Tokuda Yasokichi IV, Saiyu Jar, 2010, porcelain with vivid colored glaze (yôsai), 12 3/4 × 9 3/4 in (32.4 × 24.8 cm)

Color of Blue in KOGEI
June 11 – July 31, 2024
521 West 26th Street, NYC

Onishi Gallery is pleased to present their new installation for the Summer, Color of Blue in KOGEI.

Bringing colors in Kogei has been an exciting theme for Kogei artists as the materials they use are from nature and are already gifted with a variety of colors from the Earth. Invention plays a key role for some artists who strive to incorporate color in new ways while maintaining their works’ traditional values.

Included in this exhibition are two porcelain pieces in vivid blue by Tokuda Yasokichi III who was a Living National Treasure and the most well-known Kutani ware artist of his time. In these pieces the suffusion of colors is achieved by his inventive coloration of vivid Kutani color glaze.

In another piece where a famed Kogei artist works with blue, the almost transparent and greenish blue on his signature Hakuji porcelain represents a signal departure for Inoue Manji. Manji’s introduction of colors in his work wasn’t until later in his career, after having spent decades working in stark white.

Another attractive blue color is by Suzuki Miki in his famous Blue Bizen ware. Unlike traditional Bizen in brown, Suzuki creates a new impression in this traditional stoneware by shifting to blue.

Spend these summer days exploring the inventive ways artists use the color blue to expand the possibilities of Japanese sculptures.

To learn more, click here.

AMITABHA IN SUKHAVATI (detail), Tibet, circa 1500, distemper on cloth, 36 1/4 x 28 3/8 in. (92 x 72 cm)

We are pleased to shine our Gallery Spotlight this week on Carlton Rochell Asian Art. Specializing in the art of India, the Himalayas, and Southeast Asia, this preeminent gallery was founded by Carlton Rochell in 2002 after a distinguished career at Sotheby’s, where he established the first full-time auctions in North America devoted to Indian and Southeast Asian in 1985.

The gallery’s inaugural exhibition was reviewed by The New York Times with Holland Cotter writing, “The arrival of a new, open-to-the public gallery devoted to Indian and Southeast Asian art is an event for the city; such showcases are few and far between…although Himalayan and Cambodian bronzes are among the most exquisite items, the gallery is dominated by several large-scale sculptures of a kind we rarely see outside museums.”

Since then, the gallery has placed works of art privately with many important private collectors, as well as with prominent institutions across the globe. Carlton Rochell regularly exhibits in international art fairs and is currently participating in Printemps Asiatique in Paris where he is displaying this exceptional painting of Amitabha, the Buddha of the Western Pure Land (Sukhavati), through June 13th.  Be sure to visit if you are in town!

To learn more and view their collection, click here.

Dragon and Clouds (Unyongdo) (detail). Artist Unknown. Korean, Joseon Dynasty, 19th century. Ink and color on paper. 45 1/2 × 26 1/4 in. (115.6 × 66.7 cm). San Antonio Museum of Art, gift of Lenora and Walter F. Brown, 2006.4.3.

Off the Wall: Serpent and Dragons
Tuesday, June 18, 2024
5:30 – 6:30pm
Great Hall
Free to Members or with Museum admission

From the plumed serpents of Mesoamerica to the rain-bringing dragons of east Asia, mighty serpentine creatures appear with remarkable regularity across the artistic and narrative traditions of numerous cultures. Join docent Richard McGowan for an exploration of the stories and significance of the draconic figures lurking in the San Antonio Museum of Art’s collection.

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 the museum’s most captivating artworks and hidden gems. Held every Tuesday, be sure to check out their next talk on the various female deities represented in the Indian gallery on June 25th!

To learn more, click here.

Courtesy Fu Qiumeng Fine Art

QM Talks | A Review of New York’s Chinese Paintings Market from 1980s
A Conversation with Arnold Chang and Fang Xian
Sunday, June 16, 2024
10:30am
Free In-Person and Online Public Event
65 East 80th St, Ground Fl, NYC

Fu Qiumeng Fine Art is pleased to welcome you to their upcoming discussion on the American market for Chinese paintings and calligraphy with artist and connoisseur Arnold Chang and independent scholar Fang Xian.

Fang Xian previously served as Head of Sales and Vice President at Sotheby’s New York in the Chinese Paintings Department and has worked and studied with Chang for over a decade.

Arnold Chang is renowned not only as a highly accomplished artist but also as a pivotal figure in introducing classical and modern Chinese paintings and calligraphy to the international market. Since his tenure began at Sotheby’s New York in 1979, Chang has been instrumental in establishing regular auctions for Chinese paintings and calligraphy and founded auctions for modern Chinese paintings and calligraphy in Hong Kong in 1980, solidifying the groundwork for regular auctions in both locales. During his nearly 15-year stewardship of the Chinese Paintings Department at Sotheby’s New York, where he also served as vice president, Chang also unveiled and made available to the public previously unknown or little-known works of art, such as Zhang Daqian’s monumental six-panel work Giant Lotus. In 1992, Chang transitioned from Sotheby’s to Kaikodo, where he continued to profoundly influence the market for classical Chinese paintings and calligraphy in New York.

