New York: The 15th edition of Asia Week New York which concluded its nine- day run on March 22nd rang up $100,879,195M in combined sales between the twenty-one galleries and five auction houses.
At press time, this figure includes twenty-two out of twenty-eight galleries (2 were non-selling shows) reporting and five out of six auction houses–Bonhams, Christie’s, Doyle, Heritage, and Sotheby’s. iGavelAuctions has three sales still running online.
“For our milestone fifteenth anniversary year, exhibitors have had an exhilarating week of visiting private collectors and museum curators from across the U.S., Europe and Asia,” said Brendan Lynch, chairman of Asia Week New York. “Sales were reported to be solid at both the auction houses and galleries.”
To celebrate this great week of exhibitions, auctions and events, a gala reception co-hosted by Asia Week New York and the Asian Art Department of The Metropolitan Museum of Art took place at the Museum. Andrea Bayer, Deputy Director for Collections and Administration, Brendan Lynch and Mike D. Hearn, the Douglas Dillon Chairman of the Department of Asian Art welcomed the festive crowd of six hundred guests comprised of international collectors, curators, gallery owners, scholars and journalists who packed the imposing Great Hall.
Here is a sampling of dealer feedback:
Ancient and/or Contemporary Chinese Art
Steven Chait, of the venerable Ralph M. Chait Galleries, Inc. reported very good attendance with museum visits, including a group from the Dallas Museum of Art. “We had healthy sales of porcelain, wood sculpture, and Chinese export silver. Sales were a notch better than last year, and though collectors from Hong Kong and Mainland China were less, we expect follow-up with the scouts who were here on their behalf.”
“Alisan Fine Arts was thrilled to participate in Asia Week New York for the first time,” said director Daniel Chen. “As our New York location has only recently opened, we are grateful for the incredibly warm welcome that Asia Week members and attendees gave us. We are happy to report that we made several sales of artwork by Lui Shou-Kwan and Kelly Wang.”
“This year’s Asia Week brought in more curators and clients to New York,” said Qiumeng Fu, of Fu Qiumeng Fine Art, a Chinese contemporary art gallery. “We observed a growing number of collectors traveling from Asia, which is promising for our future endeavors.” Among the sales Qiumeng reported, was Zhang Xiaoli’s Box Unlimited, 2023.
“We had a constant flow of visitors every day, including curators from Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Cornell, The Metropolitan Museum, Boston MFA, Houston MFA, Dallas, Kimball, Freer Sackler, Philadelphia, Art Institute of Chicago, and the Guimet,” says Eric Zetterquist, of Zetterquist Galleries. At press time, he reported that 75% of his exhibition Chinese and Vietnamese Ceramics from Private and American and Japanese Collections sold. One of the pieces was a large 15/16th century blue and white jar with Ruyi decoration, from the Le-So dynasties in Vietnam.
Ancient and/or Contemporary Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art
Brendan Lynch, of the London-based gallery Oliver Forge & Brendan Lynch Ltd., reported that he had a constant flow of collectors and curators visiting his gallery exhibition, Gods, Gardens, and Princes: Indian Works on Paper, with sales going to a London collector, an American museum, and a non-Indian Asian museum. Among the works are Mango (Mangifera indica), The King of Afghanistan Zaman Shah Durrani leaving Lahore; Krishna dancing on the naga Kalaya flanked by his pleading wives, and Devi vanquishes the demon Nisumbha and his armies.
“Asia Week New York 2024 was both interesting and successful for us both in the variety and numerous visitors to our exhibition, Indian Panting: Intimacy and Formality–our most successful one to date,” said Francesca Galloway of her namesake London-based gallery. “We were happily surprised by the overwhelming enthusiasm for Indian painting and decorative arts which exist in the United States and how New York to-date has become its magnet. Several sales were made last week, including four whimsical early 18th century Bikaner paintings joined together to make a composition that recalls a 17th century Mughal floral painting. And eleven paintings are under offer to a variety of museums. Asia Week New York affords us the opportunity to engage with many of our existing clients who continue to have a steady interest in Indian and Asian art and a chance to interact with new institutions.”
“We were delighted to see dozens of viewers, buyers, scholars, and curators visit the gallery’s current exhibition Time is a Construct, ” said Sanjay Kapoor of the Kapoor Galleries. “We currently stand at approximately 1.2 million dollars of works sold, including Illustration to the ‘Large’ Guler-Basohli Bhagavata Purana:The Liberation of Nalakuvara and Manigriva Attributed to Manaku Guler-Basohli, and expect to see this number increase in the coming days. According to Kapoor, curators from the following museums visited his gallery including the Yale University Art Gallery, Princeton University Art Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Asian Civilizations Museum of Singapore, and many others.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Detroit Institute of Art, Denver Museum of Fine Art, St. Louis Museum of Fine Art, The Ringling Museum, Worcester Art Museum, as well as very serious and informed private collectors all paid a visit to the Indonesian textile specialist Thomas Murray, to view his exhibition, Recent Acquisitions: Patola, Ainu, Boro. He sold Indian patola silks, Ainu robes, one of which is a rare striking geometric white on indigo Kaparamip Robe, and an early Japanese mask.
