ASIA WEEK

Design Miami/Basel 2022, Thomsen Gallery
Basel, Switzerland, June 14-19, 2022

Thomsen Gallery is delighted to participate again in Design Miami/Basel with Japanese modern and contemporary art. If you are in Switzerland during the Art Basel week, please visit them in Hall 1 Süd at Messe Basel. Thomsen's exhibition at Design Miami/Basel offers a select group of Japanese bamboo ikebana baskets by the great masters from the first half of the 20th century, considered the Golden Age of Japanese basketry, along with works by contemporary makers. The baskets are complemented by Japanese modern bronze vessels, contemporary porcelain sculptures and immaculate gold-lacquer boxes.

Tuesday, June 14: 11am-8pm
Wednesday, June 15: 11am-8pm
Thursday, June 16: 11am-7pm
Friday, June 17: 11am-7pm
Saturday, June 18: 11am-7pm
Sunday, June 19: 11am-7pm

Read more, click here.

Tianzhuo Chen, Trance, 2019 (video still), two single-channel videos with sound (loop). Image courtesy of the artist, BANK/MABSOCIETY, and Asia Society Museum, New York

Mirror Image: A Transformation of Chinese Identity
Asia Society New York
Opens June 15
This exhibition presents 19 artworks by seven artists, born in mainland China in the 1980s. Belonging to what is referred to as the ba ling hou generation, they grew up in a post-Mao China shaped by the one-child policy and the influx of foreign investment. Comprising painting, sculpture, performance, installation, video, digital art, and photography, the exhibition reflects the dramatic economic, political, and cultural shifts the artists have experienced in China during their lifetimes.

The exhibition’s title, Mirror Image, refers to the double reflection at the heart of the exhibition. Rather than emphasizing their “Chinese-ness,” these artists’ respective practices are born of a contemporary China where Starbucks can be found in the Forbidden City and the internet permits them access—despite the obstacles of censorship—to a host of influences beyond geographical boundaries. The show is organized by Barbara Pollack, guest curator, with Hongzheng Han, guest curatorial assistant.

Participating Artists:
Tianzhuo Chen (born 1985 in Beijing, China; lives and works in Beijing)
Cui Jie (born 1983 in Shanghai, China; lives and works in Beijing, China)
Pixy Liao (born 1979 in Shanghai, China; lives and works in Brooklyn, New York)
Liu Shiyuan (born 1985 in Beijing, China; lives and works in Beijing and Copenhagen, Denmark)
Miao Ying (born 1985 in Shanghai, China; lives and works in Shanghai and New York City)
Nabuqi (born 1984 in Inner Mongolia, China; lives and works in Beijing, China)
Tao Hui (born 1987 in Chongqing, China; lives and works in Beijing, China)

Memorial Project Nha Trang, Vietnam: Towards the Complex–For the Courageous, the Curious, and the Cowards, 2001, single-channel video projection with sound, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harold and Ruth Newman, 2008.4. Courtesy of the artist and Mizuma Art Gallery, Tokyo © Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba

Visionary Legacies: A Tribute to Harold J. Newman
Asia Society New York
Opens June 15
This exhibition celebrates the life of Harold (Hal) J. Newman (1931-2021) and honors the generosity and vision of the Newman family in their support of Asia Society Museum’s ongoing efforts to remain at the forefront of collecting Asian art in the twenty-first century. The exhibition includes a selection of new media works from the Museum’s collection that illustrates the breadth and depth of their patronage.

Upcoming Programs at Asia Society

Project Home: India by the Bay 2022, Asia Society Hong Kong
Online program, June 17, 7pm HK time/7am EDT
Episode 4 of India by The Bay-Project Home: The Word for the World is Home by award winning artist Seema Kohli will be presented. Exploring the themes of migration, memories and identity through her layered art pieces, Seema unlocks possibilities for a real human connection that are not bound by judgement or intellect.
Read more, click here.

Making Home: Performance and Artist Talk: Beili Liu, Asia Society Texas
In-person program, June 18, 3pm
To accompany her installation Each and Every in the exhibition Making Home: Artists and Immigration, artist Beili Liu joins Asia Society Texas for a performance and artist talk. As guests experience the gallery installation, the artist sits in contemplative silence during her performance, mending damaged and worn children's clothing. She repairs the items as an act of restoration in response to the experiences of children immigration at the southern U.S. border. The performance will be followed by an artist talk and audience Q&A.
Read more, click here.

