Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892), Picture of the Great Battle of Kawanakajima and Picture of the Bloody Battle of the Brave Generals of the Takeda Clan, 1866 & 1867, woodblock print hexaptych, 14 1/8 by 59 3/4 in., 35.8 by 151.9 cm. Photo: Courtesy of Scholten Japanese Art.
On March 9th, Asia Week New York throws open the doors to the largest number of privately curated exhibitions in the extraordinary event's history: a total of 50! Asia Week New York is the annual 10-day presentation of treasures from all over Asia, a magnet for collectors, museum curators, designers and scholars that is certain to satisfy.
From every corner of the continent of Asia comes an exquisite array of beautiful things to be seen and savored at galleries sprinkled around Manhattan beginning March 9 through March 18. In these museum-quality displays by some of the world's most knowledgeable and discerning Asian art specialists, art lovers will be able to behold examples of painting, sculpture, bronzes, ceramics, jewelry, jade, textiles, prints and photographs gathered from all over Asia.
"In my years as Chairman of Asia Week New York never I have been prouder of this event," says Lark Mason. "Our members are pulling out all the stops to present the best there is to offer in their respective fields. Never before has Asia Week New York offered such a large adventure to seekers of Far Eastern treasures-all on view for the first time. Adds Mason: "Connoisseurs of Asian beauty will feel as though they have traversed a continent and experienced the best it has to offer without ever leaving the island of Manhattan."
Organized by category and region, here is a rundown of the exhibitions by the participating galleries:
ANCIENT AND/OR CONTEMPORARY CHINESE ART
Walter Arader Himalayan Art (New York)
Claiming a special place in Recent Acquisitions at 1016 Madison Avenue is an outstanding gilt lacquer Chinese sculpture that likely originated during the Reign of Kangxi (1661-1722). The work once belonged to a set of 12 retinue figures that accompanied a larger sculpture of Shri Devi Magzor Gyalmo. Four examples from this set were first published in Body, Speech, and Mind in 1998, and another suite recently sold at a European auction in 2015. The imperial set would have been very impressive in its entirety and was probably displayed at large state rituals for protection.
Ralph M. Chait Galleries (New York)
A key element in Spring Collection of Chinese Art, and standing 17 inches is a superb famille verte porcelain rouleau vase decorated with a scene from the Chinese classic Romance of the Three Kingdoms, an epic with themes of reverence for the past and loyalty to the ruler. Dating from the Kangxi period (1662-1722), the painting is of the finest quality, beautifully executed in deep and vibrant enamels -- a true masterpiece in decoration and form -- on view at 16 East 52nd Street, 10th Floor.
China 2000 Fine Art (New York)
Stronger Together: Two Western Artists Who Embraced the Chinese Idiom, 1556 Third Avenue, Suite 601, focuses on two Western artists: Roy Lichtenstein and Robert Rauschenberg, both of whom created final projects that re-examined their attraction to Chinese artistic expression and translated this affinity into their own unique idioms. For Rauschenberg's Lotus V (The Lotus Series) of 2008, the last printed project he completed before his death in 2008, the artist made prints based on photographs from his trips to China between 1982 and 1985. In these works, Rauschenberg blends the traditional with the innovative, prompting the viewer to contrast a receding past with the hyper clarity that today's technology has made possible.
Carole Davenport (New York)
Secured in a private collection since World War II, this foot-tall jizo bosatsu, made from aromatic wood (with traces of gesso, lacquer, paint and gilding), has been verified through careful research, including a Carbon 14 test, to have originated in the 9th or 10th century. It is a beautiful and serene sculpture, a protective figure to both travelers and mothers-to-be. Because Japanese works from this time are rare, to say the least, seeing one is an uncommon opportunity at THEN NOW/ Meet Hiroyuki Asano & His Sculpture in a Milieu of Classic Art, 5 East 82nd Street, Suite 2.
