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Celebrating Asian Art   

ASIA WEEK

NEW YORK

Asian Art News

Japanese Art Society of America’s Asia Week Lecture

March 19, 2024
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Yamaoka Tesshu (1836–1888), Talismanic Dragon, Edo Period (1615-1867 A.D.), hanging scroll(s), ink on paper, 44.5 x 60.3 cm

When Zen Becomes Political: Zen and Soft/Hard Power
Lecture: Wednesday, March 20 from 5-6:30pm
Japan Society Auditorium

As part of Asia Week 2024, JASA is presenting a special lecture, When Zen Becomes Political: Zen and Soft/Hard Power, by Frank Feltens, curator of Japanese Art at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art.  Zen has been used to foster political agendas, as inspiration for activism, and as a way to go against common norms. This talk highlights distinctive moments and individuals that made Zen and its arts a part of the political discourse of their times. They showcase how Zen has been part of Japan’s hard and soft power for centuries and continued to be in the twentieth century.

The lecture will also will be webcast live via Zoom. Registration in advance is required.

Click here to attend the lecture in person. Click here to attend the lecture via Zoom.

Following the lecture, JASA will hold its annual meeting of members in the Japan Society auditorium. New and re-elected board members will be announced at the meeting along with other business matters.

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Day 5 – Asia Week New York March 2024

March 18, 2024
David Stanley Hewett Desire

David Stanley Hewett (b. 1967), Desire, 2023, Kanazawa gold leaf and acrylic on canvas, h. 25 5/8 x w. 25 5/8 in. (65 x 65 cm), Courtesy Onishi Gallery

Another week of Asia Week continues with 26 AWNY member exhibitions, the start of auction sales, a Christie’s tour, and online shows and sales!

24 gallery exhibitions are open today with 2 additional online only shows. Please note that some are by appointment only. Click on each dealer for hours and locations:

Ancient and/or Contemporary Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art

Ancient and/or Contemporary Chinese Art

Ancient and/or Contemporary Japanese Art

Ancient and Contemporary Korean Art

TODAY’S AUCTIONS

Bonhams

  • 9 AM: Passion and Philanthropy: Chinese Art from The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • 1 PM: Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Including Chinese Art from the Simone and Alan Hartman Collection Part II

Sotheby’s

  • 11 AM: The Virginia & Ravi Akhoury Collection
  • 11:30 AM: Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art

TODAY’S FEATURED EVENTS

Check out our Interactive Map in case you get lost!

And plan the rest of your eventful Asia Week with our handy Calendar of Events.

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Charles B. Wang Center’s Lecture and Reception for John W. Winkler: The Chinatown Etchings

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John W. Winkler, Busy Street in Chinatown (1915), etching, 6 x 7.5 in; Courtesy of the Rivolo Collection

During this Asia Week, Charles B. Wang Center will be celebrating their newly opened exhibition John W. Winkler: The Chinatown Etchings with an afternoon lecture and reception this Wednesday, March 20th.

John W. Winkler: The Chinatown Etchings
Through May 19, 2024
Charles B. Wang Center Skylight Gallery
Lecture by Dr. A. Rex Rivolo, Wednesday, March 20, 4-5pm (kindly register)
Opening Reception: Wednesday, March 20, 5-7pm (kindly RSVP)

John W. Winkler: The Chinatown Etchings explores forgotten scenes of San Francisco’s Chinatown from 1916 to 1923. Through John W. Winkler’s exceptional etchings, the exhibition unveils a crucial chapter in early Chinese immigration history in the United States.

Featuring 81 evocative etchings, the exhibition serves as a visual time capsule, capturing the essence of daily life in the heart of an early twentieth-century Chinatown. Winkler’s work, distinguished by its unparalleled quality, offers a unique lens to rediscover the narratives of this vibrant community during a pivotal immigration period. Winkler’s etchings transcend artistry, becoming historical documents that reveal the experiences, struggles, and resilience of those who called Chinatown home. The intricacy and depth of his lines convey not only artistic skill but also a profound connection to his subjects.

There will be a lecture by Dr. A. Rex Rivolo titled Capturing History: The Stories within John W. Winkler’s Chinatown Etchings right before the reception at 4pm on March 20th.

Curated by A. Rex Rivolo, director of Roving Sands Fine Arts, with all works on loan from the A. Rex Rivolo Collection and the Martin Levine Collection.

