The Unheard Melody: Music in Chinese Paintings 大音希声：中国绘画中的音乐
A Special Showcase of Song Dynasty Art and Music
August 5 – 27, 2026
Opening & Lecture: Wednesday, Aug 5, 2-3:30pm
100 Washington Street, NYC

If Song dynasty paintings could speak, what would they tell us?

Drawing from the musical imagery found in A Collection of Song Dynasty Paintings, The Unheard Melody: Music in Chinese Paintings invites visitors to discover the sounds and stories embedded within these masterpieces at China Institute. Featuring three thematic section —“Harmony Through Music”, “Elegance and Refinement in Music”, and “Music in Common Life”—the special showcase reveals the diverse roles of music in Song society, from court rituals and ceremonial performances to literati gatherings and everyday life. Through high-resolution digital reproductions, audiovisual installations, and interactive experiences featuring traditional Chinese instruments, visitors will experience how ancient paintings preserve the sounds, movements, and musical imagination of their time.

The opening ceremony will bring the world of Song dynasty art and music to life through traditional Chinese music and Kunqu opera performances and immersive cultural experiences including flower arrangement, lacquer fan painting, and Hanfu garment activities.

Professor Miao Zhe’s lecture “Florence, Kyoto and Hangzhou: The Rise of Chinese Painting Collections in the U.S.” will unveil the fascinating journey of Southern Song dynasty paintings across cultures, tracing how changing artistic tastes during the Gilded Age shaped the formation of Chinese painting collections in the United States.

Join China Institute to experience the magic and timeless beauty of ancient China!

To learn more and view the opening day schedule, click here.

Natori Shunsen (1886-1960), Creative Prints, Collected Portraits of Shunsen: Actor Ichikawa Kigan V as Otomi (Sosaku hanga Shunsen Nigao-e Shu: gosei, Ichikawa Kigan no Otomi), signed Shunsen with artist’s seal Shunsen and artist’s approval seal Natori on lower left, publisher’s seal Watanabe-ko (Watanabe Shozaburo) at lower right edge, from an edition limited to 150 impressions, 1927, dai oban tate-e 15 3/4 by 10 3/4 in. (40 by 27.2 cm)

A Private Collection of Shin-Hanga Kabuki Portraits – Part 2
Summer 2026
145 West 58th St, Suite 6D, NYC

Step into the captivating world of kabuki with Scholten Japanese Art’s Part 2 of their special online exhibition featuring thirty exceptional 20th-century actor prints from a distinguished private collection. Following the first installment, released in December 2025 and showcasing works from the 1920s through the early 1930s, this new presentation turns to the 1930s through the 1950s with masterful portraits by two of the genre’s foremost artists, Natori Shunsen and Ota Gako (Masamitsu). Together, these remarkable woodblock prints represent some of the finest examples of shin-hanga kabuki actor portraiture.

Explore this extraordinary online exhibition today and discover the artistry, drama, and enduring appeal of Japan’s iconic theatrical tradition.

To learn more and view the exhibition index, click here.

Nakatomi Hajime, FLY: Trio, 2024, madake bamboo, rattan, 23.75 x 25.00 x 15.25 in. Image by Minamoto Tadayuki

Nakatomi Hajime
Closing Saturday, July 25, 2026
1601 Paseo de Peralta, Sante Fe, NM

Don’t miss your final chance to see Nakatomi Hajime, the artist’s first solo exhibition in the United States, at TAI Modern before it closes on Saturday, July 25. Bringing together work from five series developed over more than two decades — Prism, Musubi, Auspicious 8, Frill, and FLY — work defined by a single animating question: what does it mean for something not to look like bamboo? Rather than emphasizing material qualities or classical techniques and forms, Nakatomi embraces this paradoxical inquiry. His aim is to express the beauty of bamboo through colors, shapes, sizes, and materials not typically found in bamboo art. The most recent works in the exhibition combine bamboo with other materials, such as gold.

“Many people who see my work murmur, ‘Is this really bamboo?’” Nakatomi has written. “That is because I create my pieces so that they do not look like bamboo. Yet, such small reactions cast a faint light on the path I am taking — they give me the conviction that a new form of bamboo art is being born here.”

Nakatomi came to bamboo art by way of an unlikely path. Raised in Osaka and educated at Waseda University in Tokyo, where he studied business and commerce, he had no prior relationship with art until an interest in ceramics led him to the university art club. A large photograph of Flame, a 1957 bamboo sculpture by master Shono Shounsai, encountered by chance at a Tokyo department store, set him on an entirely new course.

