L-R: Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858), First Edition of Spiral Hall, Five Hundred Rakan Temple (Gohyuaku Rakan Sazaidô), 1857, woodblock print, ôban 36.5 x 24.6 cm, Egenolf Gallery and Hokusai (1760-1849), The Falling Mist Waterfall at Mt Kurokami, Shimotsuke Province, 1832, woodblock print, 15 x 10.25 in. (38.10 x 26.04 cm.), Art of Japan

Portland Fine Print Fair
Benefit Preview, Friday, January 27,6-9pm (PST)
Saturday and Sunday, January 28 and 29

Asia Week New York members Art of Japan and Egenolf Gallery will participate in the fair this weekend with displays of fine Japanese woodblock prints at the Portland Art Museum.

The Portland Fine Print Fair, now in its 10th year, features 16 top dealers from across North America & Europe and is the largest and most comprehensive print fair on the West Coast. Prints from the Old Masters to contemporary emerging artists will be on sale.

Read more, click here.

Watanabe Seitei (1851–1918), Pigeons at Sensoji, Meiji era, 1877, ink and color on silk, Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, Freer Gallery of Art, F2000.1a

Two rewarding exhibitions of Japanese art are in their final week at the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, and will close on January 29.

Feathered Ink
Concludes January 29, 2023
Across three galleries, Feathered Ink explores how Japanese artists have experimented over several centuries with different brush techniques in their depictions of avian subjects. Drawing from the Freer Gallery of Art’s extensive collection of bird-and-flower paintings, the exhibition includes hanging scroll paintings, folding screens, ceramics, and printed books.

In Japan, paintings on the theme of birds and flowers began to appear during the Heian period (794–1185) as a way of referencing seasonal associations or auspicious homonyms or of replicating the natural world in remarkable detail. Depicting a variety of bird species in naturalistic or paradisiacal environments offers a tantalizing opportunity for an artist to showcase their skills through the use of virtuosic ink brushwork techniques to represent different feather types and the textures of plumage and foliage. Adding colors can provide further layers of symbolic meaning and decorative effect. Birds are also popular motifs found on early modern Japanese ceramics, rendered through inlaid slip designs, molding, and polychrome pigments. Some of the vessels in this exhibition even provide a glimpse into how Japanese potters emulated the painterly effects of ink on clay surfaces.

Utagawa Kunisada, Three Sumo Wrestlers, early 19th century, woodblock print, ink and color on paper. The Pearl and Seymour Moskowitz Collection, S2021.5.539a-c

Underdogs and Antiheroes: Japanese Prints from the Moskowitz Collection
Concludes January 29, 2023
Expect the unexpected. The exhibition Underdogs and Antiheroes: Japanese Prints from the Moskowitz Collection focuses on the captivating stories and urban legends of individuals living on the fringes of society in early modern Japan. Key subjects in theater, literature, and visual arts reveal antiheroes and underdogs whose virtues are often embodied by their rejection of societal norms, making them misfits and moral exemplars at the same time. The exhibition follows virtuous bandits, tattooed firemen who love to fight, rogues from the kabuki theater, and others.

Highlighting the transformative gift of the Pearl and Seymour Moskowitz Collection to the National Museum of Asian Art, Underdogs and Antiheroes features subjects that are not commonly associated with traditional Japanese print culture but were nevertheless central to the interests of an early modern public. The exhibition explores new visual and thematic ground, further strengthening the museum’s trailblazing role in reconsidering presentations of Asian cultures.

Zheng Xie (1693–1765), Orchids and Bamboo (detail), dated 1742, handscroll, ink on paper.
Edward Elliott Family Collection, Purchase, The Dillon Fund Gift, 1981(1981.285.7)

Noble Virtues: Nature as Symbol in Chinese Art,
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Concludes January 29, 2023

Flowers, plants, and animals abound in Chinese art. From simple objects for the home to fancy vessels for the imperial court, popular prints to meticulously crafted paintings, manifestations of the natural world are found nearly everywhere.

Sometimes these images are purely decorative, but often they carry meanings drawn from history, poetry, and cultural memory. Bamboo, for instance, which bends in the cold wind without breaking, can be a symbol of the virtuous person withstanding hard times; the plum blossom, which dares to bloom in the chill of early spring, an emblem of righteous bravery. For artists and viewers alike, associations such as these added layers of depth to an artwork. In this way, a vignette of the natural world could become a celebration of life, a wish for good fortune, or even a defiant act of protest.

