Courtesy Kapoor Galleries

MASTER BRUSHWORKS
Pema Rinzin x Kapoor Galleries
Opening Reception: Friday, July 5, 6-8:30pm (Kindly RSVP)
34 East 67th Street, 3rd Floor

Kapoor Galleries presents Master Brushworks, showcasing new and previously shown paintings by Brooklyn-based Tibetan artist Pema Rinzin. This will be Rinzin’s fourth solo exhibition in New York and his first with Kapoor Galleries, featuring twelve paintings rendered in ground mineral pigments, sumi ink, and gold.

Throughout a career spanning more than three decades traveling and living in India, Germany, and Japan, Rinzin—a master in the art of traditional Thangka painting—seeks to demonstrate the essence of Tibetan art through his striking contemporary practice. The artist was influenced by Chinese, Korean, and Japanese traditions of brushwork, especially the work of Hokusai, and believes that “master brushwork means you can see depth and color in the black and white of sumi-ink art. If you pay attention to the brushwork of Tibetan art, it is the same. Drawing and brushwork are the essence of Tibetan art.”

Be sure to RSVP here for the opening to view these fascinating paintings by Pema Rinzin.

To view the online exhibition catalog, click here.

Isaku Nakagawa (1899-2000), Cafe – A Cocktail Between Skyscrapers, 1933, woodblock print, 16 x 11.75 in (40.64 x 29.84 cm)

The Art of Japan is excited to share over fifty new acquisitions from their latest trip to Japan, including Yoshitoshi’s late masterpiece, Fujiwara Yasumasa Plays the Flute in Moonlight, 1883; an original Toraji Ishikawa watercolor painting, Bijin and Cat on a Rug, c. 1935; and one of their favorites seen here, a jazz age print for the summer season by a rare artist, Isaku Nakagawa.

To view these superb prints and more on their website, click here.

Nagakura Kenichi (1952-2018), Stardust, 2003, madake bamboo and mixed media, 17.5 x 19 x 16 in.

Nagakura Kenichi: A Retrospective
June 28 – July 20, 2024
Opening Reception: Friday, June 28 from 5-7pm
1601 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe, NM 87501

TAI Modern is honored to open the retrospective exhibit of acclaimed bamboo artist Nagakura Kenichi (1952-2018) this summer.

Nagakura visited Santa Fe every other year for nearly two decades, meeting art lovers and collectors at the openings for his nine solo shows at TAI Modern. He and his wife Kayoko made many friends in the process. His tenth solo show would have opened in the summer of 2018 if not for his untimely death that year. Since then, TAI Modern has looked forward to mounting a retrospective exhibition to honor Nagakura’s creative genius, and to also, in a sense, bring him back to his friends in Santa Fe. This June, they can finally give him his tenth solo exhibition.

Nagakura lived a life of profound experimentation, incorporating unconventional materials like bamboo roots, washi paper, and driftwood collected from local shores on daily walks, as well as inventing new techniques that evoked the patina and texture of centuries-old bamboo, bronze, rock, wood, cloth and natural phenomena like nests, webs, and cocoons. First and foremost, he was an artist, and it was through his connection to bamboo that he could express that creative drive.

Showing with TAI Modern since the very start of the gallery’s focus on Japanese bamboo in 1997, Nagakura was the first recipient of the Cotsen Bamboo Prize in 2000 and exhibited internationally throughout his career. This retrospective marks the first time that Nagakura’s paintings will be exhibited to the public.

To view the online exhibition catalog, click here.

To learn more about the exhibit, click here.

Koie Ryōji (1938-2020), (L) Oribe-glazed “collared,” slumped, columnar vase, 1998, glazed stoneware, 9 x 9 1/2 x 6 3/4 in; (R) Oribe-glazed “collared,” slumped, columnar vase, 1998, glazed stoneware, 7 3/4 x 9 1/4 x 6 1/2 in.

Hagi and Oribe: Redefining Tradition
June 26 – August 23, 2024

Joan B Mirviss LTD shines in this week’s Gallery Spotlight. With more than forty-five years of experience, Joan B. Mirviss is a pillar in the field of Japanese art. As a dealer, scholar, curator, and advisor, she has been the driving force championing the top Japanese clay artists, who she represents exclusively, and whose works she has placed in major museums around the globe. Widely published as a highly respected expert, Mirviss has built many institutional and private collections of Japanese art. Her namesake gallery exhibits modern and contemporary Japanese ceramics, ukiyo-e, and Japanese paintings from its exclusive Madison Avenue location in New York City.

This summer, the gallery is excited to present their new exhibition focusing on a small selection of recent and current masters of Hagi and Oribe wares, traditions that originated during the first golden age of Japanese ceramics, the Momoyama era (1573-1615).

Created in a small town on the Japan Sea in western Honshu, the monochromatic aesthetics of Hagi were derived from Korean traditions learned from potters brought to Japan. Oribe, on the other hand, is completely a Japanese invention that favored bright asymmetrical patterning and brilliant green coloring. It was developed in central Japan in the Mino region. The elegant simplicity of form coupled with the unctuous white Hagi glaze or the deep black or green vibrancy of Oribe have made these ceramic wares popular for use in tea ceremony for centuries. But it was not until after the Meiji restoration, in the late nineteenth century, that both Hagi and Oribe-glazed works were produced for and reached a broader audience in Japan and the newly opened international export market.

They invite you to visit this focused exhibition on view at their gallery throughout the summer!

To preview the works and read their online exhibition catalog, click here.

Courtesy China Institute

Shan Shui Reboot: Re-envisioning Landscape for a Changing World
Closing Ceremony
Thursday, June 27 from 7:30-10pm
Complimentary Entry

Join China Institute’s closing ceremony of Shan Shui Reboot: Re-envisioning Landscape for a Changing World with a panel discussion with artist Kelly Wang, as she discusses her inspiration, artistic process and deeper meanings behind her works showcased at the exhibition.