FitzGerald Fine Arts (New York)
In their exhibition featuring the work of artist Beili Liu, a work of blown sumi ink on canvas is noteworthy.. Titled Rise & Fall Series, Wind Drawing (Panel 1), on view at 40 Wooster Street, this large-scale triptych evokes the movement and look of wind, conjuring its life-giving energy known as prana. It is typical of the works that Liu is known for, which embody transience, fragility and the passage of time.
Nicholas Grindley (Brooklyn)
From the early Tang period (7th century) bounds a playful shaggy-haired lion-dog, his hind-quarters sticking straight up in the air, his heavy-clawed front paws folded up beneath him. This enchanting creature, which can be seen at Hazlitt, 17 East 76th Street, has a long coat that covers the whole of the body-the thick fur depicted by deep incised lines-and a wide-open teeth-bared mouth with flared nostrils and large eyes surrounded by hairy eyebrows. White slip covers most of the body.
Robert Hall Asian Art Ltd. (London)
Lu Shoukun (1919-75), one of the most influential Hong Kong Chinese artists, founded the new ink movement and was the prime driving force in the development of modern art there in the 1960s and '70s. His work Zen Lotus, in ink on paper executed in 1974, clearly evidences his embrace of a new style, one that combined traditional Chinese and modern Western elements. On view in Chinese Paintings, Works of Art and Snuff Bottles, Gallery Vallois America, 27 East 67th Street, 3rd Floor, the painting embodies calligraphic and Abstract Expressionist features and represents an artistic and theoretic rejuvenation of classical Chinese art.
Michael C. Hughes LLC (New York)
What makes this large famille verte baluster vase particularly significant is the extraordinarily dense depiction of the flora. The painterly combination of peony, bamboo, pine, grasses and rockwork combine and mingle in a continuous design around this elegant vessel. It stands 17 inches and has handles that convey a fine naturalism, which beautifully complements the vase, which is one of the many beautiful objects on view Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Gallery Vallois America, 27 East 67th Street, 3rd Floor.
Andrew Kahane, Ltd. (New York)
Although black-glazed vases with russet decoration of birds or flowers of this form and from this period are well represented in public and private collections, examples with iron-oxide 'partridge-feather' splashes are quite rare. The 13-inch pear-shaped vase dating from the Northern Song-Jin Dynasty (12th-early 13th century) compares closely with an example of smaller size in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, one in the Hakutsuru Art Museum, Kobe and another of later date in the Tokyo National Museum. The vase is featured at Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, The Mark Hotel, Madison Avenue and 77th Street, Suite 1207.
Kaikodo LLC (New York)
A stand out in the exhibition, River of Stars, a poetic term in Chinese for the Milky Way, is a 15th -16th century masterwork--a bird and flower painting. The 5 by 10 foot hanging scroll, intended for display in a grand hall, was designed for maximum visual impact and can be seen in all its glory at 74 East 79th Street, Suite 14B.
Alan Kennedy (Santa Monica)
Paintings of beautiful women (meiren) are a type of genre painting that was much appreciated during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Measuring 6'2" x2'1", this example, in ink and colors on silk, is quite rare in that the female subject of the painting represents the Chinese perception of a European lady in her native dress. The artist is unlikely to have had direct contact with a European woman and therefore probably employed a European print as the source image for the work. This unusual work of art is among Chinese and Japanese Paintings and Textiles, James Goodman Gallery, 41 East 57th Street, 8th Floor.
J.J. Lally & Co. (New York)
This rare ancient Chinese limestone stele shows the meeting of two benevolent Buddhist deities: Wenshu mounted on a lion and Puxian mounted on an elephant, with the Seven Buddhas of the Past bearing witness. A dedication inscribed on one side includes a Tang dynasty date corresponding to A.D. 742. The sculpture, formerly in the Worch Collection, brought to America in the 1940's, is one of 23 works included in the exhibition of Buddhist Sculpture from Ancient China, 41 East 57th Street, 14th Floor.
