ASIA WEEK

Installation view, Reconstructed Realities: Gu Gan, Lee Chun-yi, Wucius Wong

Reconstructed Realities: Gu Gan, Lee Chun-yi, Wucius Wong
Closing Saturday, April 26, 2025
120 East 65th Street

This is the final week to catch Reconstructed Realities, featuring the work of Gu Gan, Lee Chun-Yi, and Wucius Wong at Alisan Fine Arts before it closes on April 26! True pioneers of ink art, these three artists took radical approaches to traditional styles of calligraphy, composition and methodology in their work. Their practices have been instrumental in bringing the ink tradition into the global contemporary art conversation.

Born in 1942 in Changsha, Gu Gan is considered the forefather of the modern calligraphy movement and founder of the Modernist School of Chinese Calligraphy. Influenced by European modernists like Kandinsky, Klee, and Miró, he began reimagining calligraphy in the late 1970s with a bold, experimental style. Gu reimagined characters by stretching, merging, or breaking them apart, often combining multiple scripts in one piece. Titles serve as thematic anchors, blending meaning with form. This exhibition includes 1990s works and a rare 2003 piece, Red Autumn, executed in hues of vivid red and orange.

Trained in traditional Chinese ink painting, Lee Chun-Yi nevertheless eschews the brush, and instead reconstructs traditional imagery through the use of hand-carved seals. He stamps images tile by tile with varying pressure and pigment, creating nuanced compositions through this revolutionary technique. This exhibition features misty mountain scenes from his Heart Sutra Landscape series and two colorful works from his new Blossoms series, using Japanese mineral pigments. Up close, Lee’s works—whether floral or landscape—fragment into tiny tiles, reflecting both artistic abstraction and a metaphor for China’s current disunity. His technique bridges macro realism with micro abstraction, revealing the interplay between unity and variation.

Wucius Wong also employs grid-like structures, but in a completely different manner. Known for his analytical precision, he deconstructs traditional landscape motifs to reveal the geometric frameworks beneath. His landscapes are not mere depictions of nature, but reimaginings through geometric abstraction. In Distant Thoughts 23, mountains and rivers are reduced to shapes and lines, reflecting a near-mathematical aesthetic. Purification 15 contrasts a flowing river with stark geometry, embodying the tension between the organic and the constructed. Wong’s water-themed works often explore these dualities, balancing structure and emotion with striking clarity.

Experience the innovation and mastery of these three ink art pioneers before the show closes!

To learn more, click here.

Installation view, BEYOND THE SURFACE: The Unity of Form and Pattern in the Work of Wada Morihiro (1944-2008)

BEYOND THE SURFACE: The Unity of Form and Pattern in the Work of Wada Morihiro (1944-2008)
Closing Friday, April 25, 2025
39 East 78th Street, Suite 401

These are the final days to experience BEYOND THE SURFACE: The Unity of Form and Pattern in the Work of Wada Morihiro (1944-2008) at Joan B Mirviss LTD before it closes on April 25!

Fifteen years in the making, this landmark exhibition is the first comprehensive retrospective of seminal clay master Wada Morihiro. Featuring seventy works—most acquired directly from the artist’s estate—it highlights the full range of his dynamic forms and intricate surface patterns. Among the works are eleven rare pieces originally intended for Wada’s 2008 solo show at the gallery, which was postponed due to his untimely passing. Two of these, featuring a unique entwining-vine motif, have never been seen outside Japan. Thanks to the dedication of the Wada family, these works were preserved and made available for this historic presentation at Joan B Mirviss LTD.

A fully illustrated, bilingual catalogue with essays by four leading Japanese scholars accompanies the exhibition and is available for purchase.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to experience the legacy of a true master of clay!

To learn more, click here.

(Left): Aya Fujioka, Here Goes River (112), 2017, edition 3 of 8, chromogenic print, 25.8 x 39 in (65.5 x 99 cm); 29 x 42.5 in (73.7 x 108 cm) framed; (Right): Alexa Hoyer, Dish on Tube, 2017, edition of 10, 2 AP, archival pigment print, 30 x 24 in (76.2 x 61 cm)

Artist Focus: Aya Fujioka and Alexa Hoyer
On view in Project Space
525 West 26th Street, NYC

Seizan Gallery is pleased to present the works of two visionary female photographers, Aya Fujioka and Alexa Hoyer. Signature series by both artists are currently on view in the gallery’s project space, offering distinct yet complementary perspectives on place, memory, and overlooked narratives.

Aya Fujioka is a quiet master of capturing the everyday. Her work bypasses the pursuit of a single “decisive moment,” instead embracing a succession of peripheral, intimate scenes. These seemingly mundane images form subtle narratives, either revealing a relationship between artist and subject or liberating the subject from traditional storytelling. Fujioka’s approach is deeply rooted in Japan’s “Shashinshu” tradition—a form of photobook regarded not as a supplement to an exhibition but as an art object in its own right. In contrast to Western photobooks, often treated as catalogs or archival records, the Japanese Shashinshu is a storytelling medium where meaning is built through a sequence of images. Fujioka has published several of these with AKAAKA, a leading Japanese art publisher specializing in this genre.

