Courtesy Japanese Art Society of America

Join the The Japanese Art Society of America next week for their upcoming sponsored events!  An Introduction to Bunraku: The Puppet Theater of Japan is a live Zoom webinar next Tuesday, Oct. 22nd  that will delve into the tradition and history of this multidimensional art form listed as a UNESCO Intangible Culture Heritage of Humanity. On Saturday, Oct. 26th, they will host a panel discussion and lunch at The Hammond Museum and Japanese Stroll Garden exploring their exhibit on contemporary prints from China, Korea and Japan. Learn more below and sign up today!

Zoom Webinar: An Introduction to Bunraku: The Puppet Theater of Japan
October 22, 2024 at 5pm

JASA is pleased to present the Zoom webinar, An Introduction to Bunraku: The Puppet Theater of Japan, with Claudia Orenstein, Professor of Theatre at Hunter College and the Graduate Center, CUNY. Bunraku, also known as ningyō jōruri, is a multidimensional art that marries exquisitely carved puppet figures, operated by teams of performers, with dramatic narration to shamisen accompaniment. Drawing from early ritual practices and the work of medieval itinerant bards in the Edo period, bunraku became a popular entertainment appealing to restless urban audiences with tales of love, war and personal sacrifice. Contributions of great dramatic writers like Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1724) and novelties in puppet construction not only supported the form’s past success, but have continued to make it a unique art form admired throughout the world.

Professor Orenstein will offer insights into various aspects of the tradition and the history and development of this art that is both an Important Intangible Cultural Property of Japan and listed as a UNESCO Intangible Culture Heritage of Humanity.

To learn more and register, check out their calendar of events here.

Luncheon Talk at The Hammond Museum and Japanese Stroll Garden
October 26, 2024 from 2-4pm
28 Deveau Road North Salem, NY
Fee: $30 includes buffet lunch

JASA is delighted to host an in-person visit and panel discussion for members at The Hammond Museum and Japanese Stroll Garden, where the exhibition Making a Good Impression: Contemporary Prints from China, Korea and Japan runs until November 17. This exhibition is co-curated by Elizabeth Hammer and JASA member Allison Tolman, who will be among the participants in the panel discussion.

The museum is accessible by car (parking is available) or MetroNorth train to Croton Falls and then Uber service to the museum. Attendees will be served a buffet lunch. Please note that the deadline to sign up is October 22nd.

To learn more and register, check out their calendar of events here.

Katsukawa Shunshō (1726–1792), Yoshiwara Courtesans at the Kyōen Restaurant, 1770s, hanging scroll, ink and color on silk, 23⅝ x 33¾ in. (60 x 85.7 cm), signed: Katsu Shunshō ga with kakihan

We are pleased to shine this week’s Gallery Spotlight on Sebastian Izzard LLC Asian Art, renowned for its exceptional Japanese and Korean art, catering to the discerning collector.

With more than forty years of experience as an auction-house specialist, appraiser, and dealer in Japanese and Korean art, Sebastian Izzard established his eponymous gallery in New York in 1998. His goal was to provide the personal expertise, dedicated attention, and insightful guidance that are especially valuable to discerning collectors worldwide. The gallery deals in all periods, from early to modern, with a primary focus on exceptional quality.

Izzard’s introduction to Japanese art began as a student in London, when a print by Utagawa Kunisada (1786–1865) in a shop window captured his attention. After graduating from the Chelsea School of Art in 1973, he chose Kunisada as the focus of his research, spending a year and a half in Japan, and earned his Ph.D. in 1980 from the School of Oriental and African Studies at London University.

Izzard has curated major exhibitions on Japanese art, including Kunisada’s World and Hiroshige, both accompanied by scholarly catalogues. His work on Kunisada’s World earned the Uchiyama Memorial Prize. He also co-curated the exhibition Designed for Pleasure: The World of Edo Japan in Prints and Paintings, 1680–1860 at the Asia Society, New York in 2008.

