Pair of Lokapala, Chinese, Tang Dynasty, 618–906, earthenware with sancai glaze. h. 52 3/4 in. (134 cm); w. 24 1/4 in. (61.6 cm); d. 13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm), San Antonio Museum of Art, gift of Lenora and Walter F. Brown: 2013.38.6-7

Off the Wall: Chinese Art Through the Ages
Tuesday, October 15, 5:30–6:30pm
Great Hall
Free with Museum admission; Members Free

Embark on a captivating journey through Chinese Art this week at the San Antonio Museum of Art!

From ancient Han artifacts to exquisite Ming and Qing porcelains, Docent Yaping Zhang will guide you through the splendor of Chinese art and culture across the ages.

Off the Wall is a curated tour series that explores special topics across SAMA’s collections. Each session is developed and facilitated by passionate docents who can’t wait to share the stories behind SAMA’s most captivating artworks and hidden gems.

To learn more, click here.

Courtesy Dai Ichi Arts, Ltd.

SAYAKA + SAYAKA: Contemporary Ceramics by Shingu and Oishi Sayaka
October 17 – November 1, 2024
Opening reception with Artists: Thursday, Oct 17, 5-7pm

Dai Ichi Arts, Ltd. is delighted to present SAYAKA + SAYAKA: Contemporary Ceramics by Shingu and Oishi Sayaka, an exhibition where flora and fauna converge, giving rise to captivating contemporary ceramics. Through the work of two young women artists from a new generation of ceramics in Japan, this show expands the potential of “decoration” as a primary mode of artistic expression, as seen through the contemporary perspectives 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. Her work showcases the intricate beauty of butterfly wings, feathers, petals, leaves and more. In this show, 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. For this show, she has created 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. Through her work, she explores metaphysical themes: nature, human identity, time, and mortality converge through the mode of decoration.

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.

They look forward to welcoming you to the opening reception, which will be attended by the two artists from Japan.

To learn more, click here and preview their online exhibition catalogue, click here.

Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, 1760–1849). Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa‑oki nami‑ura), also known as the Great Wave, from the series Thirty‑six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei), about 1830–1831, Tenpō Era (1830–1844). Woodblock print (nishiki‑e), ink and color on paper, 9 15/16 × 14 13/16 inches. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, William Sturgis Bigelow Collection. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Hokusai in America: The Formation of a Collection
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 6-7pm
Atkins Auditorium
Tickets: $12 Public | $10 Members

Accompanying their recently opened exhibition, Hokusai: Waves of Inspiration from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Nelson-Atkins is organizing a series of related programs, including an intriguing talk on how Hokusai’s Great Wave reached the shores of Boston and swept across America.

Join Dr. Sarah E. Thompson on October 17th as she introduces the eccentric art lovers who built the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’s monumental Japanese collection — the largest holdings of Japanese art outside of that country. Then, Yayoi Shinoda (Nelson-Atkins Assistant Curator of Japanese Art) joins Thompson to discuss the MFA Boston’s Japanese collection as a model for museums across America.

Thompson is Curator of Japanese Art at the MFA Boston where she has served since 2004. She has curated numerous exhibitions, including Hokusai: Waves of Inspiration from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, currently on view at the Nelson-Atkins through Jan. 5, 2025.

To learn more and reserve tickets, click here.

Installation view, Autumn Group Exhibition, HK Art & Antiques LLC

Autumn Group Exhibition
Closing Wednesday, October 16, 2024
By appointment

Be sure to visit HK Art & Antiques LLC before their Autumn Group Exhibition closes!

Featuring works by Yong-Ik Cho, Ouhi Cha, Sooyeon Hong, Myong Hi Kim, Su Kwak, Tchah Sub Kim, Elizabeth Keith, Geejo Lee, and Bohnchang Koo, this exhibit showcases some of the most dynamic contemporary Korean artists working today.

To learn more, click here.

