Chen Duxi, Comtemplate 持颐 #70, 2023, Mineral pigment on silk, Framed, 9 7/8 x 26 3/8 in.

A Hint of Coolness
May 26 – September 2, 2023
at Fu Qiumeng Fine Art

Lance Letscher, Parrots under the bridge, 2023, collage, 20.00 x 17.00 in.

Figure 8: New Works by Lance Letscher
May 26 – June 24, 2023
at TAI Modern

The group exhibition at Fu Qiumeng Fine Art, “A Hint of Coolness,” draws inspiration from a recurring theme in traditional Chinese poetry that celebrates the pleasure of experiencing coolness during the scorching summer months.

The show features a carefully selected array of works by celebrated artists such as Arnold Chang, Michael Cherney, Chen Duxi, Fung Ming Chip, Tai Xiangzhou, Tang Ke, C.C.Wang, Wang Mansheng, Yau Wing Fung, and Zhang Xiaoli.

The exhibition will be divided into two parts, with the first running from May 26th to July 9th, and the second from July 11th to September 2nd.

Opening reception: Friday, May 26, 6-8pm

“Figure 8: New Works by Lance Letscher” at TAI Modern in Santa Fe from May 26, 2023–June 24, 2023, is a solo exhibition by renowned collage artist, Lance Letscher.

Letscher’s world is one filled with color and detail, allowing the viewer to enter a piece and stay a while. As Erin Keever, writer from Austin, Texas, notes, “These collages demand intense and prolonged looking.”

Inspired by Elliot Smith’s album of the same name, Figure 8 showcases the dense overlapping compositions and the witty and poetic juxtaposition of images that has become a signature in Letscher’s work.

The pieces in Figure 8 explore the artist’s ongoing interest in texture, color, and composition through ornithological and environmental imagery, inspired by a trip to the Texas coast. In discussing his recent work, Letscher said, “I’ve really tried to knuckle down and make the cutting more expressive and more intricate.”

Opening reception: Friday, May 26, 2023, 5-7pm.

In 2017, Letscher was the subject of an illuminating documentary chronicling his life and studio practice called “The Secret Life of Lance Letscher,” directed by Sandra Adair. TAI Modern will host a free screening of this documentary at the Violet Crown Santa Fe, on Thursday, May 25, 6 – 7:30pm, and will be followed by a Q&A with both Adair and Letscher.

Kaori Teraoka, b. 1995, [Rhythm 4/3 – 4/6], 2023, Mashi Hemp Paper, Dyed Mud Pigment, Natural Mineral Pigment, H23 7/8 x W35 7/8 x D1 1/8 in, H60.6 x W91 x D3 cm, Copyright The Artist, Courtesy of Ippodo Gallery

Saturday, May 20, 2023

Join ARTnews and Madison Avenue’s galleries for the Madison Avenue Spring Gallery Walk. This free event invites the public to visit participating galleries, view their spring exhibitions and attend expert talks led by artists and curators on Madison Avenue & side streets from East 57 to East 86 St.

For more information and to book talks, click here.

Scheduled Gallery Talks are quite popular and are often booked to capacity. Reservations are not required for visits to participating galleries during times when they are not hosting scheduled gallery talks.

Ippodo Gallery, 32 East 67th Street, 10am-6pm
“Pantha Rei: Everything Flows” presents selected washi artworks by five Japanese artists working with traditional paper in diverse modes.
Gallery Talk: 2pm: The Gallery Talk includes a deep dive into the artist’s statements, process, and impact on the contemporary Kogei world.

Ganesha Enthroned (detail), Kangra, 1st half 19th century, opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper, Courtesy of Kapoor Galleries

Kapoor Galleries, 34 East 67 Street, Floor 3, 11am-3pm
“Divine Gestures: Channels of Enlightenment” features rare sculptures and paintings from India, Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, China and the ancient region of Gandhara.
Gallery Talk: 1pm: We’ll explore how iconography across artistic mediums channels and embodies the energies of specific deities.