With the reestablishment of Sotheby’s Chinese Paintings Department in New York in 2012, Chang was reappointed as a consultant and collaborated with Fang Xian to secure a series of important artworks and single-owner auctions for the company.

Be sure to join this special conversation where Chang and Fang reflect on their careers, share art market stories, and discuss the future of contemporary Chinese painting.

To RSVP for the in-person event, click here.

To register for the livestream event, click here.

To learn more, click here.

Courtesy Dai Ichi Arts, Ltd.

Earthly Forms: Ceramic Works by Hiruma Kazuyo & Matsutani Fumio
June 13 – 28, 2024

Dai Ichi Arts, Ltd. is delighted to present a two-person exhibition showcasing the intricate ceramic works of Hiruma Kazuyo & Matsutani Fumio.

Hiruma, born in 1948, crafts evocative sculptures inspired by nature’s grandeur. Using thin clay sheets and multiple glazes, she captures the essence of landscapes, erosion, and natural forces. Matsutani, born in 1975, creates vessels that merge movement, color, and surface, reflecting his mastery of traditional techniques and innovative forms. His works are characterized by architectural elegance and a refined, monochromatic palette.

Together, their works create a dynamic dialogue, blending tradition with contemporary artistry, and highlighting their unique journeys and creative processes.

The accompanying digital exhibition catalog, featuring an article by author & curator Joe Earle and new interviews with the artists, is available for viewing here.

To learn more about the exhibit, click here.

An Elephant and Keeper, India, Mughal (detail), ca. 1650–60, opaque color and gold on paper; Howard Hodgkin Collection, Purchase, Florence and Herbert Irving Acquisitions, Harris Brisbane Dick, and 2020 Benefit Funds; Howard S. and Nancy Marks, Lila Acheson Wallace, and Friends of Islamic Art Gifts; Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; and funds from various donors, 2022 (2022.187); Courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Indian Skies: The Howard Hodgkin Collection of Indian Court Painting
Closing Sunday, June 9, 2024
The Met Fifth Avenue, Galleries 691–693

This is the last weekend to view the exhibition of remarkable Indian court painting from the former collection of British painter Howard Hodgkin.

Over the course of sixty years, Howard Hodgkin (British, London 1932–2017 London) formed a collection of Indian paintings and drawings that is recognized as one of the finest of its kind. A highly regarded painter and printmaker, Hodgkin collected works from the Mughal, Deccani, Rajput, and Pahari courts dating from the 16th to the 19th centuries that reflect his personal passion for Indian art. This exhibition presents over 120 of these works, many of which The Met recently acquired, alongside loans from The Howard Hodgkin Indian Collection Trust.

The works on view include stunning portraits, beautifully detailed text illustrations, studies of the natural world, and devotional subjects. The exhibition also includes a painting by Hodgkin, Small Indian Sky, which alludes to the subtle relationship between his own work, India, and his collection.

This exhibition is accompanied by an issue of The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin.

To learn more, click here.

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858), One Hundred Famous Views of Edo: Fukagawa Susaki and Jumantsubo (Meisho Edo hyakkei: Fukagawa Susaki jumantsubo), printed with mica on the feathers; titled at the upper right, Meisho Edo hyakkei: Fukagawa Susaki jumantsubo, signed Hiroshige ga, with censor’s seals, aratame (examined), and date seal, mi uru go (the year of the snake [1857] intercalary 5th month), followed by the publisher’s seal, Shitaya Shinkuro, Uoei (Sakanaya Eikichi), 1857, oban tate-e 14 by 9 3/4 in., 35.7 by 24.7 cm

Our Gallery Spotlight this week falls upon Scholten Japanese Art, another founding AWNY member who opened their doors in 2000 in New York City. Currently located in the old Meurice Hotel in midtown Manhattan, this venerable gallery specializes in Japanese woodblock prints and paintings. They not only offer traditional ukiyo-e from the 18th to 20th centuries, including shin hanga and sosaku hanga, but also present Japanese-style woodblock prints produced by Western artists to expand and celebrate the visual narrative of Japanese artistic expression.

The gallery’s collection is updated regularly with new and exciting works, including this stunning print from the landscape series, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, by great ukiyo-e master Utagawa Hiroshige. Depicting scenery from in-and-around Edo, today’s Tokyo, during the mid-19th century, these prints feature Edo-ites going about their lives during a rapidly evolving era in Japan, capturing the beauty and bustle of the city throughout the year. It was groundbreaking in its day, and works from the series are among some of the most iconic in Japanese art.

Fukagawa Susaki and Jumantsubo is one of the most famed prints from Hiroshige’s series and depicts the view from Fukagawa Susaki, the very well known peninsula along Edo Bay with the popular Benten Shrine at the very tip. The land offered excellent shellfish-gathering at low tide in the spring. The view also faces northeast towards Jumantsubo, a tract of land named after its approximate size of one hundred thousand tsubo (about eight acres).

Printed with mica on the eagle’s feathers, this striking work is available to view by appointment, Monday through Friday. Be sure come visit for more of Hiroshige’s prints from this series, along with many other fine Japanese prints and paintings at their gallery.

To learn more, click here.