Installation view, Thomsen Gallery, New York City

Offering important Japanese paintings and works of art to collectors and museums worldwide, Thomsen Gallery shines brightly in our Gallery Spotlight this week. Founded by Erik and Cornelia Thomsen, the esteemed gallery is located in a charming townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and specializes in Japanese screens and scrolls, early Japanese tea ceramics from the medieval through the Edo periods, masterpieces of ikebana bamboo baskets, and gold lacquer objects. It further specializes in post-war ink art and Gutai art as well as contemporary art by select artists, such as the internationally renowned Japanese ceramic artist Sueharu Fukami, the paper artist Kyoko Ibe, and the lacquer artist Yoshio Okada.

Thomsen Gallery not only presents captivating exhibitions in New York but also showcases its collections at prestigious international art fairs, including Frieze Masters London and Design Miami/Paris. If you’re in either city in the coming weeks, be sure to visit their stands—from October 9-13 in London for an exhibit of 20th century Japanese art, focusing on works from the Taisho-Showa eras (1910-1940), and from October 15-20 in Paris, where they will feature modern and contemporary Japanese art, highlighting bamboo baskets by 20th century master artists, gold lacquer boxes, contemporary ceramics, and Japanese folding screens.

To learn more about their participation in the art fairs, click here.

Courtesy Bonhams New York

Netsuke from American Collections
October 7 – 17, 2024
Online Only

Bonhams is delighted to present Netsuke from American Collections, an auction featuring these Japanese miniature sculptural masterpieces, with bidding open through October 17th.

From their first appearance in the great cities of seventeenth-century Japan, netsuke were used as practical toggles for suspending everyday items from a man’s sash (since the traditional male kimono had no pockets) but, more importantly, they also signaled their owners’ interests, discernment, and relative wealth. Typically carved from wood, ivory, or metal, netsuke became highly collectible art objects due to their fine craftsmanship and artistic value. Today, they are sought after by enthusiasts worldwide, while some of the finest examples are regularly showcased in leading museums such as the V&A in London, the Baur Foundation in Geneva, Tokyo National Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

To learn more and register to bid, click here.

Bonhams will also be attending the International Netsuke Society Convention in Boston from October 10 to 14 at the Courtyard Boston Downtown, where they will be exhibiting netsuke from this upcoming sale.

To learn more about the convention, click here.

(L): Appraising Art: The Definitive Guide – Volume 2, 2024; (R): The Commonality of Humans Through Art: How Art Connects Mankind Through the Ages, 2024; Courtesy Lark Mason

Lark Mason, respected art expert, appraiser, and founder/CEO of iGavel Auctions, shares his extensive expertise as a contributing author in two significant new publications: Appraising Art: The Definitive Guide – Volume 2 and The Commonality of Humans Through Art: How Art Connects Mankind Through the Ages.

In Appraising Art, Mason authored two chapters—one on Chinese art and the other on export art—offering valuable insights for both seasoned professionals and art enthusiasts alike.

In The Commonality of Humans Through Art,  an ambitious and important work conceived by Stuart Handler, he contributed a chapter titled The World Around Us, which sums up the the collector and appraiser’s perspective of the scope of their roles. Mason reflects, “As appraisers, dealers, and collectors, we grapple with the fundamental questions—what, when, why, where, and how—surrounding the creative process and the physical objects that humans prize, which we call ‘art.’ We are called upon to decipher origin, condition and originality and to ascribe values using deductive reasoning and proofs about objects which are separated from the creating culture, person, or enterprise. Our expertise spans historical context, materials, purpose, originality, rarity, and market value, all while navigating the desire and yearning as we determine what to collect and where to find it. The Commonality of Humans Through Art goes beyond these technicalities, delving into the very essence of why we create and why we are drawn to the creations of others.”

To learn more about Appraising Art: The Definitive Guide – Volume 2 and preorder a copy, click here.

To learn more about The Commonality of Humans Through Art: How Art Connects Mankind Through the Ages and order a copy, click here.