Art for Breakfast – An Insider’s Introduction to the Kyoto National Museum,
Asia Society Japan
In-person and online program, June 27 8am Tokyo time/June 26 7pm EDT
Melissa Rinne, a senior specialist at the museum, will present an insider’s view of the institution, taking viewers through its vast collection of priceless objects, historical significance, and the challenges of running such an institution with national treasures. Ms. Rinne knows museums globally, being a Japanese art curator at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and a Japanese textile specialist. She will give insights into how Japanese national museums are managed and how they differ from museums abroad. In-person attendance at International House is available to Asia Society members and guests only, while the online presentation is open to the public.
Read more, click here.

Bruneaf Tribal, Thomas Murray
Brussels, June 15-19, 2022
Online exhibition

This week in Brussels, Bruneaf fair takes place, one of the world's largest gatherings of Non-European Tribal Art for dealers, specialists, and collectors. Established in 1988, Bruneaf holds two fairs each year, with the June fair as the primary one.

California-based Thomas Murray, independent researcher, collector, lecturer, author and private dealer of Asian, tribal and textile art, again participates in this fair with an online exhibition that features Variations in Human Figure Sculpture from the Indonesian islands and a very early Dayak Shield from Borneo.

L-R: Early Shield with Double Demon Face, Dayak People, Borneo, 19th century, wood and pigment,
40 x 14 in. (102 x 38 cm) and Tun Tun Babi Pig Trap Charm, Iban Dayak, Sarawak, Borneo, 19th-very early 20th century, wood, 20 in. (53.3 cm )

Descriptions and multiple photos of these rare and fine works of art can be found in the Bruneaf online catalogue, click here and on Thomas Murray's website, click here.

Photo by Roman Alokhin, Courtesy of the New Orleans Museum of Art

Japanese Art and its Importance in Interior Design, Joan B Mirviss LTD
Online ZOOM program

If you missed this informational and inspiring program, originally held on June 7, you can now watch the recording. To access the program, as well as recordings of other programs hosted by Joan B Mirviss LTD, click here.

From the moment Japanese art and aesthetics were introduced to the West, design and architecture have never been quite the same. This ZOOM panel explores how these encounters with Japanese art have sparked fresh perspectives and resulted in enchanting private and public spaces for the art’s enjoyment and display. Leading voices in the fields of architecture and interior design share their experiences with Japanese art, its influence on their studio’s practice, and working with collectors to incorporate its visual language into their environments. Drawing from wisdom accumulated over their long careers, top interior designers Robert Couturier and Paul Vincent Wiseman and New York-based architect Jane Sachs discuss how Japanese art can be situated in Western contexts. With a focus on display, they are joined by collector Pilar Conde, who lives alongside her important Japanese ceramics collection.

PANELISTS:
PILAR CONDE, Collector of Japanese ceramics
ROBERT COUTURIER, Renowned French-born interior designer
JANE SACHS, Principal of HS2 Architecture, New York
PAUL WISEMAN, President of San Francisco-based interior design firm, The Wiseman Group
Moderated by JOAN MIRVISS

Wrestler’s Weight, Deccan, Golconda or Hyderabad, 17th century, carved basalt, Dia. 19 cm and
Dia. 27 cm

On their website, Francesca Galloway is now featuring a rare Wrestler's Weight. Carved from a single piece of black basalt, this 17th century stone dumbbell or nal from the Deccan makes a sculptural statement. With its open center and horizontal grip, this rare object speaks of the wrestler’s hands that would have lifted it.

For the warrior class and nobility of the Indian courts, gymnastics and martial arts were an important part of their position. These ‘dumbbells’ or nal would have been part of their physical training, and came in progressive weights for the development of biceps, triceps, and leg muscles. We can see similar weights and training objects depicted in dynamic use by bare-chested acrobats and wrestlers in Ragamala paintings representing Desakh Ragini.

Image from The Encyclopaedia of Indian Physical Culture

Read more, click here.

L-R: Tokuda Yasokichi IV (born 1961), Bowl Suicho (Crystalline Green), 2017, porcelain with vivid colored glaze (yôsai), Onishi Gallery; Meisen kimono with water droplets, Shōwa period (1926–89), ca. 1930–40, plain-weave reeled-silk warps with machine-spun silk wefts in double ikat (heiyō-gasuri), Promised Gift of John C. Weber. Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, photo by Paul Lachenauer; Isezaki Mitsuru (1934-2011), Bizen Large Plate, with signed wood box, stoneware, Dai Ichi Arts, Ltd.

