Installation view of The Art of Chao Chung-Hsiang at Alisan Fine Arts, NYC

The Art of Chao Chung-Hsiang
Closing Saturday, October 17, 2026
120 East 65th Street, NYC

Discover the visionary art of Chao Chung-Hsiang before the exhibition closes Saturday, October 17 at Alisan Fine Arts! Celebrating a pioneering artist whose whose distinctive fusion of Chinese ink traditions and Western abstraction helped redefine the possibilities of contemporary Chinese painting. As Alisan Fine Arts celebrates 45 years of championing contemporary Chinese art in 2026, the exhibition honors Chao Chung-Hsiang’s enduring place in the gallery’s history, alongside fellow modern masters Zao Wou-ki, Chu Teh-chun, Walasse Ting, and Lui Shou-kwan, whose works have been integral to its program since its early years.

Chao studied under the renowned Lin Fengmian at the National College of Art in Hangzhou, graduating in 1939 before immigrating to Taiwan in 1948. His studies in Spain and experiences in Europe led him to New York in 1958, where he encountered the dynamic world of American Abstract Expressionism and other post-war art movements. His works explore themes of nature, spirituality, and abstraction, featuring flowers, fish, birds, and cosmic imagery.

This exhibition focuses on Chao’s black-and-white abstract ink paintings alongside his renowned “hybrid paintings” of birds and fish. The interplay of circles, squares, and geometric forms executed in bright acrylics atop traditional ink washes demonstrates Chao’s unique artistic approach, which incorporated abstract symbolism into ink wash painting. Chao’s integration of yin-yang symbols and references to Chinese philosophy enriches his work, embodying a hybrid quality and a conscious expansion to the traditional Chinese artistic language.

Visit Alisan Fine Arts to discover the work of this trailblazing artist before the exhibition closes!

To learn more, click here.

Installation view of Kaori Someya: The Light Within at Ippodo Gallery, NYC

Kaori Someya: The Light Within
Closing Saturday, October 17, 2026
35 N Moore Street, NYC

There’s still time to experience Kaori Someya: The Light Within, the Nihonga painter’s debut solo exhibition at Ippodo Gallery before it closes Saturday, October 17!

Someya’s paintings apply the thousand-year-old technique of urahaku, or the backing of transparent washi paper with gold and platinum leaf, instilling her paintings with an inner radiance. Someya uses the traditional medium of Nihonga as a way to explore the complex existence of women in contemporary Japanese society, depicting female figures in vibrantly patterned traditional kimono, their expressions caught between serenity and resignation. In doing so, Someya works to explore the tension women face between external societal pressures and the internal desire to preserve one’s beliefs and identity.

Someya’s themes of impermanence, memory, transformation, and the eternal shifting dance of light are expressed as changing seasons and unfixed shadows. Vibrantly patterned kimono tell hidden stories of the characters. Kimono patterns derived from her late mother’s handwork recur as depictions of “life backgrounds” — interior worlds made visible. Employing ijidōzuhō, the classical Japanese technique of rendering multiple moments within a single continuous scene, she imbues intense emotion—grief and renewal— into sweeping still images.

To learn more, click here.

Osumi Yukie 大角幸枝, Flower Vessel “Naruto (Whirlpool)”, 2024, gold and silver, 9 ½ × 12 ¾ × 11 ¼ in. (24 × 32.5 × 28.5 cm)

Across the Sea
October 15 – December 22, 2026
Opening Reception: Thursday October 15, 6-8pm (Remarks by Amy G. Poster at 6:30pm)
16 East 79th St., NYC

Since its founding in 2006, Onishi Gallery has played a leading role in introducing international audiences to KOGEI, a distinctive field of Japanese art celebrated for its exceptional craftsmanship, profound engagement with materials, and reimagining of centuries-old traditions through contemporary expression. Marking its 20th anniversary, the gallery is pleased to present Across the Sea, a major exhibition celebrating the enduring vitality and global relevance of KOGEI, opening October 15.

Bringing together ten of Japan’s most accomplished KOGEI practitioners, Across the Sea offers a compelling survey of contemporary practice across generations and disciplines. Through ceramics, metalwork, lacquer, and other media, the exhibition demonstrates how these artists build upon inherited techniques while pursuing highly individual creative visions. Their works reveal a dynamic field in constant dialogue with its past, challenging conventional boundaries between craft and fine art.

This anniversary exhibition reaffirms Onishi Gallery’s commitment to advancing the field internationally, inviting collectors, curators, scholars, and the wider public to discover how tradition continues to inspire new forms of artistic expression.

The gallery is delighted to welcome Amy Poster, Consulting Curator of Asian Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and former Chair and Curator Emerita of the Brooklyn Museum’s Department of Asian Art, who will offer opening remarks at the reception.

They look forward to welcoming you soon!