Pre-modern and/or Contemporary Japanese Art
“We had such a great Asia Week, said Veronica Miller principal of Egenolf Gallery Japanese Prints. “We welcomed curators from The Houston Museum of Fine Art, Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Fine Art, Ringling Museum of Art, St. Louis Museum, and the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.” We sold a number of woodblock prints including Woman Wearing an Under-sash by Itō Shinsui.
“We are delighted to say that Sun & Moon–one of our featured paintings by Ken Matsubara–is going to the Dallas Museum of Art,” said Shoko Aono of Ippodo Gallery. In addition to this sale, numerous private collectors purchased pieces from his exhibition, Cosmic Sound: Magnificent Paintings and Screen by Ken Matsubara. Notable institutions such as the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Smithsonian Museum of Asian Art, Dallas Museum of Art, St. Louis Art Museum, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art all made visits.
“We were very pleased to see collectors and curators appreciating this very special private collection of paintings by Hiroshi Yoshida, assembled by the artist Paul Binnie over a period of thirty years,” said Katherine Martin, managing director of Scholten Japanese Art. “ Interest in Yoshida’s woodblock prints has been growing for the past ten or twenty years, now we can see that enthusiasm has extended to the artist’s paintings as well, which bodes well for future collecting in the field of modern Japanese painting.” Among the works sold was Boats, a sumi ink on silk scroll painting.
“We sold a mix of paintings (both hanging scrolls and a six-panel screen), prints, and illustrated books to both museums and private collectors,” said Katie Williamson, of Sebastian Izzard LLC Asian Art. Among the works in the exhibition Japanese Paintings, Prints, and Illustrated Books: 1760-1810 that sold was Suzuki Harunobu’s, Narihira’s Journey to the East.
Joan Mirviss, of her namesake gallery, remarked, “From hosting private events and parties, with our gallery artist Kondo Takahiro in attendance, to racking up a significant number of sales and placing many with major institutions, our Asia Week New York 2024 has been extremely successful.” She highlighted the collaboration behind her gallery exhibition Eternal Partnership: Japanese Ceramics and Blue and White, with Porcelains in the Mist: The Kondō Family of Ceramicists, at the Brooklyn Museum. Mirviss noted the placement of over 70 works, including a rare calligraphic vase by Kitaōji Rosanjin (1883-1959). Takahiro also unveiled a new series titled Clear Water specifically for this exhibition, which saw nearly two dozen works sold to collectors both domestically and internationally. Building on the recent focus on Japanese women ceramic artists, Mirviss mentioned the placement of more than ten such works in significant collections, including museums in the United States and the UK.
“We had a great kick-off to Asia Week New York with more than 500 people who attended the opening reception with our artists,” said Nana Onishi of Onishi Gallery. This year also marks my gallery’s 20th anniversary at our Chelsea location, and we were proud to celebrate it with two exhibitions–Inoue Manji / David Stanley Hewett and KOGEI and Art–which we organized in collaboration with KOGEI USA, a non-profit dedicated to the revitalization of Japan’s world-famous KOGEI arts in the U.S. under the support by the Japanese government.
Margo Thomas of TAI Modern reported that she sold thirteen pieces including 3 works by Living National Treasure Fujinuma Noboru; three works by Isohi Setsuko; three historic works (i.e. pre-WWII) by Hayakawa Shokosai I, Iizuka Rokansai, Kosuge Kogetsu; a formal tray by Living National Treasure Fujitsuka Shosei; a flower basket by the young artist Endo Gen; a Peony Basket by Kajiwara Koho; and a contemporary black and red basket by Morigami Jin.
“The foot traffic was very good this year,” said Erik Thomsen of his namesake gallery. “We had strong interest from museum curators for our our Japanese modern lacquer boxes and our Nihonga screens and scrolls. Collectors acquired from us Japanese lacquer boxes, bamboo baskets, and screens. Among the pieces sold were Tanabe Chikuunsai’s bamboo rattan and lacquer Handled Flower Basket and Beauty with Fan, a hanging scroll by Yamakawa Shūhō (1898-1944), from the 1920s.
Museum Curators and Directors Flock to Asia Week York
Asia Week New York is a must-attend event for museum directors and curators, who make the rounds to see what the galleries have on offer. Among the museums were: The Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College, The Art Institute of Chicago, Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, The Brooklyn Museum, The Chazen Museum of Art, China Institute Gallery, The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Crocker Museum, Dallas Museum of Art, Denver Art Museum, The Harvard Art Museums, The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, The Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College, Indianapolis Art Museum, Institute of Fine Arts, NYU, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Metropolitan Museum of Art, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Art and Design, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Portland Art Museum (Oregon), Princeton University Art Museum, Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Ringling Museum of Art, Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, San Antonio Museum of Art, Santa Barbara Museum, The Smith College Museum of Art, St. Louis Art Museum, University of Michigan Museum of Art, Utah Museum of Fine Arts Walters Art Museum, Yale University Art Gallery. International museums included the Guimet in Paris, Rijkmuseum, Amsterdam, Asian Civilizations Museum of Singapore, and the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada.