To register for the lecture and/or RSVP for the reception, click here.

 

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Day 4 – Asia Week New York March 2024

March 17, 2024
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Ōshita Sekkō (1874-1960), Tiered Accessory Box with Cormorant and Fish,1933, Japan, maki-e lacquer on wood with silver rims, 8¾ x 11¼ x 8¾ in. (22.5 x 28.5 x 22.5 cm), courtesy Thomsen Galleries

Asia Week continues this open house weekend with our AWNY member exhibitions, auction viewings, a Christie’s lecture, and online shows and sales!

24 gallery exhibitions are open today with 2 additional online only shows. Please note that some are by appointment only. Click on each dealer for hours and locations:

Ancient and/or Contemporary Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art

Ancient and/or Contemporary Chinese Art

Ancient and/or Contemporary Japanese Art

Ancient and Contemporary Korean Art

TODAY’S FEATURED EVENTS

Be sure to check out our Interactive Map in case you get lost!

And plan the rest of your eventful Asia Week with our handy Calendar of Events.

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The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Current Asian Art Exhibitions

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Artist/maker Unknown, Simurgh Attacking a Gaja-Simha Carrying Elephants, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, Mawar Region, India, Asia, early 19th century, opaque watercolor and gold on paper, 12 5/8 x 9 in. (32.1 x 22.9 cm)

If you’re looking for more fascinating Asian Art exhibits nearby, head over to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for their many shows on Japanese, Indian, Islamic and Chinese art! Below is one highlighted exhibition to encounter.

Mythical Creatures: China and the World
Through June 1, 2025
Main Building-Galleries 321, 326 & 339

Mythical creatures fascinate and capture the imagination of people across the globe. Whether benevolent or fearsome, they serve an important purpose – to help humans make sense of the world. This exhibition explores the theme of diversity by bringing together mythical creatures from China as well as across Asia and Europe. Representations of paintings, prints, sculptures, ceramics, textiles, and contemporary toy bricks, dating from the 1000s to today illustrate how these fantastical beasts, although sometimes perceived as the same, are quite different. Among the contemporary works are those by artists Xu Bing and Ai Weiwei inspired by ancient myths and legends that continue to shape the way we think about our lives today.

To learn more, click here.

To learn about other exhibitions on view, click here.

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Day 3 – Asia Week New York March 2024

March 16, 2024
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Large Blue and White Jar with Tigers, Horses, Birds and Deer, Le-So Dynasties, 15th-16th c., Vietnam, height: 44.5 cm, courtesy Zetterquist Galleries

Asia Week continues this weekend with all 28 AWNY member exhibitions, auction viewings, a Christie’s tour, three Sotheby’s lectures, and online shows and sales!

26 gallery exhibitions are open today with 2 additional online only shows:

Ancient and/or Contemporary Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art

Ancient and/or Contemporary Chinese Art

Ancient and/or Contemporary Japanese Art

Ancient and Contemporary Korean Art

TODAY’S FEATURED EVENTS

Be sure to check out our Interactive Map in case you get lost!

And plan the rest of your eventful Asia Week with our handy Calendar of Events.

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Brooklyn Museum Spotlight: Porcelains in the Mist: The Kondō Family of Ceramicists

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Kondō Takahiro (Japanese, born 1958), Reflection: TK Self Portrait, 2010, glazed porcelain, 19 1/16 × 6 3/16 in. (48.5 × 15.7 cm); Carol and Jeffrey Horvitz Collection, © Kondō Takahiro, (Photo: Richard P. Goodbody and John Morgan)

During this Asia Week, be sure to visit the Brooklyn Museum’s spotlight exhibit, Porcelains in the Mist: The Kondō Family of Ceramicists. You may also view more of Kondō Takahiro’s work at Joan B Mirviss LTD in their current group show,  Eternal Partnership: Japanese Ceramics in Blue & White.

Brooklyn Museum
Museum Spotlight: Porcelains in the Mist: The Kondō Family of Ceramicists
December 8, 2023 – December 8, 2024
Arts of Japan, 2nd Floor

This porcelain head, a self-portrait, is glazed in shades of blue and covered with metallic droplets called “silver mist,” or gintekisai. The term, like the secret technique that produces the effect, was invented by ceramicist Kondō Takahiro (born 1958). Based in Kyoto, Japan, he carries on a legacy of innovation in ceramic art. For the last one hundred years, Kondō Takahiro and his father Kondō Hiroshi (1936–2012), grandfather Kondō Yūzō (1902–1985), and uncle Kondō Yutaka (1932–1983) have broken free of centuries-old traditions to pursue original, individual expression.