To learn more and view the works, click here,

The Rubin Museum Distinguished Lecture in Himalayan Art at The Met
Flowering Trees and Beauties in Nepalese Art with scholar Gautama V. Vajracharya
Online

If you couldn’t make it to this year’s Rubin Museum Distinguished Lecture in Himalayan Art at The Met, Flowering Trees and Beauties in Nepalese Art featuring scholar Gautama V. Vajracharya, you can now watch a recording of the event!

Discover what Dr. Vajracharya’s new research reveals about iconography in some depictions of the salanbhanjika—a beautiful young woman under a tree, present in both Buddhist and Hindu art—and how rediscovered Sanskrit sources challenged centuries of interpretation.

To learn more and watch the lecture, click here.

Standing Yogini (Khaḍesvarī), Central India, Raghogarh, c. 1690–1700, opaque pigments on paper, 25.2 × 18.2 cm (including border), inscribed on verso and with Bundi stamp

Observed & Imagined: Indian Painting 17th–19th Century
October 12 – November 16, 2026
No. 10 | 56 Holland Park (by appnt) & Online

Francesca Galloway is delighted to present Observed & Imagined: Indian Painting 17th–19th Century, a distinguished selection of Indian paintings available to view by appointment at their London gallery and online beginning October 12. Accompanied by a scholarly publication, the selection includes works on paper, several from a private English collection, researched and written by John Seyller and other scholars. Together, the works explore themes of devotion, kingship, and narrative, offering a rich perspective on the diverse traditions of Indian painting from the 17th to 19th centuries.

They invite you to discover these remarkable works soon!

To learn more, click here.

Photography by Timothy Schenck, courtesy of Friends of the High Line

There’s still plenty to discover at the Rubin Museum this fall, with upcoming programs and exhibitions not to be missed! Their free lecture and meditation series with the High Line concludes October 10 with Monuments of War, a lecture exploring contemporary approaches to memorialization. Meanwhile, Gateway to Himalayan Art continues its national tour, opening at the USC Pacific Asia Museum on October 17 and introducing audiences to the rich visual language and traditions of Himalayan, Tibetan, and Inner Asian art. Learn more below.

The Light That Shines Through the Universe: Lectures and Meditations
Saturday, October 10, 2026, 2:30–3:30pm
High Line at 30th Street and 10th Avenue, NYC

The Rubin’s free monthly lecture and guided meditation series, presented in partnership with the High Line, are wrapping up soon! The series is in support of Tuan Andrew Nguyen’s High Line Plinth artwork, The Light That Shines Through the Universe, located on the High Line at 30th Street and 10th Avenue.

The series wraps on Saturday, October 10, with Monuments of War, a lecture given by Nico Rodriguez, deputy director of Monuments Lab, exploring Nguyen’s work in a wider context of contemporary artists’ approaches to memorialization. A guided meditation led by Steve Clorfeine, a meditation teacher from the Shambhala tradition, will follow.

To learn more and register, click here.

Chakrasamvara with Consort Vajravarahi (detail); Kham region, eastern Tibet; 19th century; Pigments on cloth; 33 x 23 in.; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; Gift of the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation; F1997.7.2 (HAR 99)

Gateway to Himalayan Art
October 17, 2026 – January 10, 2027
USC Pacific Asia Museum
University of Southern California, Pasadena, CA

Their exhibition Gateway to Himalayan Art continues its national tour of university museums, opening at the USC Pacific Asia Museum on October 17!

The exhibition is part of the Museum’s educational initiative Project Himalayan Art which is designed to support the inclusion of Himalayan, Tibetan, and Inner Asian art and cultures in undergraduate teaching on Asia. Featuring up to 80 objects from the Rubin’s collection, the exhibition acquaints professors, students, and local visitors with the fundamental visual language and meanings of Himalayan art and offers tools to understand Buddhist concepts and artistic techniques.

The exhibition’s three areas of focus are Symbols and Meanings, Materials and Technologies, and Living Practices. Traditional scroll paintings (thangkas), sculptures in various media, and ritual items comprise the diverse range of objects on view. Among the featured installations are in-depth displays that explain the process of Nepalese lost-wax metal casting and the stages of Tibetan thangka painting. Multimedia features include videos of art making and religious and cultural practices, audio recordings of voices from Himalayan communities that highlight the living traditions, and much more on the integrated digital platform that offers rich contextual material to dive deeper.

To learn more, click here.