Carolyn Swiszcz, Night Laundry, 2023, acryllic, monoprint, and collage on paper, 29 x 60 in / 73.7 x 152.4 cm; Courtesy: MIYAKO YOSHINAGA, New York

Miyako Yoshinaga Gallery, 24 East 64 Street, 11am-6pm
“Carolyn Swiszcz: Burgers & Bonsai”
Gallery Talk: 2pm & 4pm: American artist Carolyn Swiszcz talks about her inspiration from her surroundings in Midwest suburbia. Using various printmaking techniques, she transforms banal buildings, shop signs, and park trees into modest yet vibrant subjects in her work.

Matsushima Hakkō, attributed (1895–1937), Twittering Birds, circa 1932, two-panel folding screen, ink, mineral pigments, shell powder, and gold wash on silk, 67¾ x 66¼ in. (172 x 168.5 cm.) Courtesy of Thomsen Gallery

Thomsen Gallery, 9 East 63 Street, Floor 2, 11am-5pm
“Japanese Art 1910-1940” Paintings and works of art from this period illustrate how the Japanese art market changed from the previous export-oriented output to a focus on the domestic market, incorporating Western influences.
Gallery Talk: 11am, 2pm, 3pm, & 4pm: Join us for a curator’s tour of the works on view.

Carolyn Swiszcz, Parking Lot Bonsai, 2023, watercolor monoprint, collage, monoprint on paper, un-stretched canvas, 40 x 51 in / 101.6 x 129.5 cm; courtesy of MIYAKO YOSHINAGA

Burgers & Bonsai opens on Friday, May 19 at MIYAKO YOSHINAGA and will be on view until June 30, 2023.
Opening reception, May 19, 6 – 8 pm.

The exhibition is composed of whimsical landscapes by Minnesota-based American artist Carolyn Swiszcz (b. 1972) based on her everyday observation of her surroundings and showcases a dozen of her small to large works on paper.

Carolyn Swiszcz is renowned for her uncanny, yet affectionate landscapes and building exteriors, employing a wide range of printmaking techniques, vibrant colors, and distinctive patterns. Swiszcz derives inspiration from quirky features of buildings, parks, signs and banners, window displays, and distinctive trees.

Swiszcz is fond of the sometimes-unpredictable nature of printmaking, meticulously devising the stencils, stamps, and monoprint processes that make her images pop with delightful surprises. In her images, Swiszcz blends layers of abstraction and randomness with figurative elements including letters and geometric patterns, creating a sense of otherworldliness. Her latest work revels in off-kilter multicultural elements in Midwest suburbia, i.e. her Parking Lot Bonsai (2023), which features neatly arranged silhouettes of miniature trees in a Burger King parking lot.

As part of the semiannual Madison Avenue Gallery Walk on Saturday, May 20, MIYAKO YOSHINAGA will present Artist Talk by Carolyn Swiszcz at 2 & 4 pm.

Fung Ming Chip, 160503, 2016, ink on paper, 48 7/8 x 71 5/8 in.

This is the last opportunity to see the exhibition Fung Ming Chip: Traces of Time at Fu Qiumeng Fine Art before it closes on May 20.

The show includes works from the latest series by the artist (b. 1951 in Guangdong and raised in Hong Kong), entitled NumberS. These are juxtaposed with representative examples drawn from his lifelong exploration of the art of calligraphy and the various scripts he has developed during this process.

To better understand Fung Ming Chip's approach, read the following interview conducted over email by the exhibition's curator, Dr. Daniel Greenberg.

Fung Ming Chip and Curator Dr. Dan M. Greenberg ©The FQM, 2023

Fu Qiumeng Fine Art is currently exhibiting a special presentation of Chinese artist Fung Ming Chip (冯明秋, b. 1951)’s latest series, NumberS, while also showcasing the artist’s unique approach to the medium of shufa (书法, the art of writing) through a selection of works taken from across his long career. Born in Guangdong and raised in Hong Kong, Fung began his artistic career after he moved to New York City in 1977. His first experiments in seal carving (篆刻, zhuanke) deconstructed the forms of Chinese characters in this traditional medium. This engagement with the written word led Fung to a broader study of Chinese characters in the art of shufa. Over the past forty years, Fung has invented over a hundred distinctive “scripts” that employ a wide range of styles and non-traditional processes, each of which explores how shufa works to represent the artist’s practice unfolding in time. Don’t miss your final chance to explore Fung Ming Chip’s conceptual calligraphy in “Traces of Time.” The exhibition will be on view until The exhibition will be on view until Saturday, May 20th.