In the spring of 2000, Nakatomi entered the bamboo craft training center in Beppu, Kyushu, one of Japan’s foremost centers of bamboo production. After completing his training, he was introduced to Honda Syoryu, a celebrated bamboo sculptor. Nakatomi served as Honda’s assistant for three years, an experience he has described as transformative not for its technical instruction, but for the spiritual insight it offered into the nature of artistic creation.

Experience this landmark exhibition before it comes to a close!

To learn more and view the online catalog, click here.

Cabinet with design of Plants of the Four Seasons and Mount Fuji, 19th century, Artist/maker unknown, 1916-237

Japan at the World’s Fairs
Opens July 25, 2026
Main Building, Galleries 341-343

Opening soon at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Japan at the World’s Fairs offers a fascinating opportunity to explore how Japan presented its artistic and cultural identity to the world across more than a century of international exhibitions.

World’s fairs have been an important stage for Japan to present itself globally as a progressive nation at several turning points in its early modern and modern ages. Japan’s first official participation in a world’s fair at the 1867 Exposition Universelle in Paris took place the year before the dissolution of the country’s feudal system. At the subsequent 1873 Vienna, 1876 Philadelphia, 1893 Chicago, and 1904 St Louis expositions, Japan under the Meiji-government was one of the nations who showed the largest number of items. In the postwar era, Japan was the first Asian country to host a world’s fair in 1970. In 2025, Japan hosted the Expo 2025 in Osaka.

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial – and the inception of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Japanese collection – the installation Japan at the World’s Fairs features Japanese objects from the museum’s collection, including ceramics, lacquerware, metalwork, and sculpture. These items were either exhibited at one of the aforementioned world’s fairs or are close examples of items that were on exhibit. One section shows video footage of the Expo 2025 in Osaka, bringing the presentation into the 21st century. Curated by Xiaojin Wu, Luther W. Brady Curator of Japanese Art.

This remarkable exhibition should not be missed—plan a visit this summer to beat the heat and experience these extraordinary works, from historic world’s fairs to contemporary Osaka, at the Philadelphia Museum of Art!

To learn more, click here.

Vase, Chinese,15th century, Porcelain with celadon glaze, h. 23 in. (58.4 cm), diam. 10 3/4 in. (27.3 cm), San Antonio Museum of Art, purchased with funds provided by the Bessie Timon Asian Art Acquisition Endowment, 78.342.

Off the Wall Mini-Tour: Beyond K-Pop
Tuesday, July 28, 2026, 5:30-6:00pm
Great Hall
Free with Museum Admission

Think K-pop started with pop music? Think again! Join the San Antonio Museum of Art next Tuesday for a fascinating mini-tour exploring the centuries-old Asian artistic traditions that helped shape today’s Korean Wave. From fashion and cosmetics to dance and fandom, discover the rich cultural roots behind one of the world’s biggest global phenomena.

In order to permit participation in the evening’s K-Pop Dance Break, this Off the Wall tour is offered as a half-hour mini-tour.

To learn more, click here.

(Top): Water dropper in the shape of a rhinoceros (detail), Ming dynasty (1368–1644), 15th century. Copper alloy. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, The Vincent Astor Foundation Gift, 2015 (2015.294). (Bottom): Knotted dragon ring (detail), Eastern Zhou dynasty (770–256 BCE), 3rd century BCE. Jade (nephrite). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Ernest Erickson Foundation, 1985 (1985.214.99).

Explore two extraordinary new exhibitions at The Metropolitan Museum of Art that illuminate the beauty, craftsmanship, and cultural meaning of Chinese decorative arts. Featuring exceptional jades alongside masterworks in porcelain, lacquer, bamboo, silk, and metalwork the exhibitions offer fresh perspectives on a millennium of artistic achievement and collecting. Plan your visit today!

Decorative Arts in China, 1000 to the Present
July 25, 2026 – Ongoing

Uncover the overlooked essence of decorative arts in China. This exhibition highlights the superb aesthetic achievement and deep cultural significance of so-called “decorative arts.” Departing from the usual presentation style that focuses on the material or dates of objects, this cross-medium display explores evolving tastes across different social strata, reflects artistic virtuosity, and deepens our understanding of Chinese cultural traditions.

