Installation view of Recasting the Past: The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100–1900 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
In addition to all the extraordinary dealer shows and auction house viewings, start planning your Asia Week New York schedule with this highlighted list of Asian art museum exhibitions on view in New York City and surrounding areas. Many will have opening receptions or related programs that are also listed in our Online Calendar here.
ASIA SOCIETY MUSEUM
Folio from a Bhagavata Purana Manuscript: Battle Between Krishna and the Fire-Headed Demon Mura (detail), about 1500-1540, India, Rajasthan or Uttar Pradesh, (Re)Generations: Rina Banerjee, Byron Kim, and Howardena Pindell amid the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, Courtesy Asia Society
(Re)Generations: Rina Banerjee, Byron Kim, and Howardena Pindell amid the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection
March 4 – August 10, 2025
This exhibition reintroduces key works in Asia Society Museum’s Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection of pre-modern Asian art through the lenses of three leading contemporary artists: Rina Banerjee, Byron Kim, and Howardena Pindell. Each artist has selected a number of works in the collection within which to situate their own new and existing works, creating dialogues that offer new insights and entry points into the collection.
Imperial Treasures: Chinese Ceramics of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties from the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection
February 18 – August 10, 2025
Known for exquisite porcelain production and trade, the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) represents a period of Chinese imperial rule between the fall of the Mongol Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) and the rise of the Manchu Qing dynasty (1644–1911). The approximately 20 works selected for this exhibition demonstrate how early Ming ceramics inherited the rich and culturally diverse legacy of the Mongol rulers by adopting foreign influences through vibrant trade with the Islamic and Central Asian worlds and combining them with indigenous Chinese traditions.
Yang Fudong: Seven Intellectuals in a Bamboo Forest
February 18 – August 10, 2025
Yang Fudong’s five-part moving image work, Seven Intellectuals in a Bamboo Forest, follows seven young men and women as they search for identity and an ideal life, reflecting China’s evolving urban, ideological, and economic landscape. Created sequentially from 2003, Yang spent a year on each part, originally filming in 35mm before transferring to DVD. Varying in length, the film runs a total of about four hours. Though it lacks a clear narrative, the film poses questions about the dissonance between men and women, individuals and society, the past and present, and reality and an ideal world. Premiering at the 2007 Venice Biennale, it received widespread acclaim.
Hiraki Sawa: Journeys in Place
March 4 – August 10, 2025
Japanese-born and London-based Hiraki Sawa creates video works that explore psychological landscapes, unexpected worlds, and the playful interweaving of domestic and imaginary spaces. Asia Society invited Sawa to frame his video trail (2005), held in the museum’s collection, with a selection of works from the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, echoing the approach of the exhibition (Re)Generations in the museum’s 2nd- and 3rd-floor galleries.
BROOKLYN MUSEUM
Unknown maker, Tea Caddy, ca. 1698, glazed earthenware, Brooklyn Museum, purchased with funds given by anonymous donors, 64.3.4a-b; Courtesy Brooklyn Museum
Breaking the Mold: Brooklyn Museum at 200
February 28, 2025 – February 22, 2026
From groundbreaking early acquisitions to striking new additions, the Brooklyn Museum’s collection has always championed artists and artworks that catalyze imaginative storytelling and brave conversations. As they ring in their 200th anniversary, Breaking the Mold: Brooklyn Museum at 200 celebrates this unique legacy. Comprising three chapters that boast both longtime favorites and brand-new standouts, the exhibition brings fresh narratives to the fore while exploring the collection’s rich history and future evolution.
Solid Gold
November 16, 2024 – July 6, 2025
Behold the majesty of gold in a shimmering exhibition dedicated to the element that has inspired countless works of art, fashion, film, music, and design. As a material and a color, gold has symbolized beauty, honor, joy, ritual, spirituality, success, and wealth throughout history. It has also taken on myriad forms: from intricate Japanese screens to contemporary artwork and haute couture marvels. With a sweeping range of objects and a global perspective, this exhibition will trace the many odysseys of the metal that has influenced cultures and legacies worldwide.
CHINA INSTITUTE GALLERY
Celestial horse. Han dynasty, 1st-2nd century CE. Bronze, 44 7/8 x 34 1/2 x 14 1/2 in. (113.98 x 87.63 x 36.83 cm); Courtesy China Institute of America
Eternal Offerings: Chinese Ritual Bronzes from the Minneapolis Institute of Art
March 6 – July 13, 2025
Eternal Offerings: Chinese Ritual Bronzes from the Minneapolis Institute of Art showcases one of the world’s greatest collections of ancient Chinese bronzes outside of China from a crucial period in the history of human civilization. Traveling from the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the extraordinary Bronze Age vessels for food and wine as well as imaginative animal sculptures, are on view for the first time in New York City. Be sure to visit during their Asia Week Open House on Friday, March 14 for free admission.