Porcelains in the Mist brings together sixty-one pieces that celebrate the Kondō family’s innovations and talents. Their early creations range from freehand-painted vases to pure-white jars. Most of the works on view are by Takahiro, who often pairs his “mist,” which he describes as “water born from fire,” with dramatic shapes and textures. Several of these powerful porcelains reflect his personal responses to monumental events, particularly the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan.

To learn more, click here.

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Day 2 – Asia Week New York March 2024

March 15, 2024
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Kaparamip (thin robe), Ainu People, Hokkaido, Japan, late 19th-early 20th c., cotton; appliqué, embroidery, 51 x 46 in (129.5 x 117 cm), Courtesy Thomas Murray

Asia Week continues with a wide selection of exhibitions, auction viewings, lectures and online shows and sales!

25 gallery exhibitions are open today with 2 additional online only shows:

TODAY’S FEATURED EVENTS

TONIGHT’S EVENING RECEPTIONS
(organized by event opening and duration)

Be sure to check out our Interactive Map in case you get lost!

And plan the rest of your eventful Asia Week with our handy Calendar of Events.

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Yale University Art Museum’s New Exhibit Year of the Dragon

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Attributed to Kaihō Yūshō, Pair of Screens with Dragons and Waves, Japan, Momoyama period (1573–1615), ca. 1600–1615., ink on paper; Yale University Art Gallery, Gift of Rosemarie and Leighton R. Longhi, B.A. 1967

Year of the Dragon
March 15 – November 10, 2024

Related Gallery Talk:
Dragon, God of Water: Screens in Ink on Washi Paper
April 24, 2024, 12:30–1:30pm

Yale University Art Museum celebrates 2024, the Year of the Dragon, with a presentation of nearly 30 artworks spanning from the 17th century to the present day. In the West, the dragon has historically been characterized as an evil creature, flying through the air while breathing fire from its mouth, but in the East, the dragon is believed to possess power in the celestial realm and to pour out blessings in the form of rainwater over swirling wind. The dragon also has a place in the Eastern zodiac calendar—alongside 11 other animals, such as the rabbit, snake, and tiger—in which each year is associated with an animal and its reputed attributes. The objects on view, which are largely drawn from the collection of the Yale University Art Gallery, feature dragons on folding screens, other paintings, textiles, ceramics, ivory, and woodblock prints. Taking inspiration from East Asian history, folklore, and myth, these works demonstrate a long, complex, and continuing artistic tradition around this fantastical creature.

There will also be a gallery talk held on April 24th by the curator of the exhibit, Sadaki Ohki who will examine two works in the show –  Pair of Screens with Dragons and Waves, attributed to the Japanese artist Kaihō Yūshō (1533–1615) and Civilization Landscape No. 073 by the Chinese artist Qin Feng (b. 1961). Though the two works were made centuries apart, they share a common medium: ink on washi paper. This object-based discussion will explore how artists engage with the dragon’s celebrated role as the god of water as well as how this theme takes on a sorrowful quality with regard to today’s environmental crisis.  Space is limited. Meet at Public Programs sign in Gallery lobby.

To learn more, click here.

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Asia Week New York March 2024 Kicks Off with a Roar!

March 14, 2024
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Ken Matsubara (b. 1948), “SEIRYŪ” AZURE DRAGON 青龍, 2023, h20 1/2 x w20 1/2 x d1 5/8 in. (h52 x w52 x d4 cm), Courtesy Ippodo Gallery

Asia Week New York 2024 launches today with 28 top Asian art galleries, along with 6 auction houses, participating in our 15th season of Asia Week in person and online. The festivities begin today and continue through March 22nd!

GALLERY EXHIBITIONS
21 gallery exhibitions are open today, with 2 additional online only shows:

TODAY’S FEATURED EVENTS

TONIGHT’S EVENING RECEPTIONS (organized by event opening and duration)

Be sure to check out our Interactive Map in case you get lost!

And plan the rest of your eventful Asia Week with our handy Calendar of Events.

 

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