ASIA WEEK

Women across Asian Art, Selected Essays in Art and Material Culture, Edited by Ling-en Lu and Allysa B. Peyton, 2023, University of Florida Press

Women across Asian Art, Selected Essays in Art and Material Culture
Edited by Ling-en Lu and Allysa B. Peyton

Women across Asian Art, the newest volume of the David A. Cofrin Asian Art Manuscript Series, examines an underserved aspect of Asian art history by discussing women artists, collectors, archaeologists, and architects. The essays in Women across Asian Art cover a wide geographical area from Japan to Pakistan, as they draw attention to people whose efforts have largely been left out of scholarship.

Filled with exquisite color illustrations, The volume begins by looking at iconography representing the goddess Marici in Chinese art as well as ancient Chinese characters related to gender roles during the Shang dynasty. Contributors then discuss topics including women’s participation as hangeul (Korean alphabet) calligraphers, artists in Japanese Saison culture, and early archaeologists in China. Shedding light on individuals such as poet and painter Luo Qilan, collector Brenda Zara Seligman, architect Lin Huiyin, neo-miniaturist Saira Wasim, painter Tseng Yuho, and sculptor Tayeba Begum Lipi, these essays represent a broad range of contributions from pioneers in their respective fields to current-day activists.

Using primary sources, museum collections, and archival material, the contributors—curators and independent scholars—investigate their collections and fields with new strategies and present original research. As museums are intentionally turning their attention to overlooked narratives of women, this volume continues the important work of uncovering their stories in Asian art history.

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Paul Binnie (Scottish, b. 1967), The Moon Moth Suite, each print signed in sumi ink within composition, Binnie, numbered and titled in pencil on bottom margin, 3/30, Moon Moth Mask, Scarlet Sabre Bills of Sirene, and Sea Dragon Mask, followed by pencil signature, Paul Binnie, 2023, dimensions variable

Scholten Japanese Art is pleased to announce the release of an exciting new set by Paul Binnie, The Moon Moth Suite, comprising of a set of three woodblock printed illustrations, Moon Moth Mask, Scarlet Sabre Bills, and Sea Dragon Mask. The designs are featured in a 2023 re-release of the 1961 science fiction book, The Moon Moth, by Jack Vance (1916-2013).

Binnie was commissioned by the publisher Cordes Press in the United Kingdom to provide the prints for a new edition of the famous and influential novella. The Cordes edition features three black and white illustrations which are based on Binnie’s keyblock prints of the designs, and there is also a (sold-out) luxury edition limited to only fourteen copies of the book with hand-printed color woodblock prints. Inspired by this unique project, Binnie used the same blocks to produce this small edition limited to thirty impressions of the suite of three full-color prints utilizing slightly variant color schemes embellished with the addition of mica, embossing, gold metallic printing, and extra bokashi shadings.

To learn more about this exciting new release, click here.

Komago Tetsutaro, Group of polychrome guinomi, 2023

Winter Kogei Collection
Exhibition of Japanese Contemporary Sake and Tea Ceramics
November 22, 2023 – January 4, 2024

Dai Ichi Arts’ upcoming holiday collection features new ceramic works that are a tribute to the joys of small and tender objects. Exploring form, function, decoration, and traditions, the artists’ expressions of “Kogei” serve as vibrant tributes to the joys of form and function in expansive objects.

Their 3 gallery artists – Kim Hono, Ikenishi Go and Komago Tetsutarou – each bring unique perspectives to the concept of “Kogei,” crafting honest objects from the heart.  This exhibition showcases the debut collections of Ikenishi Go and Komago Tetsutaro at Dai Ichi Arts and in the United States, as well as a highly anticipated new ceramic collection by Kim Hono.

The exhibition is available to view online and in-person by appointment only.

To learn more, click here.

Hosokawa Shiko, Tea Caddy with Maple Leaves, 1998, maki-e gold and red lacquer on wood with gold foil inlays, 3 x 3 x 3 in. (7.5 x 7.3 x 7.3 cm); Courtesy Thomsen Gallery

Golden Treasures: Japanese Gold Lacquer Boxes
November 9 – December 20, 2023

Thomsen Gallery is delighted to open their annual autumn exhibition of Japanese lacquers dating from the early 20th century to the present. This year they are focusing on lacquer works from the modern period, 1920s—50s, including published items that were exhibited in Tokyo at the annual art exhibitions of 1933, 1952 and 1953.

Be sure to visit their gallery to view the beautiful designs and fine details of these unique works for yourself.

To learn more, click here.

Group of hookah bases, lidded bowl, and brass stem cup from Indian Decorative Arts and Paintings from Private Collections online catalog

Francesca Galloway is pleased to release their newest online catalog, Indian Decorative Arts and Paintings from Private Collections.

With forty years of experience and expertise, today Francesca Galloway is known as one of the foremost galleries dealing in Indian painting and courtly arts. Combining a personal approach with a global outlook, they regularly exhibit internationally. Collaborating with the leading scholars in this field, their catalogs and publications are reference works in their own right, helping to advance the research and visibility of this fascinating and important subject.