Over the years, the gallery has guided and assisted clients in building collections of prints, paintings, and other works of art. Whether you’re interested in buying or selling, exploring their exhibitions and catalogues, or seeking appraisal and consulting services, they warmly welcome your inquiries.

To learn more, click here.

Courtesy the Artist and The Korea Society

Artist Talk: Annette Hur Video Release
October 15, 2024
Online

The Korea Society is pleased to release an online Artist Talk with contemporary artist Annette Hur.

In the modern tradition of abstract art, artists look beyond what we physically see. Using color, shape, line, and texture, they express strong emotional content without constraints of representation. With her bold colors and brushstroke, Annette Hur deliberately positions her paintings in between abstraction and figuration, dealing with the conflicts of the real lived experience and how her body remembers and processes it.

“Anchoring to nothing, my ever-flowing identity as an immigrant female in the United States created the journey to investigate my self-perception, longing and belonging. The urge to release myself from the past traumas conflicts with the yearning for home and the loved ones who are no longer with me. This collision between reality, dreams, and desires resonates through layers of violent hues of colors and boundless yet determined brushstrokes. Water-in nature- as a universally symbolic capricious element, operates as a metaphor for perpetual journeys and reflecting the passing of time.”

To watch the video, click here.

Installation view, Transcultural Dialogues: The Journey of East Asian Art to the West, Fu Qiumeng Fine Art

Transcultural Dialogues: The Journey of East Asian Art to the West
Closing Saturday, Oct 19, 2024
65 East 80th St, NYC

This is the last week to experience Transcultural Dialogues: The Journey of East Asian Art to the West at Fu Qiumeng Fine Art!

The compelling group show explores the artistic evolution of East Asian traditions as they spread to the Western art milieu focusing on the exchange and interaction of visual language and conceptual frameworks between traditional ink art and modern American art.

Works by more than 15 artists are highlighted from classical and modern masters such as Bada Shanren (1626-1705), Qi Baishi (1864-1957) and C.C. Wang (1907-2003) to contemporary artists such as Brandon Sadler, Hayoon Jay Lee and Michael Cherney, whose artist language bridges the gap between tradition and the present offering reflections on identity, cultural exchange and the ongoing dialogue between East and West.

With a vibrant mix of traditional East Asian paintings alongside contemporary pieces that honor and expand upon east Asian traditions, Transcultural Dialogues is an art historical journey not to be missed! 

To learn more, click here.

Pair of Lokapala, Chinese, Tang Dynasty, 618–906, earthenware with sancai glaze. h. 52 3/4 in. (134 cm); w. 24 1/4 in. (61.6 cm); d. 13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm), San Antonio Museum of Art, gift of Lenora and Walter F. Brown: 2013.38.6-7

Off the Wall: Chinese Art Through the Ages
Tuesday, October 15, 5:30–6:30pm
Great Hall
Free with Museum admission; Members Free

Embark on a captivating journey through Chinese Art this week at the San Antonio Museum of Art!

From ancient Han artifacts to exquisite Ming and Qing porcelains, Docent Yaping Zhang will guide you through the splendor of Chinese art and culture across the ages.

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 SAMA’s most captivating artworks and hidden gems.

To learn more, click here.

Courtesy Dai Ichi Arts, Ltd.

SAYAKA + SAYAKA: Contemporary Ceramics by Shingu and Oishi Sayaka
October 17 – November 1, 2024
Opening reception with Artists: Thursday, Oct 17, 5-7pm

Dai Ichi Arts, Ltd. is delighted to present SAYAKA + SAYAKA: Contemporary Ceramics by Shingu and Oishi Sayaka, an exhibition where flora and fauna converge, giving rise to captivating contemporary ceramics. Through the work of two young women artists from a new generation of ceramics in Japan, this show expands the potential of “decoration” as a primary mode of artistic expression, as seen through the contemporary perspectives of Shingu Sayaka and Oishi Sayaka.

Shingu Sayaka’s work places a significant emphasis on the symbolism of flora and botanical forms, allowing her to explore profound Japanese themes of mutability and ephemerality through both sculptural and functional pieces. Her work showcases the intricate beauty of butterfly wings, feathers, petals, leaves and more. In this show, she introduces a new series of “Lotus” pieces, sculpting the iconic lotus flower and its leaves into sensitive and daring ceramic sculptures that remind us of nature’s fragility.

