What's Happening in Asian Art...
March 28, 2022
Storage room filled with crates at Wiesbaden Collecting Point, 1946, James J. Rorimer papers,
1921–1982, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
Art and the Third Reich: A Provenance Discussion
National Museum of Asian Art
Webinar, Thursday, March 31, 9:30–11:30am EDT
During the tumultuous years of World War II, the Nazi regime and its collaborators orchestrated on an unprecedented scale a system of confiscation, coercive transfer, looting, and destruction of cultural objects in Europe. Countless art objects were forcibly taken from their owners. This webinar explores a little studied subject in the field of art history—art market studies—and World War II history, asking how the Nazi occupation impacted the market for Asian art. In so doing, it also explores the unique complexities of researching and documenting Asian objects that circulated during the period.
Bringing together a panel of provenance experts for a moderated conversation, this webinar highlights the experiences of dealers and collectors of Asian art who lived through or fled the Nazi regime. Panelists will speak to the different experiences of dealers and collectors across occupied Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States, offering insight into how the Third Reich influenced regional art markets and the international trade of Asian art. The conversation will also consider how the atrocities committed by the Nazi party influenced the formation of postwar museum collections and the academic study of Asian art in the West.
This program is part of the series Hidden Networks: Trade in Asian Art, which is co-organized by the National Museum of Asian Art and the Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.
Read more and register, click here
March 28, 2022
Naha Prefectural Museum, Okinawa, Ishimoto and Niki Architects, 2007, Image
@brutal_zen Paul Tulett ©
Concrete Paradise: Okinawan Brutalist Architecture, Japan Society
Free Live Webinar, Wednesday, March 30 at 7 pm EDT
Brutalist architecture on Japan's Okinawa prefecture was born of necessity, as seasonal typhoons are commonplace and concrete buildings can better withstand severe weather than those made of wood and other natural materials. Today, 90 percent of new buildings on Okinawa are made of concrete, reflecting in architecture the post-Occupation Americanization of Japan. This live webinar explores the little-known Brutalist architecture on Okinawa as part of special programming commemorating the 50th anniversary year of Okinawa's return to Japanese sovereignty from the U.S. in 1972. Speakers also address the problems of concrete as a building material, considering sustainable strategies such as re-use and longevity while questioning its continued prevalence in building and associated environmental costs.
Speakers:
Paul Tulett, Okinawa-based photographer
Michael Kubo, Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator for Architectural History and Theory, Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design,
University of Houston
Moderator: Tiffany Lambert, Curator, Japan Society
Read more and register, click here
March 25, 2022
Ken Matsubara, Chaos (detail), 2021, 12-panel screen, Ippodo Gallery
Asia Week New York galleries were extremely active during this season and sold many important works of art. Below is a survey of some of the many successful sales, with many wonderful works of Asian art going to new homes.
Dai Ichi Arts LTD
Future Forms: Avant-Garde Sculpture in Modern Japanese Ceramics
Among the works of art that were sold was The Scripture of Himiko, made in the 1990s in stoneware with gold luster by Miwa Ryosaku
Egenolf Gallery Japanese Prints
Masterworks by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892)
Included in the several works that the gallery sold is this rare print by Yoshitoshi of Sogo Goro Gallops Bareback to Oiso Triptych
Fu Qiumeng Fine Arts
Ink Affinities 墨缘: The Collaborative Works of Arnold Chang and Michael Cherney
Several works were sold, including the innovative Salt Lattice, made in 2018
HK Art and Antiques LLC
Korean Paintings and Sculptures: Past and Present
Among the works that were sold was this Late Joseon dynasty eight-panel screen depicting scenes from the Three Kingdoms (Samgugji)
INKstudio
Bingyi: Land of Immortals