This exhibition, drawn primarily from The Met collection, introduces some of these themes through over 100 works of painting, calligraphy, and decorative arts.

L-R: The Asian Art Museum on Larkin Street in San Francisco and the Minneapolis Institute of Art on Third Avenue in Minneapolis.

Asia Week New York is delighted to welcome two new museum members to our community: Asian Art Museum, San Francisco and Minneapolis Museum of Art. Both institutions are renowned for their exceptional collections, innovative exhibitions, and enriching programs. Watch AWNY's websites, newsletters, and social media posts for up-to-date information about our members' activities.

Asian Art Museum, San Francisco
Located in the heart of San Francisco, the museum is home to one of the world’s finest collections of Asian art, boasting more than 18,000 awe-inspiring artworks ranging from ancient jades and ceramics to contemporary video installations. Dynamic special exhibitions, cultural celebrations and public programs for all ages provide rich art experiences that unlock the past and spark questions about the future.

The Asian Art Museum was founded more than 50 years ago, when collector Avery Brundage donated nearly 8,000 outstanding Asian artworks to the city of San Francisco. A new wing of the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park was opened in 1966 to showcase the priceless collection. In 2003, the Asian Art Museum moved to the former Main Library building in the Civic Center, which had been transformed to showcase the expanding collection as well as the groundbreaking exhibitions the museum had become known for. Since then, the museum has solidified its position as not only one of the premier art venues in the Bay Area but also as one of the most important centers for Asian art and culture outside Asia.

Read more, click here

Minneapolis Museum of Art
The Minneapolis Institute of Art, abbreviated as Mia, enriches the community by collecting, preserving, and making accessible outstanding works of art from the world’s diverse cultures. Mia’s collection of Asian art is comprised of some 16,800 objects, ranging from ancient pottery and bronzes to works by contemporary artists, with nearly every Asian culture represented. Areas of particular depth include the arts of China, Japan, and Korea.

Specific subsets and highlights of these collections rival the holdings of museums across the globe. For its stylistic diversity and condition, Mia’s collection of ancient Chinese bronze is typically considered one of the nation’s finest. Mia’s Japanese collection has outstanding concentrations of Buddhist sculpture, woodblock prints, paintings, lacquer, works of bamboo, and ceramics, and is particularly rich in works from the Edo period (1610–1868). The museum’s commitment to Asian art is also evident in the sheer volume of space devoted to its display. At present, Asian art occupies an impressive 20 percent (32,200 sq. ft.) of the total display space (161,000 sq. ft.) for art at Mia. The permanent display space for Japanese art is the largest in the Western world, with 15 galleries spanning more than 10,000 square feet.

Read more, click here

Responding to enthusiastic demand, AWNY is providing an advance look at the schedule for this March 2023’s Asia Week New York. Drawn from our upcoming and popular Guide, here you will find the exhibition titles and schedules of your favorite dealers, as well as the auctions planned by AWNY auction houses. Fetch your calendar, sharpen your pencil, and start making plans for March Asia Week.

An Important and Large Famille Rose Standing Figure of a European Lady, Qianlong period, ca. 1740,
H. 16 in. (42 cm.), Lot 146, Estimate: $80,000-120,000

Cohen & Cohen: 50 Years of Chinese Export Porcelain,
Bonhams New York
Live auction, January 24
Viewing Schedule:
Wednesday, January 18 through Monday, January 23, 10am-5pm daily

Comprising over 150 lots, this sale will primarily feature magnificent eighteenth-century Chinese porcelains, including exceptional examples of famille rose jar garnitures, large 'Chinese-taste' enameled standing figures, rare 'European-subject' plates and figures, and massive Kangxi-period famille verte and blue and white dishes. The single-owner auction is carefully timed to complement 'Americana Week' and the famed Winter Show at the Armory, both prestigious events which traditionally attract the world's leading collectors of Chinese Export art.

Established in 1973, Cohen & Cohen is widely respected as handling the finest, rarest, and most beautiful 'Chinese Export' porcelains, fascinating wares created in China expressly to be sold to Westerners. They have sold outstanding examples to the world's greatest museums and collectors in addition to publishing highly informative, market-leading academic exhibition catalogues.