Oishi Sayaka crafts surreal compilations of fauna in her sculptural and functional creations. For this show, she has created work that showcases an exquisite array of fauna, including eagles, turtles, coral reefs, koi fish, deer, lions as well as her signature “Apple” forms that show an amalgam of her animated motifs. Through her work, she explores metaphysical themes: nature, human identity, time, and mortality converge through the mode of decoration.

Both artists from Kansai, who share the same given name and have become fast friends, have explored the tension between form, function, and surface to create new works in dialogue with one another.

They look forward to welcoming you to the opening reception, which will be attended by the two artists from Japan.

To learn more, click here and preview their online exhibition catalogue, click here.

Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, 1760–1849). Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa‑oki nami‑ura), also known as the Great Wave, from the series Thirty‑six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei), about 1830–1831, Tenpō Era (1830–1844). Woodblock print (nishiki‑e), ink and color on paper, 9 15/16 × 14 13/16 inches. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, William Sturgis Bigelow Collection. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Hokusai in America: The Formation of a Collection
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 6-7pm
Atkins Auditorium
Tickets: $12 Public | $10 Members

Accompanying their recently opened exhibition, Hokusai: Waves of Inspiration from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Nelson-Atkins is organizing a series of related programs, including an intriguing talk on how Hokusai’s Great Wave reached the shores of Boston and swept across America.

Join Dr. Sarah E. Thompson on October 17th as she introduces the eccentric art lovers who built the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’s monumental Japanese collection — the largest holdings of Japanese art outside of that country. Then, Yayoi Shinoda (Nelson-Atkins Assistant Curator of Japanese Art) joins Thompson to discuss the MFA Boston’s Japanese collection as a model for museums across America.

Thompson is Curator of Japanese Art at the MFA Boston where she has served since 2004. She has curated numerous exhibitions, including Hokusai: Waves of Inspiration from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, currently on view at the Nelson-Atkins through Jan. 5, 2025.

To learn more and reserve tickets, click here.

Installation view, Autumn Group Exhibition, HK Art & Antiques LLC

Autumn Group Exhibition
Closing Wednesday, October 16, 2024
By appointment

Be sure to visit HK Art & Antiques LLC before their Autumn Group Exhibition closes!

Featuring works by Yong-Ik Cho, Ouhi Cha, Sooyeon Hong, Myong Hi Kim, Su Kwak, Tchah Sub Kim, Elizabeth Keith, Geejo Lee, and Bohnchang Koo, this exhibit showcases some of the most dynamic contemporary Korean artists working today.

To learn more, click here.

Installation view, Thomsen Gallery, New York City

Offering important Japanese paintings and works of art to collectors and museums worldwide, Thomsen Gallery shines brightly in our Gallery Spotlight this week. Founded by Erik and Cornelia Thomsen, the esteemed gallery is located in a charming townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and specializes in Japanese screens and scrolls, early Japanese tea ceramics from the medieval through the Edo periods, masterpieces of ikebana bamboo baskets, and gold lacquer objects. It further specializes in post-war ink art and Gutai art as well as contemporary art by select artists, such as the internationally renowned Japanese ceramic artist Sueharu Fukami, the paper artist Kyoko Ibe, and the lacquer artist Yoshio Okada.

Thomsen Gallery not only presents captivating exhibitions in New York but also showcases its collections at prestigious international art fairs, including Frieze Masters London and Design Miami/Paris. If you’re in either city in the coming weeks, be sure to visit their stands—from October 9-13 in London for an exhibit of 20th century Japanese art, focusing on works from the Taisho-Showa eras (1910-1940), and from October 15-20 in Paris, where they will feature modern and contemporary Japanese art, highlighting bamboo baskets by 20th century master artists, gold lacquer boxes, contemporary ceramics, and Japanese folding screens.

To learn more about their participation in the art fairs, click here.