From the collaboration with Kondō Takahiro: Making Waves, organized by Joan B Mirviss LTD, several ink paintings by Bingyi were sold, including these three leaves from her series Eight Views of Bewilderment to a New York collector
Ippodo Gallery
Chaos to Cosmos: White Road between Two Rivers
Among other sales, Ippodo Gallery sold Ken Matsubara's monumental, 12-panel screen Chaos to the Minneapolis Institute of Art
Sebastian Izzard Asian Art
Privately Commissioned Japanese Prints and Albums from the Late 18th and Early 19th Centuries
This exhibition is nearly sold out, including the rare set of eight woodblock prints, Eight Views of the Suburbs of Edo (Edo kinkō hakkei no uchi) by Utagawa Hiroshige
Brendan Lynch and Oliver Forge Ltd
India and Iran: Works on Paper
Half the exhibition was sold to European, Asian, and American private collectors and museums, including this Dance Performance (Nautch) for a Group of Seated Gentleman, by the Company School, Thanjavu, circa 1810-1820
Joan B Mirviss LTD
Kondō Takahiro: Making Waves
From this (nearly?.....the exhibition is still open!) sold-out show, going to a new home is one of the largest and most imposing art works, Kondō Takahiro's Wave, made in 2021
Thomas Murray
Important Indian, Indonesian and Other Textiles
Several works sold, including this very rare and imposing Attush Robe of the Ainu People from Hokkaido, purchased by the Minneapolis Institute of Art
Onishi Gallery
The Eternal Beauty of Metal
From the number of works sold in this exhibition is the featured item Tea Caddy Shunpu (Spring Wind) by Murose Kazumi, a Living National Treasure
Scholten Japanese Art
Influencers: Japonisme and Modern Japan
Many of the prints in this exhibition found buyers, including Bertha Lum's Bamboo Road, a woodblock print made circa 1912
TAI Modern
Yufu Shohaku Solo Exhibition; Selected Works of Japanese Bamboo Art
Among the several sales in this exhibition is Genbu (Black Tortoise) by Yufu Shohaku
MIYAKO YOSHINAGA
"In the Space of the Near and Distant"- Solo Exhibition by Jonathan Yukio Clark
Several large works were sold from this exhibition, including Moon Rise in the Quiet Wind, executed with his monotype technique
Zetterquist Galleries
Chinese Ceramics from Tang - Yuan Dynasty
Approximately two-thirds of this exhibition was sold, including this imposing Tang-dynasty Xing-yao bottle vase
March 25, 2022
Asia Week March 2022 Top Auction Item: An Important and Very Rare Inlaid Bronze Faceted Hu, Fanghu, Warring States Period, 4th-3rd Century BC, sold for US$2,760,000 at Christie's
Asia Week March 2022 New York Auction Results
BONHAMS
Bonhams' Top Selling Lot: A Gilt Copper Alloy Figure of Green Tara, Nepal, Early Malla Period,
13th Century, sold $2,310,312
Asia Week total - $11,559,220
CHRISTIE'S
Second Highest Top Selling Lot: A Magnificent and Important Gilt-Bronze Figure of Guanyin,
Dali Kingdom, Late 11th-Early 12th Century, sold $2,580,000
Asia Week total - $67,890,084
•Rivers and Mountains Far from the World: Important Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Rachelle R. Holden Collection - sales total $2,252,502
•Japanese and Korean Art Including the Collection of David and Nayda Utterberg - sales total $10,626,210
•Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Works of Art - sales total $3,732,120
•South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art, Including Works from the Collection of Mahinder and Sharad Tak - sales total $20,188,926
•Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art - sales total $31,090,326
Note: two online sales are still continuing
DOYLE
Top Selling Lot: A Large Chinese Celadon Glazed Porcelain 'Dragon' Charger, Yongzheng Mark and Period, sold $390,600
•Asian Works of Art - sales total $2,336,327
HERITAGE AUCTIONS
Top selling lot: A Chinese Six-Panel Screen Inlaid with Enameled Porcelain Plaques by Cheng Men,
19th century, sold $237,500
•Asian Art Signature® Auction - sales total $906,459
SOTHEBY'S
Top Selling Lot: Vasudeo S. Gaitonde (1924-2001), Painting 4, 1972, sold $2,470,000
Asia Week total sales - $33,800,000
•Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art - sales total $9,600,000
•A Journey Through China's History: The Dr Wou Kiuan Collection Part 1 - sales total $10,600,000 - White Glove Sale
•Important Chinese Art - sales total $13,653,182
Note: one online sale is still continuing
Asia Week March 2022 grand total auction sales currently - $116,492,090
Coming soon Asian, Ancient, and Ethnographic Works of Art at iGavel,
online April 7-26.