Littleton & Hennessey (London)
Littleton & Hennessy-21 Years is the heading given to the retrospective at Daniel Crouch Rare Books, 24 East 64th Street. There, an 18th-century watermelon tourmaline conjoined 'dragon' vase claims significant importance because of its size, the quality of the stone and the expertise of the carving. Two-colored tourmalines of such vibrancy and clarity are incredibly hard to find, and the craftsman who fashioned this five-inch piece almost certainly worked for the Qianlong Emperor, who was known to demand for his court the most exquisite works of art in porcelain, bronze, jade and other precious stones that could possibly be achieved.
Sue Ollemans Oriental Art (London)
This alluring enameled gold ring, on display at Ancient and Modern Design in Asian Jewels, 23 East 73rd Street, 7th Floor, shows a bird with a Basra pearl hanging from its beak, standing on a green base, the shank in lal zamin enamel. The top of the Mughal creation from the 17th-18th century is screwed onto the base, leaving a small, concealed place where potions could have been hidden. This genre of jewelry was exported to Europe, where it influenced Renaissance jewelry design.
Pace Gallery (New York)
Lee Ufan's Untitled, a painting on porcelain from 2016, radiates the artist's mastery of the brush and is one of the many works in ceramic at this single-artist exhibition, Lee Ufan: Ceramics, 32 East 57th Street, 2nd Floor. This is the first exhibition solely of ceramics that the artist has organized in the United States. Through a career spanning five decades. Ufan's work in sculpture, installation, painting and drawing have been the focus of major exhibitions the world over, including a retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum in 2008 and a major installation at the Palace of Versailles in 2014. His conceptual concerns embrace philosophical theories of the East and West and play off the spaces in which they are situated.
Phoenix Ancient Art (New York)
A show-stopper at The Diffusion of Buddha in Antiquity is a head of Bodhisattva, easily one of the most impressive Gandharan heads known. Dating from the 2nd to 3rd century A.D., this impressive schist sculpture is a good centerpiece for an exhibition that will circle around the different depictions of Buddha, on view at 47 East 66th Street, Ground Floor.
19th Century Rare Book & Photograph Shop (Brooklyn)
Island Pagoda is a classic image by John Thomson, one of the greatest figures in 19th-century photography in China. The site is near Fuzhou, now known as Lo-Sing, on the picturesque Min River, long celebrated for its dramatic scenery. The photograph is from Thomson's Foochow and the River Min (1873), the most magnificent of Thomson's photographically illustrated works. Only seven complete sets are known to survive. This and other images are being exhibited in Masterpieces of Early Chinese Photography (exhibition only-not for sale) at PRPH Books, 24 East 64th Street, 3rd Floor.
Priestly & Ferraro (London)
Bowls for tea were (and still are) items of supreme importance in China, made in a variety of methods and adorned with decorations of unending invention to best show off the tea to be drunk from them. This tea bowl was made with the glaze that resembles the fur of the hare, and the dark glaze contrasts with the pale foam of the tea that poured inside. It's from the early Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) and is 4½ inches in diameter, and is one of the treasures at Chinese & Korean Ceramics & Works of Art, 3 East 66th Street, Apartment 8B.
M. Sutherland Fine Arts Ltd. (New York)
CMYK-Five Dynasties, Gu Deqian, Waterfowl and Lotuses by Yang Mian is the highlight of Guo Hua: Defining Contemporary Chinese Painting, 7 East 74th Street, 3rd Floor. This large acrylic on canvas (3 feet by 5 feet) is the product of a painstaking, multi-step process using computers to produce digitally-printed layers of stencils and paint, resulting in a unique image loosely yet recognizably based on a masterpiece of classical Chinese painting. Nevertheless, the painting is totally modern, created by Yang through inventive technical processes of his own devising. The ambiguity that results draws in the viewer and stimulates further study.
YEWN (Hong Kong)
Why is this Chinese lattice jadeite ring newsworthy? In 2011, Michelle Obama wore it when she and the President hosted a state dinner for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. It is a focal point in Have You Seen "Contemporary Chinese Fine Jewelry" Before? at the Aaron Faber Gallery, 666 Fifth Avenue (entrance at West 53rd Street). The 18-karat white gold ring is set with diamonds and shows four bats hovering above a Chinese coin. The word bat carries a witty hint of blessings since in Mandarin it shares an identical pronunciation with the word luck.