Building upon conversations between the curator and artist during the installation and opening of this exhibition, the following interview was conducted via email.

Fung Ming Chip: Looking back now, the emergence of number script fifteen years ago was actually a wake-up call for me regarding the temporal nature of Chinese calligraphy. Over the past fifteen years, in my artistic creation pivoting around calligraphy, I occasionally used numbers instead of Chinese characters to eliminate the literary nature of the text, allowing the technique and composition to be manifested. In this way, numbers gradually became an integral part of my calligraphy practice. It wasn't until 2015 that I was certain that calligraphy is an art of time and I began to think about ways to make numbers as demarcations of time, constructing and exploring issues of painting.

Fung Ming Chip and Curator Dr. Dan M. Greenberg ©The FQM, 2023

Daniel Greenberg: NumberS Series utilizes and combines a wide range of artistic practices that you invented for other “scripts.” Does working with numbers and pictorial representation rather than characters change the meaning or visual characteristic of these processes?

Fung Ming Chip: Definitely! When an artwork contains text in the form of Chinese characters, most people who can read will try to understand its meaning, which can influence how viewers perceive the work and their emotions. Although there is little difference in the creative process and various techniques used between writing numbers and text, the audience's perception of the artwork can be significantly different. Whether or not there is literary significance, the use of numbers can evoke a very different feeling from the audience.

Daniel Greenberg: Numbers Series marks the first time you have used a razor to cut the surface of your works. What does this unique process add to your work both visually and intellectually?

Fung Ming Chip: In my opinion, the excision of the surface did not significantly change the composition of my artwork. Rather, it was simply a conceptual and technical necessity. Although it was my first time experimenting with excision, I knew exactly what the visual outcome would be. The use of excision serves the spatial needs of the artwork.

Daniel Greenberg: What parts of Chinese painting are you attempting to integrate into NumberS Series? What can painting express that shufa cannot?

Fung Ming Chip: My intention in creating the Numbers Series was to demonstrate the differences in how perspectives are perceived in Chinese and Western paintings, which is something that cannot be addressed through calligraphy.

Fung Ming Chip and Curator Dr. Dan M. Greenberg ©The FQM, 2023

Fung Ming Chip, NumberS: Transparent Script with Pagoda, 数字系列:宝塔透字, 2022, Ink on Paper, 27 1/8 x 56 1/4 in

Daniel Greenberg: In NumberS: Transparent Script with Pagoda, you include a seal with the Daoist phrase 元神出竅 and paint the forms of stupas or pagodas. How do Daoist and Buddhist ideas and imagery relate to your art?

Fung Ming Chip: Buddhism is a foreign religion that has had an influence on Taoism, but ultimately they are two different practices. You won't see Buddhist monks going to mountaintops to absorb the essence of the sun and moon. While I am not a Buddhist or a Taoist, I appreciate the philosophical thinking in Buddhism and the mystical concepts in Taoism. I believe that the two can complement each other, so I don't mind incorporating both into my artwork.

Installation view of 'Summoning Memories: Art Beyond Chinese Traditions.' Photo by Chris Dunn.

Summoning Memories:  Art Beyond Chinese Borders
Friday, May 19, 2023–Registration at 9:00 am; Keynote presentation at 5:00 pm
1370 Southmore Blvd
Houston, TX 77004

Join Asia Society Texas for a symposium about the artists and issues featured in their current exhibition Summoning Memories: Art Beyond Chinese Traditions.

Beginning with a guided gallery tour, guest curator Dr. Susan L. Beningson will lead a series of conversations with featured artists, including Bingyi, Cui Fei, Kelly Wang, Zheng Chongbin, and others, and joined by leading curators such as Dr. Hiromi Kinoshita (Philadelphia Museum of Art) and Dr. Zoe Kwok (Princeton University Museum of Art). Throughout this day of discussion, explore the breadth and depth of cultural, historical, and artistic themes on view in the exhibition as we rethink and reimagine the histories, traditions, and artistic practices of artists of Chinese and Chinese American descent.

This event is free and open to the public; registration required.

For more information and to register, click here.