To view their newest catalog, click here

Bingyi (b.1975, Beijing), Taihang Rhapsody 太行赋, 2022-2023, ink on paper 纸本水墨, 370 x 1200 cm; Courtesy INKstudio

Bingyi: The Eyes of Chaos
November 18, 2023 – February 25, 2024
Opening: Saturday, Nov 18 from 4:00 – 6:00 pm

INKstudio is proud to announce the opening of Bingyi’s third solo exhibition with the gallery entitled Bingyi: The Eyes of Chaos. As an artist, architectural designer, curator, cultural critic, and social activist, Bingyi has developed a multi-faceted practice that encompasses land-and-environmental art, site-specific architectural installation, musical and literary composition, ink painting, performance art, and filmmaking.

In The Eyes of Chaos, INKstudio will debut Bingyi’s latest grand, speculative narrative about Art and its relationship to Nature, Literature, History and Politics as retold or reimagined from a woman’s point of view.

To learn more, click here.

Persimmons (detail), 13th century, attributed to Muqi (Chinese, active mid to late 13th century). China; Southern Song Dynasty. Ink on paper. Lent by Ryokoin Temple. Photo by Okada Ai, courtesy of the Kyoto National Museum.

The Heart of Zen
November 17, 2023 – December 31, 2023

The Heart of Zen features two extraordinary ink paintings, Persimmons (popularly known as Six Persimmons) and Chestnuts, on view in the United States for the first time. Attributed to the 13th-century monk Muqi, these exquisitely subtle compositions were painted in China and then crossed the ocean to Japan, where they have been designated Important Cultural Properties and treasured for centuries at Daitokuji Ryokoin Zen temple in Kyoto.

Please note that Six Persimmons and Chestnuts will be displayed individually, one at a time, for only three weeks each. Six Persimmons will be displayed Nov. 17–Dec. 10, while Chestnuts will be displayed Dec. 8–Dec. 31. Both works will be briefly on view together Dec. 8–Dec. 10. Space is limited, and entry into this special exhibition is on a first come, first serve basis.

To learn more, click here.

Ruth Asawa, (1926–2013), Untitled  (S.272, Hanging Seven-Lobed Continuous Interlocking Form with Spheres in Two Lobes) (detail), approx. 1954, copper and iron wire; © 2023 Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photograph by Dan Bradica, courtesy David Zwirner.

Ruth Asawa: Untitled (S.272)
November 17, 2023 – February 24, 2025

An iconic work by a beloved and influential Bay Area artist, Untitled (S.272) is a nine-foot-tall hanging sculpture composed of looped copper and iron wire, created in the mid-1950s by Ruth Asawa. This second installation in the Fang Family Launchpad is a masterful example of the suspended, abstract works of looped wire for which Asawa is best known. Its airy interior and exterior spaces flow seamlessly into one another, using organic lines that evoke shapes found in nature — including the human body — while also suggesting a gently undulating movement.

To learn more, click here.

Konno Tomoko (b. 1967), Creature, 2010, stoneware with nerikomi, h. 21 5/8 x w. 20 1/2 x d. 10 5/8 in. (55 x 52 x 27 cm)

Contemporary Japanese Ceramics as Statement
November 15 – December 6, 2023
By appointment only
Opening Reception: Tuesday, December 5, 6–8pm

Onishi Gallery is pleased to be presenting Contemporary Japanese Ceramics as Statement, featuring Konno Tomoko, Suzuki Miki and Ohi Toshio Chozaemon XI whose works are treated as artfully designed sculptures that make a statement and engage in meaningful dialogue with the interior of a home. The work of Konno Tomoko will be part of Radical Clay: Contemporary Women Artists from Japan, which will be held at the Art Institute of Chicago opening on December 16, 2023. The works in the museum exhibition come from the Carol and Jeffrey Horvitz Collection.

To learn more, click here.

Qian Du, Resting on a Rock and Gazing Clouds 憩石望雲, ink and color on paper, fan leaf, framed

Whispers of Elegance 轻闻风雅
Closes on November 18, 2023

Fu Qiumeng Fine Art’s Fall exhibition, Whispers of Elegance, shines a spotlight on the art of Chinese fans. Curated by Xian Fang, the former Head of Sales and Vice President at Sotheby’s New York Classical Chinese Paintings department, this enchanting group of folding fans showcases the art’s evolution with a discerning selection that spans from the Qing Dynasty luminaries such as Wang Yuanqi (1642-1715) and Huang Yi (1744-1802), progressing to modern masters like Qi Baishi (1864-1957) and Xiao Xun (1883-1944), and onto contemporaries like Ding Yanyong (1902-1978) and Wang Jiqian (C. C. Wang, 1907-2003).

A particularly wonderful group of folding fans from the Republic era showcases joint creations by literati artists, such as Zhang Daqian (Chang Dai-Chien, 1899-1983), Pu Ru (1896-1963), Tao Lengyue (1895-1985), and Wang Fu’an (1879-1960), among many others. This selection offers profound insights into the transformative interpretations, dialogues, and collaborations of traditional Chinese visual culture, deeply influenced by the vibrant intellectual and artistic movements of early 20th-century China.

To learn more, click here.