Eric Zetterquist (New York)
Making a lasting impression in Chinese and Vietnamese Ceramics with Highlights from the Brow Collection, 3 East 66th Street, No. 1B, is an irresistible parrot lamp. Originating in the Ly Dynasty (11th to 12th century) in Vietnam, the parrot-shaped oil lamp takes its style cues from Indian metalwork, as translated through the Khmer Empire. The techniques employed by the Vietnamese at the time were informed by Chinese Song Dynasty ceramics, resulting in a genre unique to Vietnam. This particular example has striking life-like modeling of the feathers and head of the parrot, and is one of the finest examples in this country.
ANCIENT/AND OR CONTEMPORARY INDIAN, HIMALAYAN AND SOUTHEAST ASIAN ART
Dr. Robert R. Bigler (Ruschlikon/Zurich, Switzerland)
Although the 9½-inch Buddha Shakyamuni evidences some wear and signs of age, the quality of its casting is unimpeachable, showing details that are exquisitely modeled. The serene expression of the figure's countenance is striking. In the course of cleaning, an eight-character Chinese inscription was discovered on the back of the double-lotus base, indicating the name of two monks who commissioned the figure. The result of a thermoluminescence test on the work confirmed a dating to the early 14th century. This breath-taking figure is part of the special exhibition Dynasties and Identities, Tibeto-Chinese Buddhist Art of the 13th to 15th Centuries. Dickinson Roundell Inc., 19 East 66th Street.
Prahlad Bubbar (London)
A jewel-like painting of Jahangir (1569-1627), the aesthete whose legacy as Mughal Emperor of India continued well after his lifetime, takes center stage at Indian Paintings and Early Photography 1600-1880: Recent Acquisitions at Arader Galleries, 1016 Madison Avenue. The colors of the painting, dating from 1680-90 and ascribed to Usta Hasan al-Din, are ethereal, lending an atmospheric and lyrical feeling to the work, whereas the composition is clear in its beautifully traced geometric shapes, echoing the sharpness of detail typical of the finest work of Bikaner in the late 17th century.
Buddhist Art (Berlin, Germany)
Hailing originally from Eastern India, this black stone stele from the 11th century is significant both for its Buddhist motif and for its storied provenance. Pala stone sculpture invariably depicts Hindu deities with a rather stiff and motionless demeanor, whereas this Buddhist Lokesvara is just the opposite: full of life and vivacity! Seated in "royal ease" with a flowing body, a beautiful, serene face and a meditative half smile, the figure, is part of the exhibition called Serene Deities, at Arader Galleries, 29 East 72nd Street.
Carlo Cristi (Daverio, Italy)
An important, rare and very large fragment of silk samite displays a bird, possibly an eagle, holding grapes in its beak, perhaps suggesting a ritual associated with the Cult of Dionysus that diffused throughout central Asia, thanks to colonies founded by Alexander the Great. Through carbon-dating, the almost 4-by-4-foot textile, a standout element in Art of India, Tibet, Central Asian Textiles at Leslie Feely Fine Art, 33 East 68th Street, 5th Floor, has been ascertained to have originated in the 7th or 8th century, and it may have been used as a hanging decoration during ceremonies.
DAG Modern (New York)
A portrait on cement by Ramkinkar Baij (born 1922) of Rabindranath Tagore, the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in literature, was executed in 1938. Baij has never been interested in realistic depictions; rather he strives to evoke the complexity and essence of a subject, as he has masterfully accomplished with this affecting likeness of Tagore, part of The Art of Bengal, 41 East 57th Street, Suite 708.
