Installation view of Mandalas: Mapping the Buddhist Art of Tibet

Mandalas: Mapping the Buddhist Art of Tibet
Closing Sunday, January 12, 2025
Galleries 963–965

Don’t miss the opportunity to experience Mandalas: Mapping the Buddhist Art of Tibet at The Metropolitan Museum of Art before it closes on January 12!

A mandala is a diagram of the universe—a map of true reality that in Tibet is used to conceptualize a rapid path to enlightenment. This insightful exhibition explores the imagery of the Himalayan Buddhist devotional art through over 100 paintings, sculptures, textiles, instruments, and an array of ritual objects, mostly dating between the 12th and 15th centuries. This dazzling visual experience provides a roadmap for understanding Himalayan Buddhist worship through early masterworks, juxtaposed with a newly commissioned contemporary installation by Tibetan artist Tenzing Rigdol.

To learn more, click here.

Iskandar and the talking tree (detail), folio from the Great Mongol Shahnama (Book of kings), Iran, probably Tabriz, Ilkhanid dynasty, ca. 1330, ink, color, and gold on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1935.23

Gallery Tours: An Epic of Kings: The Great Mongol Shahnama
January 6–10 & 12 from 2:15–3:15pm (EST) Daily
Arthur M. Sackler Galleries 23 & 24

Don’t miss your last chance to explore An Epic of Kings: The Great Mongol Shahnama during its final week at the museum. The exhibition closes on Sunday, January 12, so be sure to join one of the free daily gallery tours offered through the closing date.

An Epic of Kings showcases a monumental illustrated manuscript of Iran’s national epic, the Shahnama, considered one of the most celebrated medieval Persian works. Twenty-five breathtaking folios from this manuscript are displayed alongside contemporaneous art from China, the Mediterranean, and the Latin West, offering a rare glimpse into a fascinating era of cultural exchange across Eurasia.

The hour-long tour delves into the manuscript’s bold illustrations, which bring to life the stories of the Shahnama, written in the 11th century. Discover how artists, three centuries later, interpreted this timeless epic through their masterful depictions.

To learn more, click here.

©Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Asiatische Kunst /Foto: Jörg von Bruchhausen

Unpacking Provenance | A Chinese Porcelain Cup
Wednesday, January 22, 2025 from 12-1pm EST
Zoom

Also mark your calendars for the premier of their new online series, Unpacking Provenance: Retracing the Histories of Asian Art on January 22 at 12pm EST.

Unpacking Provenance: Retracing the Histories of Asian Art brings together cross-disciplinary specialists to discuss provenance research processes and share resources. Discussions focus on a single object, exploring a variety of innovative, strategic, and collaborative approaches to inquiry.

In the series premiere, a panel of four experts reflect on a Yongzheng-period (1723–1735) porcelain cup in the collections of the Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. This cup was purchased in 1940 from a private individual whose father reportedly participated in the so-called Boxer War of 1900. Discussants will articulate research questions, brainstorm approaches, and talk through how they would ideally track down answers about both the object’s journey and the life histories of the individuals who encountered it.

Unpacking Provenance is part of a larger collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz that seeks to cultivate the global network of provenance researchers and promote exchange. Previous programs include Hidden Networks: The Trade of Asian Art (2020–2022) and Provenance of Asian Art: A Collaborative Workshop and Symposium (2023).

To learn more and register for free, click here.

New York City Location, Courtesy SEIZAN Gallery

Asia Week New York is delighted to welcome SEIZAN Gallery as a returning member this year! With locations in both New York City and Tokyo, the gallery represents modern and contemporary Japanese artists who work across a variety of media and styles. Their artists, including Yasuko Hasumura, Kengo Takahashi, Emi Katsuta, Toko Shinoda, Toshiyuki Kajioka, and Yasushi Ikejiri, create works that blend universal aesthetic appeal with deep ties to traditional Japanese art. Located in vibrant cultural centers in both East and West, SEIZAN Gallery works with emerging artists to fulfill their vision and potential to contribute to the art world.

Miné Okubo, Untitled (Women), ca 1940, oil on canvas, 30.1 x 25 x 0.8 in. (76.4 x 63.5 x 2 cm)

Miné Okubo: Portraits
And
Life Studies: Vincent Chong, Aya Fujioka, Alex Ito, Charlie Mai, Homer Shew
January 9 – March 1, 2025
Opening reception: January 9, 6-8pm
525 West 26th Street, NYC

Be sure to visit the gallery Thursday, January 9 from 6-8pm for the opening of two exciting new exhibitions: Miné Okubo: Portraits and Life Studies, featuring works by Vincent Chong, Aya Fujioka, Alex Ito, Charlie Mai, and Homer Shew.

They look forward to welcoming you soon!

To learn more, click here.

Courtesy Alisan Fine Arts

Hybrid Nature
Opening Reception: January 9, 6-8pm
January 9 – March 1, 2025

Alisan Fine Arts is proud to present Hybrid Nature, their first exhibition of 2025 featuring three contemporary artists, Bouie Choi, Chu Chu, and Jia Sung. Although the three artists’ artworks and processes differ, they all explore forms of hybridity, both in the themes at play within them and the mediums they use.

Hong Kong-based Bouie Choi is known for her use of reclaimed wood as a material, manipulating and then painting on the surface to create object-like works. Chu Chu takes the natural world as her subject in her photography-calligraphy works, increasingly blending the two practices in her various bodies of work. Meanwhile, Jia Sung frequently incorporates embroidered elements into her paintings; interestingly, hybrid figures, part-human and part-animal, often populate her works as she delves into folkloric traditions and tropes.

Be sure to celebrate with them during the opening reception on Thursday, January 9 from 6-8pm!

To learn more, click here.

Installation view, Solid Gold, November 16, 2024–July 6, 2025. Photo by Paula Abreu Pita

Celebrate the New Year and Lunar New Year at the Brooklyn Museum with a special treat! Enjoy 20% off tickets to their stunning Solid Gold exhibition—just use the discount code LUNAR25 at checkout. (Offer valid through February 10, 2025.) Plus, your exhibition ticket grants you full access to explore all five floors of the museum and its incredible art collections.

Also mark your calendars for January 26, 2025, and join them for a family-friendly Lunar New Year-themed Saturday Art Hang! This engaging event is included with general admission and promises creative fun for all ages.

They look forward to celebrating the New Year with you at the Brooklyn Museum!

To purchase discount tickets for Solid Gold, click here.

To learn more about the Solid Gold exhibition, click here.