Following this insightful discussion, enjoy a captivating musical performance by the Summer Breeze Chinese Jazz Fusion Ensemble.

To RSVP, please contact Lorna Lim, Senior Manager of Special Events and Membership at [email protected]

To learn more, click here.

Courtesy Alisan Fine Arts

Themes and Variations
June 27 – August 23, 2024
Opening Reception: Thursday, June 27th from 6-8pm
Second Reception: Thursday, August 1st from 6-8pm

Alisan Fine Arts is pleased to present Themes and Variations featuring the work of 15 artists who explore the use of Chinese Ink within their practice. The exhibition includes work by Hung Fai, Hung Keung, Lee Chunyi, Lin Guocheng, Lok Yitong, Ren Light Pan, Tai Xiangzhou, Wesley Tongson, Wang Mengsha, Wang Tiande, Wai Pongyu, Wei Ligang, Zhang Xiaoli, Zhang Yirong, and Zheng Chongbin.

Divided into three themes: Signs and Symbols, Spiritual Landscapes and Poetry and Painting, this group show celebrates how each of these artists incorporates longstanding traditional subjects in Chinese art and push these concepts further in their own visual way.

Themes and Variations will be shown in two rotations, with the first on view from June 27th – July 31st, and the second from August 1st – 23rd. Alisan Fine Arts looks forward to welcoming you to their opening receptions on June 27th and August 1st, from 6-8pm.

To learn more, click here.

Courtesy Heritage Auctions 

Heritage Auctions Signature® Auction #8151
Japanese Woodblock Prints from The Nelkin Collection Part I
Viewing: June 24-26, 10am-5pm CT (by appointment only)
Live Auction: June 27 at 10am CT
2801 W. Airport Freeway
Dallas, TX 75261

Heritage Auctions are pleased to be entrusted with the estate of Ruth S. Nelkin, an esteemed collector of Japanese woodblock prints. Already this year, they presented various parts of Nelkin’s gracious collection in a handful of significant auctions and are excited to feature the upcoming sale, Japanese Woodblock Prints from The Nelkin Collection Part I Signature^® Auction, ending next Thursday, June 27th.  It features nearly 250 remarkable classic and modern Japanese prints by such masters of the form as Katsushika Hokusai, Takahashi Hiroaki, Yoshida Hiroshi and more.

“The Nelkins’ varied possessions had one common denominator: quality,” says Nick Dawes, Heritage’s Senior Vice President of Special Collections. “Ruth Nelkin sought and found items of the highest caliber in every category. Above all, however, was her passion for ukiyo-e, the Japanese art of woodblock printmaking. Ruth Nelkin safeguarded these treasures during her lifetime, and now other collectors will have the opportunity to benefit from her connoisseurship.”

During the week of July 29-August 2, other highlights from The Nelkin Collection will be exhibited at their newly expanded New York gallery. Stayed tuned for details about this special exhibition.

To view the lots, click here.

To read more about this remarkable collection, click here.

Courtesy Korean Cultural Center New York

Jinhee Lee: Boundaries of Existence
June 25 – August 17, 2024
Artist Talk: Tuesday, June 25th, 5-6pm 
Opening Reception: Tuesday, June 25th, 6-8pm
122 East 32nd St, 1st & 2nd Fl, NYC

The Korean Cultural Center New York is pleased to host the exhibition Boundaries of Existence by Jinhee Lee, professor in the Department of Stage Design at the Korea National University of Arts and award-winning costume designer of films and Korean dramas.

This exhibition focuses on Korean handicrafts and the colors of her sculptural works, combining various media to express depth and dynamism. It aims to highlight the boundaries that suppress taboos, norms, and nature in conventional society and to draw attention to segmented elements. The act of ‘crafting’ serves as a crucial expressive method embodying the artist’s philosophy, symbolizing the connection and healing of fragmented, broken, and damaged elements in sculptural forms.

Known as The Grand Master of K-DRAMA in Traditional Costume, Jinhee Lee has been creating costumes and sculptural works based on stage art. She is a highly acclaimed costume designer known for her work on numerous theater plays, movies, and Korean dramas such as “My Dearest,” “Love in Moonlight,” and “Sungkyunkwan Scandal.” She received the Best Costume Award for “Ansisung” at the prestigious Dae Jong Film Awards.

Join the Korean Cultural Center next week for a special talk with the artist followed by the exhibition opening reception.

To RSVP and learn more, click here.

Installation view, The Mountains Show and Hide: Color in the Landscape Paintings of Arnold Chang, Courtesy Fu Qiumeng Fine Art

The Mountains Show and Hide: Color in the Landscape Paintings of Arnold Chang
Closing Saturday, June 22, 2024
65 East 80th St, Ground Floor, NYC

There’s still time to view this first solo exhibition of Arnold Chang (張洪) in New York since 1996 at Fu Qiumeng Fine Art before it closes this Saturday.

While Chang in his fifty-year career as an artist has painted ink landscapes in the traditional Chinese literati manner, this exhibition, showcasing Chang’s landscape paintings of the past ten years, marks his newly developed approach of seamlessly integrating color into his personal vision of landscape. In contrast to most classical Chinese literati paintings, where color was often an afterthought that followed the forms realized through ink lines and washes, Chang treats ink lines and flat color washes as separate components.

The exhibition is curated by Joy Xiao Chen, Ph.D. candidate in Art History at the University of California, Los Angeles and the former Sylvan C. Coleman and Pam Coleman Memorial Fund Fellow in the Department of Asian Art from 2021 to 2023 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

To read the full exhibition essay and learn more, click here.