ONISHI GALLERY:
New Japanese Tea Bowls and Flower Vases From Ōhi Chōzaemon Toyasai X
Currently on view
Ōhi Chōzaemon Toyasai X's (Tenth Generation) new collection at Onishi Gallery speaks to the years of history and technique; showcasing select pieces with his son, Ōhi Toshio Chōzaemon XI (Eleventh Generation).
Female Feature Month
June 1-24
This exhibition includes work by the metalsmiths Osumi Yukie (Living National Treasure, born 1945), Oshiyama Motoko (born 1958), Otsuki Matsuko (born 1943), and Hagino Noriko (born 1949), as well as ceramicist Tokuda Yasokichi IV (born 1961).

Read more, click here

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART:
Kimono Style: The John C. Weber Collection
June 7-February 20, 2023
This exhibition traces the transformation of the kimono from the late Edo period (1615–1868) through the early 20th century, as the T-shaped garment was adapted to suit the lifestyle of modern Japanese women. It features a remarkable selection of works from the renowned John C. Weber Collection of Japanese art that explore the mutual artistic exchanges between the kimono and Western fashion, as well as highlights from The Costume Institute’s collection.

Read more, click here

DAI ICHI ARTS, LTD
Rokkoyō: The Six Ancient Kilns of Japan
June 2-30
Dai Ichi Arts presents a summer exhibition showcasing Modern & Contemporary Japanese ceramics from the Nihon Rokkoyō (Japan's Six Ancient Kilns). The Rokkoyō category describes six representative ceramic production sites that has continued from Medieval Japan to the contemporary day: Echizen, Seto, Tokoname, Shigaraki, Tanba and Bizen. Journey through these kiln sites with us through our summer exhibition, which will showcase Modern interpretations from these kiln sites by exceptional contemporary potters & artists.

Read more, click here

Ippodo's Tea Room designed by artist Shigeru Uchida

Tea Ceremonies, Ippodo Gallery
June 11, 18, and 25, at 11:30am and 2pm

In conjunction with the current exhibition Magic of the Tea Bowl, Volume 2, Ippodo Gallery will host tea ceremonies. Several tea practitioners from Urasenke Chanoyu Tea Center will perform the ceremony in Ippodo's tea room 受庵, designed by artist Shigeru Uchida.

For more information, please contact the gallery. Details available, click here

Hara Nanreisai, Design for embroidery on Nagasaki Kunchi festival float (detail), 1826, ink and color on paper, museum purchase in honor of Keiko Thayer, made possible by an anonymous donor, 2005

Exploring a Collection Treasure: PEM’s 19th-Century Japanese Fish Scroll, Peabody Essex Museum
In-person lecture June 12, 3-4pm
Midori Oka

Japanese art historian Midori Oka presents a fascinating lecture on one of PEM's treasures — a 20-foot-long Japanese handscroll decorated with fish and sea creatures. This scroll was the original sketch for the embroidered designs on a 19th-century parade float cover still used during the annual Nagasaki Kunchi Festival — a celebration of the city's history and its special connection to international trade.

Midori Oka is the Associate Director of the Mary Griggs Burke Center for Japanese Art, Columbia University. She previously served as Research Associate for Japanese Art at the Metropolitan Museum, Associate Curator of Japanese Art at PEM, and curated exhibitions at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Rhode Island School of Design.

This program is dedicated to the memory of Robert Jay Hamburger (1941–2021) and his deep and lifelong commitment to Japanese art and culture.

Read more, click here

Madhvi Parekh (born 1942), Durga II, 2006, acrylic on acrylic sheet (reverse painting), 48 x 35.5 in.
(121.9 x 90.2 cm.)

A Place in the Sun: Women Artists from 20th Century India, DAG New York
Concludes Friday, June 10

DAG presents A Place in The Sun: Women Artists from 20th Century India, an exhibition exploring the remarkable contribution of women artists in the context of Indian modernism, representing a selection of trailblazers, each of whom crafted a unique identity and practice. This exhibition surveys their artistic journeys while fighting prejudice and patriarchy at a time when women were discouraged from pursuing art, and uncovers the wide breadth of their interests, including early abstract painting, the arduous regimen of making sculptures, and printmaking. The exhibition was curated by Kishore Singh, Senior VP-Exhibitions and Publications at DAG.

Read the special Member Monday feature about gallery projects related to this show, click here