JAPAN SOCIETY GALLERY
School of Kano Motonobu, Phoenix and Peacock in a Landscape, Muromachi period (1392-1573), 16th century. Right screen from a pair of six-panel screens; ink, color, and brushed gold on paper. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Promised Gift of Rosemarie Longhi, in memory of Leighton Longhi, Courtesy Japan Society Gallery
Kotobuki: Auspicious Celebrations of Japanese Art from New York Private Collections
March 13 – May 11, 2025
Explore the auspicious theme of kotobuki, or “celebration,” through an inspired selection of paintings, calligraphy, surimono, textiles, ceramics, and baskets dating from the 12th-21st centuries. Curated by Dr. Miyeko Murase, Takeo and Itsuko Atsumi Professor Emerita of Japanese Art History at Columbia University, this joyful exhibition offers a unique opportunity to view important but rarely displayed works from significant private collections in the New York City area. They will also host JASA Members’ 2025 Annual Meeting and the special lecture, Birds, Diplomacy, and Painting in 16th-century Japan, on Friday, March 14.
THE KOREA SOCIETY
Image courtesy of Cho In Ho and Korea Cultural Center New York
Cho In Ho | In the Manner of Magnificence
January 23 – April 18, 2025
Firmly rooted in the tradition of ink painting, Cho In Ho reinterprets and reiterates the landscape from multiple and moving perspectives. Painting the recognizable locations in present-day Korea using only muk (black ink), Cho reconstructs and transforms what he learned from nature, offering a visual journey through space and time. Be sure to also join their talk on the history of ink painting in Korea on Tuesday, March 18.
KOREA GALLERY AT KCCNY
Choong Sup Lim: (b.1941), Hangeul, 2020, Courtesy Korean Cultural Center NY
Choong Sup Lim: In Between
February 19 – April 12, 2025
The Korean Cultural Center New York is proud to present 사 잇 In Between, an exhibition celebrating the profound artistic legacy of Choong Sup Lim (b. 1941). Lim’s work transcends the boundaries of nature and civilization, tradition and modernity, Korea and New York, illuminating the transformative potential of the liminal spaces where these realms converge. Central to Lim’s work is the use of found objects, which serve as vessels of memory and time. His recent installations, marked by intricate craftsmanship, merge Korean sensibilities with contemporary relevance, offering a profound meditation on cultural duality and artistic reinvention.
THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
Incense burner in the shape of a goose, Ming dynasty (1368–1644), copper alloy, H. 14 1/2 in. (36.8 cm); W. 18 3/4 in. (47 6 cm); Purchase, The Vincent Astor Foundation Gift, 2020, object No. 2020.335a, b; Courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art
In addition to their many Asian art exhibitions on view, join their Annual Distinguished Lecture on the Arts of South and Southeast Asia on Friday, March 14.
Recasting the Past: The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100–1900
February 28 – September 28, 2025
From important bronzes to a complementary selection of works including painting, calligraphy, ceramics, lacquers, and jades, the exhibition draws on an international array of loans to redress the previous misunderstanding of later Chinese bronzes. Some 100 pieces from The Met collection is augmented by nearly 100 loans from major institutions in China, Japan, Korea, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States to present the most comprehensive narrative of the ongoing importance of bronzes as an art medium throughout China’s long history.
Samurai Splendor: Sword Fittings from Edo Japan
Through March 23, 2025
This installation explores the luxurious aspects of Edo-period sword fashion, a fascinating form of arms and armor rarely featured in exhibitions outside Japan. It presents a selection of exquisite sword mountings, fittings, and related objects, including maker’s sketchbooks—all drawn from The Met collection and many rarely or never exhibited before.
The Great Hall Commission: Tong Yang-Tze, Dialogue
Through April 8, 2025
For the 2024 Great Hall Commission, we were thrilled to invite Taiwanese artist Tong Yang-Tze to create two monumental Chinese calligraphy works for the Museum’s historic space. Tong is one of the most celebrated figures in contemporary Chinese calligraphy. Renowned for her monumental-scale works, she brings Chinese characters into dialogue with three-dimensional space, pushing the conceptual and compositional boundaries of the art form while staying true to calligraphy’s essence as the art of writing.
Ink and Ivory: Indian Drawings and Photographs Selected with James Ivory
Through May 4, 2025
This focused exhibition presents a selection of superlative drawings from the courts and centers of India and Pakistan (with a few related Persian works) dating from the late sixteenth to the twentieth century. These works are mainly selected from The Met collection in partnership with film director James Ivory, whose recent gift to the Museum of nineteenth-century photograph albums will also be featured in an upcoming exhibition.
Ganesha: Lord of New Beginnings
Through June 15, 2025
Ganesha, the son of Shiva and Parvati, is a Brahmanical (Hindu) diety known to clear a path to the gods and remove obstacles in everyday life. The 7th to 21st century works in this exhibition trace his depiction across the Indian subcontinent, the Himalayas, and Southeast Asia. Featuring 24 works across sculptures, paintings, musical instruments, ritual implements, and photography, the exhibition emphasizes the vitality and exuberance of Ganesha as the bringer of new beginnings.