March 25, 2022
Sebastian Izzard Asian Art's installation of Japanese surimono prints.
For those who are sorry to see Asia Week March 2022 finish, there are still gallery exhibitions available to visit. And for those who wish to learn more about the works on view, many galleries have informative materials online and in print to read or watch. Below is a list of shows that you can still visit and materials you can study.
CONTINUING EXHIBITIONS:
Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art
• Akar Prakar, Jayashree Chakravarty: Feeling the Pulse (in the pandemic year), ONLINE March 15-April 15
• DAG, A Place in the Sun: Women Artists from 20th Century India, March 15-May 28
• Thomas Murray, Important Indian, Indonesian and Other Textiles and Masks: Inspiration and Interpretation, ONLINE
Chinese Art
• Fu Qiumeng Fine Art, Ink Affinities 墨缘: The Collaborative Works of Arnold Chang and Michael Cherney, March 18-May 7
• INK Studio, Bingyi: Land of Immortals, March 16-April 22
• Kaikodo LLC, The Ancients Among Us: Chinese and Japanese Paintings and Works of Art, ONLINE
Japanese Art
• Dai Ichi Arts, Ltd., Future Forms: Avant-Garde Sculpture in Modern Japanese Ceramics, March 1-30
• Egenolf Gallery Japanese Prints, Masterworks by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892), ONLINE
• Ippodo Gallery, Chaos to Cosmos: White Road between Two Rivers,
March 10-April 14
• Joan B Mirviss LTD, Kondō Takahiro: Making Waves, March 16-April 22
• Scholten Japanese Art, Influencers: Japonisme and Modern Japan, March 16-April 15
• MIYAKO YOSHINAGA, "In the Space of the Near and Distant"-Solo Exhibition by Jonathan Yukio Clark, March 17-April 30
Korean Art
• HK Art & Antiques LLC, Korean Paintings and Sculptures: Past and Present, March 17-April 6
GALLERY PUBLICATIONS TO READ AND WATCH:
Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art
• Oliver Forge & Brendan Lynch Ltd, India and Iran: Works on Paper
• Francesca Galloway, Court, Epic, Spirit: Indian Art 15th-19th Century
• Kapoor Galleries, Dhanvantari's Blessing
• Thomas Murray, Important Indian, Indonesian and Other Textiles and Masks: Inspiration and Interpretation
Chinese Art
• Fu Qiumeng Fine Art, Ink Affinities 墨缘: The Collaborative Works of Arnold Chang and Michael Cherney
• Ralph M. Chait Galleries, Inc., Spring Exhibition of Chinese Porcelains and Works of Art
• INK Studio, Bingyi: Land of Immortals
• Kaikodo LLC, The Ancients Among Us: Chinese and Japanese Paintings and Works of Art
• Zetterquist Galleries, Chinese Ceramics from Tang-Yuan Dynasty
Japanese Art
• Dai Ichi Arts, Ltd., Future Forms: Avant-Garde Sculpture in Modern Japanese Ceramics
• Ippodo Gallery, Chaos to Cosmos: White Road between Two Rivers,
• Joan B Mirviss LTD, Kondō Takahiro: Making Waves
• Onishi Gallery, The Eternal Beauty of Metal
• Giuseppe Piva Japanese Art, Japanese Art and Antiques
• Scholten Japanese Art, Influencers: Japonisme and Modern Japan
• Sebastian Izzard LLC Asian Art, Privately Commissioned Japanese Prints and Albums from the Late 18th and Early 19th
• TAI Modern, Yufu Shohaku Solo Exhibition; Selected Works of Japanese Bamboo Art
• MIYAKO YOSHINAGA, "In the Space of the Near and Distant"-Solo Exhibition by Jonathan Yukio Clark
Of course, museums are valuable resources of information and the auction houses have text and video stories that augment the catalogues.
