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.

Installation view, Gold from Dragon City: Masterpieces of Three Yan from Liaoning, 337–436 at China Institute Gallery

Gold from Dragon City: Masterpieces of Three Yan From Liaoning, 337–436
Closing Sunday, January 5, 2025
100 Washington Street, NYC

Don’t miss the China Institute’s landmark exhibition, Gold from Dragon City: Masterpieces of Three Yan from Liaoning, 337–436, on view through January 5!

This groundbreaking exhibition showcases treasures uncovered during nearly 70 years of archaeological excavations in Dragon City (Longcheng)—modern-day Chaoyang in Liaoning Province, the capital of the Three Yan states. Among these extraordinary finds is a dazzling golden headdress called buyao, alongside sculptures, bronze mirrors, inkstones, imperial seals, ceramic vessels, and highlights of gold ornaments and equestrian objects.

Presenting these masterpieces for the first time in the United States, the exhibition sheds light on the rich history of ethnic integration and cultural exchange along the Steppe-Silk Road, which reshaped northern China more than 1,600 years ago.

Organized into four thematic sections—Diversified Culture of the Three Yan, Mural Art of the Three Yan, Gold Art of the Three Yan, and Horse Ornaments in the Decorative Arts of the Three Yan—this exhibition offers a rare opportunity to explore the artistic and cultural heritage of northern China’s ancient Three Yan society.

To learn more, click here.

Installation view, Hokusai: Waves of Inspiration from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston at Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

Hokusai: Waves of Inspiration from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Closing Sunday, January 5, 2025

This is the last week to view the special exhibition, Hokusai: Waves of Inspiration from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. It offers an expansive look at Hokusai’s 70-year career and a deep examination of his legacy in forms as varied as manga, LEGO® bricks, and ceramics, before it closes at the Nelson-Atkins on January 5!

Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) is one of the most famous Japanese artists in history, thanks largely to his instantly recognizable print known familiarly as the Great Wave. This exhibition features roughly 100 works of art by Hokusai himself, highlighting the breadth of subjects the artist tackled — including actors, landscapes, still life, supernatural legends and tales, and wildlife — as well as roughly 200 additional works by the artist’s teachers, family, students, rivals, and worldwide admirers. Hokusai: Waves of Inspiration traces Hokusai’s artistry to unexpected places across time, place, and medium and shows how he defined, reinvented, and elevated every art form he engaged with.

To learn more about the exhibit, click here.

During your visit, be sure to catch Hokusai: Masterpieces from the Spencer Museum of Art, the Richardson-North Collection, and The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, on view through February 1, 2025. This free display, drawn from extensive collections in the Kansas City area, highlights Hokusai’s enduring paintings and prints within the context of his time.

To learn more, click here.

Courtesy Fu Qiumeng Fine Art

Subjective Realm: Between Form and Flow
January 4 – February 1, 2025
Opening Reception: Thursday, January 9, 5–8pm
Artist Talk: Saturday, January 18, 2:30-4pm
65 East 80th St, NYC

Fu Qiumeng Fine Art is thrilled to present Subjective Realm: Between Form and Flow, a solo exhibition by Chinese artist Chen Duxi. Featuring 23 works from Chen’s Chi Yi 持颐 series, this exhibition explores the fluid interplay of motion, stillness, and time through meticulous Gongbi 工笔 techniques (a Chinese traditional painting style that uses fine and controlled lines to define forms) on silk, enhanced by luminous mineral pigments.

For Chen, water is both a subject and a metaphor, symbolizing the continuous flow of time, the cycles of life, and the dynamic relationship between observer and observed. His understanding of fluidity extends beyond the physical, translating ephemeral movements into visual rhythms. Through the precise use of brushstroke, a cornerstone of Chinese aesthetics, Chen captures the trajectories of water, sediment, and magma, distilling their motion into elegant, layered compositions.

Each line in Chen’s work embodies both the passage of time and the compression of space, creating an intricate interplay of density and flow. Combined with vivid mineral pigments, his paintings achieve an ethereal balance of motion and stillness, inviting viewers to contemplate the deeper connections between nature, existence, and perception.

This latest body of work builds on themes introduced in his earlier Er Gong 尔躬 series, transforming outward observation into an intimate exploration of form, emotion, and meaning. This inward shift reflects Chen’s evolving focus on the essence of his inner realm, fleeting moments are turned into profound meditations on life and existence, inviting viewers into a deeply personal yet universal exploration of interconnectedness.

They look forward to welcoming you to their opening reception and artist talk, where Chen Duxi will offer a glimpse into his creative journey, sharing personal stories about his artistic process and studio practice soon!

To learn more, click here.