The Three Perfections: Japanese Poetry, Calligraphy, and Painting from the Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection
Through August 3, 2025
This exhibition presents over 160 rare and precious works—all created in Japan over the course of nearly a millennium—that showcase the power and complexity of the three forms of art. Examples include folding screens with poems brushed on sumptuous decorated papers, dynamic calligraphy by Zen monks of medieval Kyoto, ceramics used for tea gatherings, and much more. The majority of the works are among the more than 250 examples of Japanese painting and calligraphy donated or promised to The Met by Mary and Cheney Cowles, whose collection is one of the finest and most comprehensive assemblages of Japanese art outside Japan.
A Passion for Jade: The Bishop Collection
Through January 4, 2026
More than a hundred remarkable objects from the Heber Bishop collection, including carvings of jade, the most esteemed stone in China, and many other hardstones, are on view in this focused presentation. Also on view are a set of Chinese stone-working tools and illustrations of jade workshops, which introduces the traditional method of working jade.
Embracing Color: Enamel in Chinese Decorative Arts, 1300-1900
Through January 4, 2026
Enamel decoration is a significant element of Chinese decorative arts that has long been overlooked. This exhibition reveals the aesthetic, technical, and cultural achievement of Chinese enamel wares by demonstrating the transformative role of enamel during the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties. The more than 100 objects on view are drawn mainly from The Met collection.
Celebrating the Year of the Snake
Through February 10, 2026
Celebrating the Year of the Snake presents a remarkable selection of works drawn from the Museum’s collection illustrating the significant role that the snake plays in Chinese culture, including a 3,000-year-old bronze ritual vessel with a spout formed by joined snakes’ heads, a 13th-century pottery figure of a mischievously smiling snake, and an 18th-century exquisitely painted porcelain cup portraying a scene from the “Legend of the White Snake,” a popular folktale of love and romance between humans and fantastic creatures.
Colorful Korea: The Lea R. Sneider Collection
Through February 16, 2026
Over the course of forty years, Lea R. Sneider (1925–2020) formed a significant collection of Korean art that challenged established norms. This exhibition features a substantial gift and loans from the Lea R. Sneider Collection, featuring approximately 100 works spanning the fifth century to the present. Through paintings, ceramics, furniture, textiles, and funerary and ritual objects, the exhibition explores the enduring presence of auspicious symbolism and the understated dynamism that define Korean art.
CHARLES B. WANG CENTER AT STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY
Sunkoo Yuh, Can you hear me?, 2007, glazed porcelain, 27 x 22, 17 in., Courtesy Charles B. Wang Center
Cycles of Clay: The Ceramic Narratives of Sunkoo Yuh
March 7 – May 24, 2025
Cycles of Clay explores the profound creativity of Sunkoo Yuh, an artist who navigates the intersections of cultural heritage and contemporary expression. Yuh’s ceramic sculptures combine bold colors, evocative imagery, and intricate figures layered vertically to evoke histories and community connection. Through experimental glazing and unpredictable firing techniques, Yuh captures the tension between order and chaos to create visually compelling sculptures that explore life’s beauty, fragility, and complexity.
PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART
Jar with a Mythical Qilin, Lion, and Elephant, Artist/maker unknown. Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, China, Asian. Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Porcelain with underglaze blue, polychrome enamel, and gilt decoration (Jingdezhen ware). 22 1/8 x 12 3/8 inches (56.2 x 31.4 cm); Courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art
Mythical Creatures: China and the World
Through June 1, 2025
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.
Naoto Fukasawa: Things in Themselves
Through April 20, 2025
With an approach to functional design that prioritizes ease of use, aesthetic simplicity, and close attention to the ways that mundane objects and environments record our everyday habits, Tokyo-based product designer Naoto Fukasawa, best-known for his prior work as design director of MUJI, has been a hugely influential force in design for more than two decades. This exhibit offers a rare opportunity to explore Fukasawa’s design ethos and creative process, marking the first major solo presentation of Fukasawa’s work at a U.S. museum.
Firing the Imagination: Japanese Influence on French Ceramics, 1860-1910
Through May 26, 2025
This exhibition brings together notable examples of French ceramics that demonstrate tremendous innovation in the field of artistic pottery from the 1860s to 1910s. European artists during this period were deeply influenced by Japanese art, including woodblock prints, ceramics, textiles, and lacquerwares, which poured into Europe following the forced reopening of Japan’s ports to foreign trade in the 1850s.
Mythical, Divine, Demonic: Animal Imagery in South Asian Art
Ongoing
This exhibition explores how single animals are interpreted in myriad ways across various regions and cultures with different representations serving an array of artistic and symbolic functions. Works in the exhibition are clustered into four groups that broadly focus on the lion, the serpent, the man-eagle, and composite beings who are a mixture of animals or part human and part animal. Through examining these objects, audiences will gain a deeper understanding of how animals play a complex role in world cultures.
Collecting Japanese Art in Philadelphia
Ongoing
The 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia was the first world’s fair held in the United States and also the beginning of Japanese art collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Over nearly 150 years that followed, the museum’s Japanese art collection expanded and diversified. The selection in this installation—ranging from ceramics, metalwork, painting, lacquerware, to contemporary bamboo art—showcase the breadth of Japanese art, and also spotlight the people—collectors, donors, curators—who were instrumental in shaping the collection.