Alexa Hoyer is a visual artist and curator whose photographic projects explore overlooked or ephemeral aspects of both urban and rural environments, capturing unexpected narratives found in public and often unconventional spaces. Based in New York City, Hoyer has explored a wide range of subjects—from handmade window displays in Havana (Montaje al Aire), to boarded-up storefronts during Manhattan’s COVID-19 lockdown (Window Dressing), to the curious emptiness of Queens’ tree beds (Fallow Frames). These projects often involve local communities and highlight the interplay between improvisation, identity, and environment.

​​To learn more, click here.

Honma Hideaki, Flowing Pattern 2019, 2019, madake & nemagari bamboo, rattan, 39 x 22.5 x 9.25 in.

EXPO CHICAGO
Booth 120
April 24–27, 2025
Opening Night: Thursday, April 24 from 5-8pm
Fair Hours: Thursday, 12-5pm (by invitation only); Friday and Saturday, 11am-7pm; Sunday, 11am-6pm
Navy Pier Festival Hall, 600 E Grand Ave, Chicago

TAI Modern is thrilled to make its debut at EXPO CHICAGO 2025, taking place April 24–27!

Bamboo art in Japan is a long-overlooked tradition of creative vibrancy. Despite its rich history and astounding range of expression, it is still largely unknown. In its home country, it is often viewed as ancillary to the practices of tea ceremony and ikebana. Today there are less than 100 working bamboo artists in Japan. TAI Modern’s mission is to ensure a future for this art form.

At Expo Chicago, they will exhibit works that they feel represent the best of Japanese bamboo art today. Opening with two show-stoppers – the dynamic Flowing Pattern 2019 by Honma Hideaki and the diaphanous Infinite Sea by Morigami Jin. These works illustrate the dichotomous character of bamboo – strength and flexibility – that make it such a powerful medium for sculptural expression. They will also feature work by two Living National Treasures: a grouping of 3 Lacquered Bamboo Cylinders by Fujinuma Noboru and Fujitsuka Shosei’s 〇△□, an angular vessel from his illusionistic color-shifting series. Other works include the skyscraper-esque Creative City by rising young star Tanabe Chikuunsai IV, the elusive Uematsu Chikuyu’s Song of the Bird, and Torii Ippo’s Midair, part of his decades-long tribute to the flow and movement of water.

Displayed alongside these sculptures will be three abstract paintings by Monique van Genderen, an LA-based artist whose work shares a similar commitment to materiality and passionate engagement with medium.

They look forward to welcoming you to Booth 120!

To view the works, click here.

To learn more about the fair and purchase tickets, click here.

Danielle Winger, Crystal Deeps, 2025, oil on canvas, 60 x 48 in (152.4 x 121.9 cm); Photo by Stuart Snoddy

EXPO CHICAGO
Booth 125
April 24–27, 2025
Opening Night: Thursday, April 24 from 5-8pm
Fair Hours: Thursday, 12-5pm (by invitation only); Friday and Saturday, 11am-7pm; Sunday, 11am-6pm
Navy Pier Festival Hall, 600 E Grand Ave, Chicago

Seizan Gallery is thrilled to be participating in EXPO CHICAGO 2025, where they will present a dynamic group exhibition at Booth 125 featuring works by Hiroyoshi Asaka, Toshiyuki Kajioka, and Danielle Winger.  Each artist demonstrates extraordinary dedication to their chosen medium and subject, creating immersive encounters that invite viewers to contemplate time, process, and transcendence.

Hiroyoshi Asaka (b. 1977, Osaka, Japan) meticulously hand-carves marble – his sole chosen material – into uncanny sculptures resembling Styrofoam objects. By transforming a medium historically synonymous with permanence, power, and prestige into what appears as its disposable antithesis, Asaka creates a compelling dialogue between the monumental and the mundane. His KASHOUMON series prompts deeper questions about value, labor, and time.

Toshiyuki Kajioka (b. 1978, Tokyo, Japan) has devoted the past twenty years to painting a single subject: the surface of flowing rivers at night. Using only sumi ink and graphite pencil on Japanese paper, Kajioka captures water’s shifting states between wildness and tranquility, transforming fleeting moments into timeless, immersive experiences. For EXPO CHICAGO, Kajioka will present a monumental work from his signature “Waterscape” series.

Danielle Winger (b. 1986, Nevada, USA) creates contemplative landscapes with bold brushstrokes and striking colors that evoke both physical places and emotional states. Drawing inspiration from German Romantic traditions, she approaches landscape as both subject and metaphor—where mountains become paths to transcendence, deserts embody profound solitude, and moonlit forests take on human qualities. Her deeply personal meditative spaces invite viewers to explore themes of sublimity and the divine.

They look forward to seeing you in Chicago soon!

To learn more about the fair and purchase tickets, click here.

