ASIA WEEK

Utagawa Hiroshige (Japanese, 1797–1858), Plum Estate, Kameido (Kameido Umeyashiki), no. 30 from 100 Famous Views of Edo, 11th month of 1857. Woodblock print, 14 3/16 × 9 1/4 in. (36 × 23.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum; Gift of Anna Ferris, 30.1478.30. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Hiroshige’s 100 Famous Views of Edo (feat. Takashi Murakami)
April 5 – August 4, 2024
Morris A. and Meyer Schapiro Wing and Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Gallery, 5th Floor

What are the must-see locations in your favorite city? Where do you go when you need a breath of fresh air? What makes certain neighborhoods famous? Join an artist-insider on a tour of nineteenth-century Tokyo (then known as Edo), from lumberyards to destination restaurants, and see if his choices illuminate your own relationship with the cities you know well.

For the first time in twenty-four years, Utagawa Hiroshige’s 100 Famous Views of Edo—one of the Brooklyn Museum’s greatest treasures—returns to public display. The Museum’s complete set of these celebrated prints is among the world’s finest, full of vibrant colors preserved by decades in the dark.

While most presentations have centered on the prints’ technical sophistication and influence on European artists, here they focus on the urban subject matter. Originally published in 1856–58, the series captures the evolving socioeconomic and environmental landscape of the city that would become Tokyo. Through both the prints and complementary objects drawn from the Museum’s collection, you’ll be immersed in mid-nineteenth-century Edo and see it through the eyes of the ordinary people who populate Hiroshige’s settings. You’ll encounter all four seasons in scenes of picnics beneath cherry blossoms, summer rainstorms, falling maple leaves, and wintry dusks. The exhibition also includes modern photographs to show how Hiroshige’s scenes morphed into today’s Tokyo.

Artist Takashi Murakami (born Tokyo, Japan, 1962) takes Hiroshige’s views into a more fantastical realm with a set of his own paintings. Created in direct response to 100 Famous Views of Edo, these works invite us to reconsider Hiroshige’s world and his contributions to global art history.

There are also many, exciting programs accompanying this exhibition sponsored by the museum and the Japanese Art Society of America for its members, including printmaking workshops, artist talks and tours starting this week.

To learn about events for Japanese Art Society of America members, click here.

To learn more about the exhibition and Brooklyn Museum events, click here.

Installation view, Cosmic Sound: Master Paintings by Ken Matsubara, Ippodo Gallery

Cosmic Sound: Master Paintings by Ken Matsubara
Closing Thursday, April 4, 2024

There’s still time to experience Cosmic Sound: Master Paintings by Ken Matsubara at Ippodo Gallery before it closes this Thursday, the 4th.  This exhibition is a culmination of the artist’s concepts featuring twenty of the beloved painter’s unique artworks and showcasing series spanning his long and illustrious career, including three works depicting the auspicious and fearsome dragon zodiac, the spectacular 12-panel Kūkai’s View and versions of Scenery and the Moon Sound.

Ken Matsubara (b. 1948) came to the medium of painting as a young man living amongst monks at a Buddhist temple in north-central Japan. Now residing in Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture, a natural landscape of rivers and waterfalls, Matsubara sojourned across the Japanese archipelago, finding inspiration through researching local imaginations of the dragon—sometimes a sky god or spirit of the water. The transcendental themes of his youth continue to permeate his works. One universal symbol is the circle, symbolizing the resonant sound of a ringing prayer bowl. The repetitive shape muddies the separation between sun or moon, sky or sea, or foreground from background: all is one and one is all.

For this exhibition, Matsubara chose 明 “mei” as the underlying theme. The Chinese character is composed of two radicals: “day” and “moon,” representing brightness, clearness, and intelligence. Just as tomorrow will surely dawn, even after a pitch-dark night, there is hope that in the darkness of today’s world, people will mature, become wise, and illuminate the way ahead for those that come next.

To learn more and watch Ken Matsubara’s Artist Talk, click here.

Folio from a Company School album of botanical paintings, Mango (Mangifera indica), India, circa 1830, watercolor on paper, 17 x 22 in. (43.2 x 56 cm), courtesy Oliver Forge and Brendan Lynch Ltd.

Asia Week New York wrapped with another splendid year where our galleries were extremely active and sold a great deal of important works of art. Below is a survey of some of the many successful sales, with wonderful Asian art pieces being placed in both private and public collections.

Ralph M. Chait Galleries, Inc.
Spring Exhibition of Chinese Porcelain and Works of Art
Amongst their healthy sales of porcelain, wood sculpture, and Chinese export silver was this Chinese Famille Verte Plate from the Kangxi period with stunning butterfly and flower decoration.

Egenolf Gallery Japanese Prints
Supernatural: Cat Demons, Ogres and Shapeshifters
Visited by curators from many national museums, the gallery sold a number of woodblock prints including Woman Wearing an Under-sash by Itō Shinsui.