It's an honor to bring notable collections like Cohen & Cohen to auction and play a role in their long legacy,” commented Michael Hughes, Vice President, Head of Department, Chinese Ceramics & Works Art for Bonhams U.S. “We've had tremendous success with recent dealer collections around the world including Robert and Jean-Pierre Rousset in Paris, Roger Keverne in London, and Brian Harkins, in Hong Kong, and look forward to presenting this important collection of Chinese export porcelain in New York to the Bonhams global network.”

Lectures by Colin Sheaf and William Sargent
Live program, Sunday, January 22, 11am
In celebration of the sale of Cohen & Cohen: 50 Years of Chinese Export Porcelain, join this series of lectures about the exquisite collection.
Chinese Art for Western Interiors
Video Presentation by Colin Sheaf
“…animals, grotesques, idols, the busts ordered by Europeans, and such-like things…”: Sculptural Ceramics from Cohen & Cohen
Presented by William Sargent

Read more, click here

Chinese Blue Silk Kesi 12 Symbol Semi-Formal Robe, Qing Dynasty, W. 82 in., L. 53 1/2 in., Lot 6432797, Estimate: $7,000-10,000

Property of An American Collector Part I,
iGavel Auctions
Online auction, available now through January 26

Presented by Lark Mason Associates, iGavel now offers an online auction of an American Collection, Part 1. Included is a diverse array of Chinese and Japanese garments and textiles, including fine robes, kimono, and obi. Also available is a selection of fine Asian and Central Asian rugs.

Read more, click here

This week the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution offers several engaging in-person programs in the coming days.

Curator-Led Tour of A Splendid Land: Paintings from Royal Udaipur
In person event, January 17, 2023, 11am–12pm and
January 20, 2023, 11am–12pm
Meet curator Debra Diamond in the galleries for a tour of A Splendid Land: Paintings from Royal Udaipur. 

Repair and Treatment on Paper
In person event, January 19, 2023, 1–2 pm
Tears and losses are among the most common damages book and paper conservators encounter. The museum’s paper conservator Rhea DeStefano will show the different kinds of papers, tools, and adhesives used in repair treatments.

Gallery Talk: Synchronicity Across Art + Time
In person event, January 20, 2023, 12:30–1:30pm
Interesting connections continue to be discovered across art, culture, and time. Join National Museum of Asian Art curator Kit Brooks and curators Renato Miracco and Susan Behrends Frank from The Phillips Collection for an in-gallery conversation about a surprising link between the painting Pigeons at Sensoji by Watanabe Seitei and the exhibition An Italian Impressionist in Paris: Giuseppe De Nittis at the Phillips Collection. Learn about Seitei’s influence on De Nittis’s art techniques and trace the overlapping timelines between the two artists that helped uncover this uncanny connection.
This event takes place at The Phillips Collection at 1600 21st Street NW in Washington, DC.

Read more and register, click here.

The Five Directions: Lacquer Through East Asia, Japanese Art Society of America
Online program, January 18, 5pm EST

Join JASA on Wednesday, January 18, 5pm EST, for the Zoom webinar on The Five Directions: Lacquer Through East Asia, with Einor Cervone, PhD, Associate Curator of Asian Art at the Denver Art Museum. Dr. Cervone will reexamine narratives of lacquer development in the East Asian region, as explored in the exhibition that opens December 18 at LACMA. Note: Advance registration is required: January 18 event.

Read more, click here

Seongmin Ahn | Enchanted Reality, The Korea Society
January 19-April 14, 2023
Opening Reception: Thursday, January 19, 2023 5-7pm EST
Artist Talk: Tuesday, March 21, 2023 6pm EST

In her solo exhibition at The Korea Society, Seongmin Ahn presents a series of paintings and wall installations that fuses her insight in the relativity of perception with a deep regard for traditional Korean art, especially minhwa–folk painting. In her work, Ahn begins with traditional forms and themes, which she then extends into multi-disciplinary and multi-media practices by adopting science, technology, and multiple cognitive models.

For Ahn, whose work reads as equally playful and earnest, bringing light to a dark room at the touch of a finger is a wondrously apt metaphor for the role of art in our lives.
—Richard Vine, a senior editor at Art in America/p>