In the meantime, don’t miss the chance to view their current exhibit, Chinyee: Enraptured by Color, before it closes on Saturday, October 26th. Explore the lyrical beauty of Chinyee’s vibrant color field paintings and watercolor collages, where East meets West in a harmonious fusion of artistic expression.

To learn more, click here.