March 25, 2022
L-R: Bingyi (born 1975), Sea of Stars, 2021, ink on xuan paper, INKstudio; Shinoda Toko (1913-2021), Innovation, sumi-ink, gouache and platinum leaf on canvas, Christie's; Madhvi Parekh (born 1942),
Durga II, 2006, acrylic on acrylic sheet (reverse painting), DAG
This season's Asia Week, which coincided with Women's History Month, included a plethora of works by women artists in a wide variety of materials, art forms, and traditions, and featured artists from all corners of Asia, as well as ones who live outside Asia. While this is in no way a comprehensive list, it will demonstrate how varied and rich the work of women artists is and provide entry points for further investigation.
The artists whose work is illustrated above are three painters who use traditional ideas and/or materials to create new kinds of imagery and express personal perspectives.
Looking back in time, works by women of earlier periods included several woodblock-print-makers, such as Bertha Lum, who were inspired by the Japanese tradition, at Scholten Japanese Art. Thomas Murray remarked that most, if not all, of the fine Indonesian textiles in his exhibition were made by women artisans, especially when they were to be used for ceremonial occassions.
L-R: Lin Suzhen (19th century), Immortal Magu, ink and color on silk, Bonhams; Bertha Lum (1869-1954), Bamboo Road, ca. 1912, woodblock print, Scholten Japanese Art; Iban People, Borneo, Ceremonial Cloth, pua sungkit with Skulls and Dancing Figures, 19th century, cotton; supplementary weft wrapping, Thomas Murray
Visits to the exhibitions shown at DAG and Akar Prakar offered a wealth of works by women painters from South Asia, as both galleries made this the theme of this season's exhibitions. Similarly, the auctions of South Asian modern and contemporary art at Sotheby's and Christie's not only included numerous works by women artists, but many sold well above their estimates. DAG NY director Josheen Oberoi participated in a recorded discussion of this topic with Sarab Zavaleta, East Meets West at Asian Art Week in NYC & Women's History Month, which can be accessed here.
L-R: Jayashree Chakravarty (born 1956), Pulsating, 2020-2021, acrylic, oil, audiotape, plant bark, paper and synthetic adhesive on canvas, Akar Prakar; Meera Mukherjee (1923-1998), Santur Player, 1981, bronze, Sotheby's
Numerous contemporary women artists whose work was on view this week employed art forms other than painting. The materials they used ranged from clay to bamboo to metalwares to textiles.
L-R: Shigematsu Ayumi (born 1958), Yellow Jomon, 2018, stoneware, Dai Ichi Arts LTD; Isohi Setsuko (born 1964), High Mountain, 2019, madake bamboo, rattan, TAI Modern; Otsuki Masako (b. 1943), Silver Vase Yo (Leap), 1998, silver metal carving with gold decoration and shakudo (alloy-copper, gold), Onishi Gallery
Whether rendered in two- or three-dimensional works, figural images that depict women can often have a self-portraiture quality or express some personal aspect of the artist's life. For example, Wonsook Kim has stated that her compositions are often influenced by her experiences in Korea and the United States, Iwasaki Eri's earlier job as a courtroom sketch artist resulted in her employment of intense emotions and humanity's dark side in her works, and Gogi Saroj Pal's self portrait shows a figure looking into a curtained future.
L-R: Wonsook Kim (born 1953), Words of Hope, 2016, oil on canvas, HK Art and Antiques; Iwasaki Eri (born 1968), Cotton Candy, 2019, mineral pigment, gofun, platinum paint on kozo paper mounted on wood panel, Christie's; Gogi Saroj Pal (born 1945), Self-Portrait, 1991, gouache on paper, DAG
The work of women artists is featured in several local museums. Presently on view at Korea Society is a display of the work of contemporary abstract textile artist Wonju Seo . The life and work of Elaine Ildan Choi is presented in a video available online by the Korean Cultural Center. The current exhibition, Japan: A History of Style at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, features a selection of Japanese contemporary metalwares by noted artists Osumi Yukie, Otsuki Masako, and Oshiyama Motoko. Rebel, Jester, Mystic, Poet: Contemporary Persians — The Mohammed Afkhami Collection at Asia Society includes the work of nine women artists, and their art is discussed in an online feature.