Oliver Forge & Brendan Lynch Ltd.
Gods, Gardens, and Princes: Indian Works on Paper
Included in the sales going to a London collector, an American museum, and a non-Indian Asian museum were Mango (Mangifera indica) and The King of Afghanistan Zaman Shah Durrani leaving Lahore.

Fu Qiumeng Fine Art
Literati and Rocks Amidst Verdant Bloom
With more curators and clients visiting Asia Week New York this year, especially collectors traveling from Asia, one of their many sales was Box Unlimited by contemporary ink artist, Zhang Xiaoli.

Francesca Galloway
Indian Panting: Intimacy and Formality
There was overwhelming enthusiasm for Indian painting and decorative arts by both collectors and museums, including four whimsical early 18th century Bikaner paintings joined together to make a composition that recalls a 17th century Mughal floral painting.

Ippodo Gallery
Cosmic Sound: Magnificent Paintings and Screen by Ken Matsubara
Numerous private collectors and museums purchased pieces from this exhibition, including Sun & Moon–one of the featured paintings by Ken Matsubara–which is going to an important public institution.

Sebastian Izzard LLC Asian Art
Japanese Paintings, Prints, and Illustrated Books: 1760-1810
Among the mix of paintings (both hanging scrolls and a six-panel screen), prints, and illustrated books that sold to museums and private collectors was Suzuki Harunobu’s, Narihira’s Journey to the East.

Kapoor Galleries
Time is a Construct
Dozens of viewers, buyers, scholars, and curators visited the gallery with a great number of works sold, including Illustration to the ‘Large’ Guler-Basohli Bhagavata Purana:The Liberation of Nalakuvara and Manigriva Attributed to Manaku Guler-Basohli.

Joan B Mirviss LTD
Eternal Partnership: Japanese Ceramics and Blue and White
This collaboration with Porcelains in the Mist: The Kondō Family of Ceramicists at the Brooklyn Museum, along with private events and their gallery artist Kondo Takahiro in attendance saw over 70 works placed in  both private collections and major institutions, including this rare calligraphic vase by Kitaōji Rosanjin (1883-1959).

Thomas Murray
Recent Acquisitions: Patola, Ainu, Boro
Visited by numerous national museums and informed private collectors, the gallery sold Indian patola silks and Ainu robes, one of which is a rare striking geometric white on indigo Kaparamip Robe.

Scholten Japanese Art
COLLECTING THE MASTER: The Binnie Collection of Hiroshi Yoshida Paintings
Many collectors and curators appreciated this very special private collection of paintings by Hiroshi Yoshida, assembled by the artist Paul Binnie. Among the works sold was Boats, a sumi ink on silk scroll painting.

TAI Modern
A Pause in Time, An Emptiness in Space: Ma in Japanese Bamboo Art
Among the many sales of historic and contemporary works in this exhibition was a Peony Basket by Kajiwara Koho.

Thomsen Gallery
Japanese Modern Masterpieces 1910-1950
Many of the Japanese lacquer boxes, bamboo baskets, and screens in this exhibition found buyers, including Beauty with Fan, a hanging scroll by Yamakawa Shūhō (1898-1944), from the 1920s.

Zetterquist Galleries
Chinese and Vietnamese Ceramics from Private and American and Japanese Collections
With many national museum curators visiting throughout Asia Week, seventy-five percent of this exhibition was sold, including this large 15-16th century blue and white jar with Ruyi decoration, from the Le-So dynasties in Vietnam.

Read more about the feedback from our AWNY dealers and combined sales between the twenty-one galleries and five auction houses in the recent Press Release here.

Installation view, Landscape as Metaphor: Contemporary Voices, courtesy Alisan Fine Arts

Although we officially wrapped Asia Week New York March 2024, there are still wonderful ongoing gallery exhibitions available to view! Below is a list of shows in the city that welcome your visit:

CONTINUING EXHIBITIONS:

Chinese Art
• Alisan Fine Arts, Lui Shou-Kwan: Shifting Landscapes & Landscape as Metaphor: Contemporary Voices, through April 27
• Fu Qiumeng Fine Art, Literati and Rocks Amidst Verdant Bloom, through April 13
• Loewentheil Photography of China Collection, Dragon Women: Early Photographs of China, through May 15

Japanese Art
• Dai Ichi Arts, Ltd., Ceramic Frontiers: Sodeisha & Shikokai in Post-war Japanese Art, through March 28
• Ippodo Gallery, Cosmic Sound: Master Paintings by Ken Matsubara, through April 4
• Joan B Mirviss LTD, Eternal Partnership: Japanese Ceramics in Blue & White, through April 19
• Onishi Gallery, KOGEI and Art , through May 24
• SHIBUNKAKU, Postwar Japanese Calligraphy and Painting, through April 19

Korean Art
• HK Art & Antiques LLC, Korean Artists in Paris, through April 5
• MIYAKO YOSHINAGA, Joo Myung Duck: Sensory Space in Photography and its Conversation with Korean Abstract Painting, thrugh April 13

Also feel free to view all the dealer members’ Online Exhibitions here.