About Asia Week New York
The only event of its kind in the U.S. that promotes Asian art, Asia Week New York is the collaboration of top-tier international Asian art galleries, the six major auction houses, Bonhams, Christie’s, Doyle, Heritage Auctions, iGavel, and Sotheby’s, and numerous museums and Asian cultural institutions. This nine-day celebration is filled with a non-stop schedule of simultaneous gallery open houses, Asian art auctions as well as numerous museum exhibitions, lectures, and special events. Participants from Great Britain, Japan, Switzerland, and the United States unveil an extraordinary array of museum-quality treasures from China, India, the Himalayas, Southeast Asia, Tibet, Nepal, Japan, and Korea. Asia Week New York Association, Inc. is a 501(c)(6) non-profit trade membership organization registered with the state of New York. For more information visit www.asiaweeknewyork.com @asiaweekny #asiaweekny
About Songtsam, Presenting Sponsor
Songtsam (“Paradise”) is an award-winning luxury collection of sixteen hotels, resorts, and tours located in Tibet and Yunnan Provinces, China. Founded in 2000 by Mr. Baima Duoji, a former Tibetan documentary filmmaker, Songtsam is the only collection of luxury Tibetan-style retreats within the wellness space focusing on the concept of Tibetan meditation by combining physical and spiritual healing together. The unique and sustainable properties offer guests authenticity, within the context of refined design, modern amenities, and unobtrusive service in places of untouched natural beauty and cultural interest. One of the Songtsam Properties is a Virtuoso Preferred Partner and four of the Songtsam Properties are Serandipians Hotel Partners. Songstam welcomes all travelers including families with children, travelers with disabilities and is LGBTQ+ friendly.
Captions (top to bottom):
Chinese Famille Verte Plate, Kangxi period with stunning Butterfly and Flower decoration (Credit: Ralph M. Chait Galleries Inc.)
Zhang Xiaoli Box Unlimited 2023 (Credit: Fu Qiumeng Fine Art)
A large 15/16th century blue and white jar with Ruyi decoration, from the Le-So dynasties in Vietnam (Credit: Zetterquist Galleries)
The King of Afghanistan Zaman Shah Durrani leaving Lahor, Lucknow, Northern India, circa 1820; Opaque pigments with gold on paper, inscribed above the king’s head in nasta’liq script: Zaman Shah; 13 1/8 by 16 5/8 in.; 33.3 by 42.2 cm. painting; 14 1/8 by 17 ¾ in.; 36 by 45 cm. folio (Credit Oliver Forge and Brendan Lynch, Ltd.)
Four whimsical early 18th century Bikaner paintings joined together to make a composition that recalls 17th century Mughal floral painting. The uppermost study shows a Chinese-style phoenix pursing a crane across a sky filled with knotted and flaring Chinese-style clouds. Folio: 39.4 x 26.8cm (Credit: Francesca Galloway)
Illustration to the ‘Large’ Guler-Basohli Bhagavata Purana:
The Liberation of Nalakuvara and Manigriva
Attributed to Manaku
Guler-Basohli, circa 1760–1765
Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper
Image: 9 1⁄8 x 13 1⁄4 in. (23.3 x 33.5 cm.)
Folio: 11 1⁄4 x 16 in. (28.9 x 41 cm.)
(Credit: Kapoor Galleries)
Kaparamip, ‘thin robe’ Ainu People, Hokkaido, Japanm Late 19th-early 20th Century, Cotton; appliqué embroidery 51 x 46 in (129.5 x 117 cm) (Credit: Thomas Murray)
Itō Shinsui (1898-1972)
Woman Wearing an Under-sash (Datemaki no Onna), 1921 Scarce, pre-earthquake design, numbered 9/200 (Credit: Egenolf Japanese Gallery of Prints)
Ken Matsubara (1948-present)
Sun & Moon, 2022
(Credit: Ippodo Gallery)
Hiroshi Yoshida (1876-1950), Boats (Fune), sumi ink on silk, dated 1911; painting 50 3/4 by 16 1/2 in., 129 by 42 cm; overall 72 by 22 in., 183 by 56 cm (Credit: Scholten Japanese Art)
Suzuki Harunobu (1724-1770) Narihira’s Journey to the East, color woodblock print: chuban tate-e, 11 ¼ x 8 3/8 in. (27.9 x 20.6 cm); 1768-69 Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga (Credit: Sebastian Izzard LLC Asian Art)
Kitaōji Rosanjin (1883-1959) Cobalt blue-and-white (sometsuke) glazed large baluster porcelain vase with calligraphic poem, 1940s, Glazed porcelain, Photo by Richard Goodbody. Courtesy of Joan B Mirviss LTD.
Kajiwara Koho
Peony Basket, 1960’s -1970’s
madake bamboo, rattan
41.75 x 28.50 x 13.50 in. (Credit: TAI Modern)
Beauty with Fan, a hanging scroll by Yamakawa Shūhō (1898-1944), 1920s, Japan, ink and mineral pigments on silk, Size 35 x 24¾ in. (Credit: Thomsen Gallery)