March 25, 2022
Arnold Chang & Michael Cherney, Da Ming Mountain Study #2, 2021, photography and ink on xuan paper mount on paper, Fu Qiumeng Fine Arts
Asia Week New York 2022 hosts a day of previews:
•17 gallery exhibitions are open today—find out who's open with this list with handy graph, which you can take with you while you gallery hop. Visit the Dealers' pages for more details and images of highlights.
•Akar Prakar, Egenolf Gallery, Kaikodo LLC, and Thomas Murray are live with their online exhibitions
•Asia Week New York's Online Exhibition is available. LAST DAY TO VIEW EXHIBITION!
Today's Auctions:
•Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art at 8:30am, Christie's
• Asian Works of Art: Session II, Online Timed Auction Closes at 10am, Doyle
TODAY'S FEATURE EVENT
•Online lecture: Arrival of Indian Painting in the USA, 8:30am EDT, DAG
View all calendar events here
Access the full Asia Week schedule here
March 24, 2022
Shakyamuni Buddha, Tibet, 19th century, bronze, gold and pigment, 30 1/2 x 18 x 14 in.,
Gift of Arthur I. Appleton
One of the largest collections at the Appleton, the Asian art holdings include religious and secular works from China, India, Japan, Tibet and Southeast Asia. Buddhist art is represented by Indian, Tibetan, Thai and Burmese sculptures and textiles. The Chinese works feature a number of important ceramic pieces including Tang Dynasty horse and guardian figures, rare celadon funerary vases and many fine examples of Chinese Export Ware. A fascinating area is devoted to the art of Japan, which includes a variety of netsukes, Meji era bronzes, and kimonos.
The Appleton Museum of Art houses a permanent collection of more than 24,000 works, representing the art of Europe, America, Asia, Africa, Contemporary and Pre-Columbia. It also hosts special exhibitions. The museum was built starting in 1984 by businessman Arthur Appleton and his wife, the actress Martha O'Driscoll Appleton, and opened in 1987. It is part of the College of Central Florida and is located in Ocala, Florida. Since September 2019, Asian art historian Jason Steuber has led the Appleton as director.
Read more, click here
March 24, 2022
The Coronation of Rama, based on the description in the Yuddhakanda of the Ramayana, ch. 130, Mandi c. 1840, opaque pigments, with gold and silver, Francesca Galloway
Day 9
Asia Week New York 2022 hosts a day of previews:
•19 gallery exhibitions are open today—find out who's open with this list with handy graph, which you can take with you while you gallery hop. Visit the Dealers' pages for more details and images of highlights.
•Akar Prakar, Egenolf Gallery, Kaikodo LLC, and Thomas Murray are live with their online exhibitions
•Asia Week New York's Online Exhibition is available
Today's Auctions:
•Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art at 8:30am, Christie's
•Rivers and Mountains Far from the World: Important Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Rachelle R. Holden Collection, Christie's
LAST DAY TO SEE
•Delightful Images: Indian Paintings and Courtly Objects, 10am-6pm, Art Passages
•Court, Epic, Spirit: Indian Art 15th-19th Century, 10am-6pm, Francesca Galloway
View all calendar events here
Access the full Asia Week schedule here
March 23, 2022
Asia Week New York's LAUNCH Video, March 15, 2022
Available to watch online
For those who missed AWNY's LAUNCH presentation on March 15th, which gave an overview of Asia Week March 2022 highlights, the recording is now available on our website. Kicking off this spring's Asia Week, AWNY Planning Committee Chair Dessa Goddard emceed the presentations of gallery-exhibition highlights and auction previews by members of AWNY's Planning Committee. Mike Hearn, Douglas Dillon Chairman of the Department of Asian Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, surveyed the variety of Asian art exhibitions currently on view in this institution.
To watch the video, click here
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