Sarah Sze, Images in Translation, 2019, installed at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York. Mixed media, wood, acrylic, video projectors, archival pigment prints, tripods, tape, and plants. Promised gift of Laurie and Bruce W. Benenson. © Sarah Sze

Sarah Sze: Images in Translation
October 9, 2026 – February 14, 2027
Gallery+Game of Telephone Performance: Thursday, Oct 29, 5:30-6:30pm
Gallery Talk: Wednesday, Nov 18, 12:30-1:30pm
1111 Chapel St, New Haven, CT

This fall, Yale University Art Gallery proudly presents Sarah Sze: Images in Translation, a focused exhibition highlighting the work of New York–based artist Sarah Sze (born 1969; B.A. 1991), featuring new paintings publicly displayed for the first time.

Sze has become widely known for works that challenge the static nature of painting and sculpture by blending these art forms while incorporating aspects of other media, particularly photography, printmaking, video, and installation. This exhibition brings together new paintings with an earlier, room-size sculpture to consider the points at which the two categories of Sze’s work diverge and converge. Both feature imagery drawn from popular and personal sources, including scenes from her own studio—one method among many that she uses to break down the hierarchies associated with artistic creation. Immersed in works that evoke the physical space and perspective of the artist, viewers are invited to see themselves as participants in the processes of image making, echoing their everyday experiences in today’s digitally overloaded environment.

Be sure to join the exciting programs taking place throughout the exhibition!

To learn more, click here.

From left to right: Kobayashi Minminsai IV, Charcoal Basket for Sencha Tea Ceremony, 1862 to 1878, 7.5 × 5.25 × 5.25 in., Kobayashi Minminsai V, Charcoal Basket for Tea Ceremony, 1878 to mid 1880s, 4.75 × 10.75 × 10.75 in., Kobayashi Minminsai II, Flower Vessel, 1791 to 1830, 8.25 × 7.5 × 7.5 in., Kobayashi Minminsai I, Ohanaike (Flower Vessel), 1770 to 1791, 14.75 × 8.75 × 7.5 in., Kobayashi Minminsai VI, Bamboo Basket, mid 1880s to late 1910s, 4.5 × 12.25 × 11.25 in., Kobayashi Minminsai III, Round Sweets Box for Tea Ceremony, 1830 to 1862, 4.5 × 11.5 × 10.25 in.

Sencha to Sculpture: The Evolution of Japanese Bamboo Art to the 1960s
Closing Saturday, October 10, 2026
1601 Paseo de Peralta Santa Fe, NM

There’s still time to catch Sencha to Sculpture: The Evolution of Japanese Bamboo Art to the 1960s at TAI Modern before it closes on Saturday, October 10. This first installment of a planned three-part series brings together nearly 50 bamboo works and introduces pieces from the Minminsai lineage, including a signed basket by Kobayashi Minminsai I (d. 1791). This basket predates the work of Hayakawa Shokosai I (1815-1897), who has long been credited as the first Japanese bamboo artist to sign his work, identifying Minminsai I, rather than Hayakawa, as the earliest confirmed signer in the history of the medium.

The origins of Japanese bamboo art are inseparable from the culture of tea ceremony. Bamboo flower baskets became more than functional vessels; they emerged as expressions of aesthetic philosophy, intellectual refinement, and spiritual contemplation. Imported Chinese baskets in particular were prized by tea practitioners. In the mid-Edo period, Japanese artists began to ask what a distinctly Japanese basket might look like. The exhibition opens with this question, following the earliest documented bamboo artist, Kobayashi Minminsai I, whose signed baskets marked a turning point: for the first time, a basket maker’s name, not anonymity, accompanied the piece. His work, together with that of successive generations of the Minminsai lineage, elucidates the close relationship between bamboo artistry and the flourishing tea culture.

The story continues through Osaka, the mercantile heart of Edo-period Japan and the epicenter of the sencha tea movement, where in the mid-1800s, in opposition to the prevailing taste for heavily lacquered and ornate Chinese baskets, the samurai-turned-artist Hayakawa Shokosai I developed a new unmistakably Japanese style of bamboo art. He pioneered new techniques of preparing and dyeing bamboo, invented new forms, and incorporated Japanese artistic concepts, such as rustic simplicity, understated grace, and sensitivity to the natural world. His work would go on to win awards at international expositions and enter foreign collections, early evidence of the medium’s global reach.

The exhibition demonstrates how successive generations pushed the medium further: the radical “ice-cracking” weave of Hayakawa Shokosai III (1864–1922) upended the very logic of woven form; Tanabe Chikuunsai I (1877-1937) and Maeda Chikubosai I (1872-1950) forged a distinctly Japanese literati aesthetic in Osaka; and Iizuka Rokansai (1890-1958) established Tokyo as a rival art center and drove the modernization of the art form. By the 1950s, artists such as Shono Shounsai (1904-1974) had begun to break the concept of the basket open entirely, abandoning functionality in pursuit of pure sculptural expression. This exhibition showcases the shift through basket-form work by Shounsai, alongside a transitional sculptural piece from the 1950s-60s by Ishikawa Shoun (1895-1973).

To learn more, click here.