Decorative Arts in China, 1000 to the Present features over 100 works in a range of media—including porcelain, metalwork, lacquer, jade, bamboo, silk, and more, mainly from The Met collection. Objects span from ostentatious to restrained; some were royal commissions, others were made for domestic markets or for export. In almost all media, meticulous execution and creative design reveal an extraordinarily high level of artistic mastery. Not merely ornamental, objects feature forms and patterns that are endowed with rich cultural significance. Some convey religious or ritual meanings; others celebrate secular literary traditions. Through auspicious symbols, visual puns, or meaningful historical narratives, artists never ceased to explore creative forms of expression—even embedding their works with moral admonitions or subtle hints of humor. Through one thousand years, these marvelous works continue to challenge distinctions between the “decorative arts” and “fine arts” in China.

The exhibition is made possible by the Florence and Herbert Irving Fund for Asian Art.

To learn more, click here.

A Lasting Legacy: Chinese Jades from New York Collections
July 25, 2026 – Ongoing

Jade—primarily the mineral nephrite—has been revered in China for thousands of years both for its natural beauty and, especially, the human values associated with its physical properties. Its gentle color reflects benevolence, its soft luster suggests humility, and its extreme hardness and durability calls to mind integrity. Among American collectors, Heber R. Bishop was a pioneering and influential figure who became fascinated with Chinese jades in the late 19th century. His passion for jade inspired generations of collectors to assemble their own remarkable collections, of which many are represented in The Met’s holdings.

Featuring 50 objects from The Met collection displayed side by side with Bishop’s pieces, this exhibition explores the growing interest in jade throughout the 20th century and illustrates America’s evolving knowledge and understanding of Chinese gemstone art, its history, and its cultural significance. Among the highlights are ancient tools and ceremonial weapons, antique works crafted after historical ritual vessels and implements, decorative objects inspired by jades from Mughal India, and carvings of novel and innovative designs created in the 18th to 20th centuries.

The exhibition is made possible by the Florence and Herbert Irving Fund for Asian Art Exhibitions.

To learn more, click here.

Koji Hatakeyama (b. 1956), Bronze as Bronze II, 2025, patinated bronze, 12½ x 9 x 9 in. (32 x 22.5 x 22.5 cm)

Japanese Masterpieces 17th-21st Centuries
July 17 – August 31, 2026
8 East 67th Street, NYC

Thomsen Gallery is delighted to invite you to their summer exhibition Japanese Masterpieces 17th–21st Centuries, on view through August 31.

The exhibition spans four centuries of Japanese art, featuring an early 17th-century six-panel screen depicting scenes from life at the Chinese imperial court and a pair of screens from circa 1620 showing places along the Tokaido road. Later screens include a composition on gold-leaf of blooming cherry and maple from the early 1800s and screens by Sasaki Shunka and Fudo Ritsuzan from the 1930s.

At the heart of the show is a group of hanging scrolls by leading painters of the Taisho and early Showa eras, among them Yamamoto Shunkyo, Kikuchi Keigetsu, Ikeda Yoson, and Konoshima Okoku. This was a period in which artists working for the domestic market brought new naturalism and Western experimentation to traditional formats.

Alongside the paintings, the exhibition features ikebana bamboo baskets by masters including Tanabe Chikuunsai II and Hayakawa Shōkosai V, who was a Living National Treasure, as well as bronzes ranging from mid-century vessels by Hasuda Shūgorō and Yoneda Bisho to a 2025 work by contemporary artist Koji Hatakeyama.

They look forward to welcoming you soon!

To learn more, click here.

Installation view of Half Memory, Twice Remembered: Korean Artists from the Yale School of Art at Tina Kim Gallery, New York (July 9–24, 2026). Courtesy the artists and Tina Kim Gallery. Photo: Hyunjung Rhee.

Half Memory, Twice Remembered: Korean Artists from the Yale School of Art
Closing Friday, July 24, 2026
525 West 21st Street, NYC

There’s just one week left to catch Half Memory, Twice Remembered: Korean Artists from the Yale School of Art at Tina Kim Gallery before it closes Friday, July 24. Bringing together fourteen current students and recent alumni of the Yale School of Art, this vibrant group exhibition showcases the breadth of contemporary practice across painting, sculpture, installation, printmaking, and graphic design. Celebrating cultural ties, the exhibition offers a compelling glimpse into the next generation of artistic voices while reflecting Tina Kim Gallery’s longstanding commitment to supporting emerging artists from Korea and its diasporas.