Composite image: Akogi (detail), from the series Nōgaku zue, Tsukioka Kōgyo (1869–1927), Japan, Meiji era, March 1, 1899, woodblock print, ink and color on paper, Robert O. Muller Collection, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, S2003.8.2898; Nakamura Utaemon III as Taira no Tomomori (detail), Ryūsai Shigeharu (1803–1853), Publisher: Wataya Kihei (ca. 1809–1885), Japan, Edo period, 1831, woodblock print, ink and color on paper, The Anne van Biema Collection, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, S2004.3.279

Staging the Supernatural: Ghosts and the Theater in Japanese Prints
March 23 – October 6, 2024
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Gallery 25

Throughout Japanese cultural history, the boundary between the real world and the world of supernatural beings has been remarkably porous. Certain sites, states of mind, or periods in the lunar cycle made humans particularly vulnerable to ghostly intervention. The Edo period (1603–1868) was a crucial stage in the development and solidification of ideas about the supernatural. Many of the beliefs that gained currency at this time are still held as conventional wisdom in Japan today.

Supernatural entities came to life especially during noh and kabuki theater performances. Explore—if you dare—the roles that ghosts and spirits play in the retelling of Japanese legends and real events. Staging the Supernatural brings together a collection of vibrant, colorful woodblock prints and illustrated books depicting the specters that haunt these two theatrical traditions.

To learn more, click here.

Portrait of a Woman, Sang Hing Studio, 1860s, hand-colored albumen silver print, courtesy Loewentheil Photography of China Collection

On this last day of Asia Week, it’s your last chance to view the wonderful works on display by 22 of our dealer members, as well as online shows and sales and a Christie’s auction!

20 gallery exhibitions are open today with 2 additional online only shows. Click on each dealer and auction house for hours and locations:

Ancient and/or Contemporary Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art

• Art Passages (online exhibition only)
• Oliver Forge and Brendan Lynch Ltd.
• Kapoor Galleries
• Carlton Rochell Asian Art

Ancient and/or Contemporary Chinese Art

• Alisan Fine Arts
• Ralph M. Chait Galleries
• Fu Qiumeng Fine Art
• INKstudio (by appointment only)
• Kaikodo LLC (online exhibition only)
• Loewentheil Photography of China Collection
• Zetterquist Galleries

Pre-modern and/or Contemporary Japanese Art

• Dai Ichi Arts, Ltd.
• Ippodo Gallery
• Sebastian Izzard Asian Art
• Joan B Mirviss LTD
• Onishi Gallery
• Scholten Japanese Art
• Shibunkaku
• TAI Modern
• Thomsen Gallery

Ancient and Contemporary Korean Art

• HK Art & Antiques
• Miyako Yoshinaga

TODAY’S AUCTIONS

Christie’s

• 9 AM: Important Chinese Art Including the Collection of Dorothy Tapper Goldman Session II

TODAY’S FEATURED EVENTS

• Bonhams and Christie’s Online Auctions are open for bidding
• iGavel is holding Auction Viewings and their Online Auctions are open for bidding

Refer to our Interactive Map in case you get lost!

And plan your last day of Asia Week with our handy Calendar of Events.

teamLab, The World of Irreversible Change, 2022, interactive digital work, 6 channels, endless, sound: teamLab © teamLab, courtesy Pace Gallery

teamLab: The World of Irreversible Change
March 23, 2024 – March 23, 2025

The San Antonio Museum of Art is pleased to present a digital artwork by the international art collective teamLab alongside a seventeenth-century Japanese screen from SAMA’s collection.

The World of Irreversible Change resembles the format of historic Japanese screens such as Scenes in and Around Kyoto (Rakuchu Rakugai-zu), which presents a birds-eye view of the ancient capital city with major buildings and thoroughfares that are bustling with life. Viewers’ actions affect the artworld of a virtual city that is both somewhere in time and here and now and influence the behaviors of the people in it. Although its inhabitants may become agitated and cause destruction, regrowth of the virtual environment continues eternally, albeit forever changed.

Presented across six monitors, the artwork changes in real-time with the seasons, weather, and the time of day of its location. The artworks bring forward concepts including digital vs. analog, the recontextualization of art historical precedents, collective creativity, and humanity’s relationship to the environment.

teamLab (f. 2001) is an international art collective. Their collaborative practice seeks to navigate the confluence of art, science, technology, and the natural world. Through art, the interdisciplinary group of specialists, including artists, programmers, engineers, CG animators, mathematicians, and architects, aims to explore the relationship between the self and the world and new forms of perception.

To learn more, click here.