A Canton rose medallion covered tureen with stand

Chinese Export Porcelain Returns to Chateau-sur-Mer
Open daily, 9am-4pm
474 Bellevue Ave, Newport, RI

Visitors to the Preservation Society of Newport County’s Chateau-sur-Mer can now see something that’s been missing from the house for more than 50 years: a collection of approximately 70 pieces of Chinese export porcelain from the late 18th or early 19th centuries, brought back from Canton by William Shepard Wetmore during his time as a merchant in China.

The collection includes dishes and plates of all sizes, platters, covered tureens and bowls, a tea set, bulb pots, vases and more.

Wetmore kept these beautiful pieces at Chateau-sur-Mer, his Newport home, and there they stayed until 1969, when they were sold at auction along with a majority of the house’s contents. The buyer of the porcelains was tobacco heiress Doris Duke, who acquired them on behalf of the Newport Restoration Foundation as part of a new collection of Newport furniture and decorative arts first displayed at the Samuel Whitehorne House.

This past December, the Newport Restoration Foundation, which owns and operates Rough Point for tours, transferred these precious pieces to the Preservation Society free of charge. They once again display their vibrant colors in their original place, the Chateau-sur-Mer pantry. They are deeply grateful to the friends at NRF for their generosity.

Come visit Chateau-sur-Mer, a National Historic Landmark and a true treasure chest of Victorian antiques, open daily now through September 1!

To plan you visit, click here.

Installation view, KOGEI and Art, Onishi Gallery

As two remarkable exhibitions draw to a close, Onishi Gallery invites visitors to experience the rich interplay between tradition and innovation in Japanese craftsmanship. KOGEI and Art at their new Upper East Side location showcases a diverse range of contemporary works rooted in traditional Japanese techniques—spanning metalwork, lacquerware, ceramics, screens, and paintings.  Simultaneously, a special collaboration with Bergdorf Goodman and Salon Art + Design brings KOGEI to the 7th floor of Bergdorf’s Home department, where collectible design meets fine art in an immersive showcase that redefines the boundaries of lifestyle, design, and culture.

KOGEI and Art
Closing Friday, April 11, 2025
16 East 79th Street

“KOGEI” refers to works made using materials and methods that have stood the test of time, reflecting uncompromising dedication to technical perfection and a search for new forms of expression. This exhibition highlights the growing role of KOGEI in contemporary Western lifestyle and global art and design. The title KOGEI and Art is given to reflect the unique character of KOGEI, not seen in other cultures, and to emphasize its separate but complementary status compared to “Art” in the conventional Western sense.

To learn more, click here.

Installation view, Bergdorf Goodman

Exhibition at Bergdorf Goodman
Closing Sunday, April 13, 2025
754 5th Avenue, 7th Fl

This collaborative exhibition with Bergdorf Goodman—New York City’s most iconic luxury retailer—and Salon Art + Design, the premier platform for collectible design and art by Sanford L. Smith + Associates, showcases contemporary works that honor traditional craftsmanship while embracing innovation.

To learn more, click here.

Flask with the Royal Arms of Spain, China, Ming dynasty, 1610–20, porcelain with cobalt blue under clear glaze, Yale University Art Gallery, Robert Hatfield Ellsworth Fund

Blue, White, and Wonderful: Seventeenth-Century Chinese Porcelain
Wednesday, April 16, 2025, 12:30-1:30pm
Free; Meet by the central column in the Gallery lobby

Highlighting a recently acquired Chinese porcelain flask, Denise Patry Leidy, the Ruth and Bruce Dayton Curator of Asian Art at Yale University Art Gallery, discusses a fascinating moment in global ceramic history, when Chinese kilns began producing works specifically for the European market.

European trade with China flourished in the early 17th century, after the famed Portuguese explorer Vasco di Gama opened sea trade between Europe and Asia by sailing around the African coast. In response to political and economic turmoil and the subsequent need for new markets, the kilns at the great complex in Jingdezhen began to diversify by producing ceramics for the court, for the domestic market, and for trade to Japan as well as to India and other parts of the greater Islamic world. Within the coat of arms on the front of the flask, the two rampant lions and two castles indicate that the object was made for the Spanish court. The reverse is painted with a scene of a Chinese scholar resting in a landscape, while the shape of the flask is derived from Islamic metalwork.

To learn more, click here.

Photo credit: Vincente de Paolo

Artist Talk: Sarah Sze
Thursday, April 17, 2025, 5:30-6:30pm
Free

Since the late 1990s, Sarah Sze has developed a signature visual language that challenges the static nature of sculpture and painting. Sze draws from Modernist traditions of the found object, dismantling their authority with dynamic constellations of materials that are charged with flux, transformation, and fragility. Captured in this suspension, her immersive and intricate works question the value society places on objects and images and how objects and images ascribe meaning to the places and times we inhabit.

Coinciding with the explosion of information of the 21st century, Sze’s work simultaneously models and navigates the ceaseless proliferation of information and imagery in contemporary life. Her encyclopedic installations and paintings unfold like a series of experiments that construct intimate systems of order—precarious ecologies in which material conveys meaning and a sense of loss. In this talk, Sze discusses her artistic practice.

To learn more, click here.