The exhibition takes its title from a work by participating artist Su Ji Kim. Half Memory, Twice Remembered evokes the shifting, layered relationship between memory, language, and inheritance that quietly informs many of the practices on view. Moving between personal narrative and collective history, the works engage questions of identity, place, and belonging through both representation and material practice, tracing the ways cultural memory is carried, transformed, and reimagined across generations and geographies.

Participating artists include Claire Chey, Young Grace Cho, Yuna Cho, Grace Han, David Jung, Heejae Kim, Jeewon Kim, Namyoung Kim, Su Ji Kim, Haejin Park, Youngjin Park, Sok Song, Jam Yoo, and Allison Yoon.

Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to discover these rising talents before the exhibition comes to a close!

To learn more, click here.

Jarasandha’s Army Advances Toward Krishna and Balarama, from a Harivamsha (Genealogy of Vishnu). Attributed to Purkhu (act. ca. 1780–ca. 1820), Himachal Pradesh state, Kangra, 1810–15. National Museum of Asian Art Collection. Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection—funds provided by the Friends of the National Museum of Asian Art, S2018.1.17

Of the Hills: Pahari Paintings from India’s Himalayan Kingdoms
Closing Sunday, July 26, 2026 
1050 Independence Ave. SW Washington, DC

There’s still time to experience Of the Hills: Pahari Paintings from India’s Himalayan Kingdoms at the National Museum of Asian Art before it closes on July 26.

Rising from the plains of northern India, the Himalayas are a landscape of towering peaks, steep hills, and hidden valleys—an extraordinary region that inspired some of the world’s most captivating yet lesser-known works of art. This remarkable exhibition explores the beauty and history of Pahari paintings created for Hindu courts in India’s Himalayan kingdoms between the 1620s and 1830s.

Pahari artists worked in radically different styles ranging from lyrical and naturalistic to boldly colored and abstracted. Of the Hills: Pahari Paintings from India’s Himalayan Kingdoms illuminates new scholarship on the collaborative artist communities in which most painters worked. Learn about the political, cultural, and religious contexts of these forty-eight exquisite works, and look closely to enter a world of fine detail that delights and astounds.

Of the Hills celebrates the remarkable collection of Pahari paintings the museum acquired from renowned art historian Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Ralph Benkaim. Some of these artworks have never been exhibited publicly before. They have brought these rare pieces into conversation with their historic collections and paintings on loan from the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Of the Hills is accompanied by the major publication Pahari Paintings: Art and Stories and runs concurrently with Pahari exhibitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Cincinnati Art Museum.

To learn more, click here.

National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution. Photo by Jennifer Berry.

Make the most of your visit by joining one of the National Museum of Asian Art’s many free tours and programs happening throughout the summer. These engaging experiences offer fresh insights into the museum’s exceptional collections and provide the perfect way to further explore the stories behind the art.

To view the calendar, click here.

Zhang Huan 張洹, Foam, 1998. Princeton University Art Museum. Gift of Larry Warsh / Art Issue Editions. © Zhang Huan 張洹

What Photographs Look Like
Through December 5, 2026
Princeton University Campus

Discover photography in a whole new light at the Princeton University Art Museum’s newly opened exhibition, What Photographs Look Like. Challenging the notion of photographs as simply images, the exhibition reveals the medium as a rich, tactile art form, bringing together remarkable works that invite visitors to reconsider what a photograph can be—from cherished objects and experimental sculptures to unexpected works that continue to redefine the medium today.

Photographs today are often thought of as images, not objects—representations that circulate widely and effortlessly, appearing on our devices without clear origins or destinations. For much of the history of photography, however, photographs were physical objects meant to be held, treasured, traded, or displayed in albums.

The phrase “What Photographs Look Like” is borrowed from Peter Bunnell, who was hired by Princeton in 1972 as the first endowed professor of the history of photography in the United States, and who later served twice as director of the Museum. Bunnell used the phrase to upend his students’ expectations of photographs as strictly two-dimensional prints and to invite delight in the expansive nature of the medium, from photographic drawings to malleable photo-sculptures.

Photography continues to adapt and evolve today. The collections-based exhibition “What Photographs Look Like” underscores the medium’s enduring ability to surprise.

To learn more, click here.