Oliver Forge and Brendan Lynch (London)
Made in either of the legendary courts of Bijapur or Golconda, in South India, in the late 15th or early 16th century, this lavishly decorated folio is calligraphed with the 99 names of God. An attention-grabber in Indian Court Painting, 9 East 82nd Street, Suite 1A, the page has script that has been rendered in large thulth, a magnificently dominant handwriting generally used for the grandest of Qur’ans, commissioned for use at court or as diplomatic gifts. The quality is impeccable, and there are seals on the reverse that record two previous owners, one of them a certain ’Abd al-Rahim, an officer of Ahmad Shah Bahadur (1725-75), a Mughal emperor who ruled for just six years.
Francesca Galloway (London)
Showcased in Pahari Paintings from the Eva and Konrad Seitz Collection at W.M. Brady & Co., 22 East 80th Street, is an unforgettable painting of Vishnu’s feet as objects of worship. The footprints of Vishnu (Vishnupada) are important symbols in Vaishnavism, and places where his feet came down to earth are sacred. The soles of Vishnu’s feet are decorated with gold images of his weapons and other symbols associated with the deity: lotuses, a parasol, a flag, the sun, the moon and a fish, among other things. It is a painting from the early 19th century and is exceptionally well painted.
Galerie Christophe Hioco (Paris)
Part of a triad, the standard layout of the Buddhist world, a 14th-century gilt-copper Buddha from Tibet claims a notable spot in New Acquisitions in Indian Art and Himalayan Art at Leslie Feely Fine Art, 33 East 68th Street, 5th Floor. Surrounded by two of the eight great bodhisattvas in a piece, this pieces shows off subtle muscles that seem to come to life. The work is a rare vestige of the great lamaic art of the Mongol era, and the pose of the work is evocative of a Nepalese statuette in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Nayef Homsi Ancient Art of Asia (New York)
An abundance of elements used to decorate the gray schist head of Prince Siddhartha as a Bodhisattva makes the 12-inch sculpture exceptionally compelling. A very elaborate turban is tied into a fan shape and held in place with large jewels and a pair of dragons, emphasizing the worldly possessions the prince will have to give up in order to become the Buddha in his simple robe. This fine 3rd-century work of art from Gandhara is a prized element in Recent Acquisitions at 7 East 75th Street, Unit 1A.
Kapoor Galleries (New York)
Occupying a prominent place in Recent Acquisitions is a very fine and important 17-inch bronze sculpture of Vishnu in yogic posture, produced in the same workshop as the version in the collection of the Norton Simon Museum. These two beautiful examples of northern Indian metalwork are derived from the historic and famous Kashmir region and date from the 10th or 11th century, and can be viewed at 34 East 67th Street, 3rd Floor.
Navin Kumar (New York)
In Vajradhara with Consort, a showpiece in Himalayan and Indian Art, 24 East 73rd Street, Suite 4F, a Tibetan painting created sometime between 1676 and 1705, Vajradhara, a deity considered to be the manifestation of phenomena and noumena, is depicted seated in the center in non-dual union with his consort Nairatmya. Surrounding them are the other Dhyana Buddhas, each in non-dual union, representing the qualities of an enlightened being. An exceptionally finely executed work, the painting was commissioned by the Mindrolling Monastery, the most revered center for esoteric teachings in the late 17th century. The inscription on the verso indicates the painting escaped the destruction of the original monastery in 1718 during the Dzungar War and passed to the hands of the fourth Mindrolling abbot, Gyurme Padmashasana (1737-1761).
Alexis Renard (Paris)
A monumental 19th-century ewer and basin, used to perform ablutions before prayers, has been decorated with a diamond pattern and gilded copper. Known as tombak, a word thought to have originated from the Malaysian word tumbaga, gilded copper was a highly sought-after technique in the Ottoman world for prestigious objects like chamfrains, shields and armor. Objects in tombak bearing diamond patterns are exceedingly rare, and this example can be seen at Tambaran Gallery, 5 East 82nd Street, Lower Level.
Samina Inc. (London)
Carved from nephrite jade, inlaid with gold and silver and set with diamonds, emeralds and rubies, this 18th-century cup is a show-stopping feature of The Jewelled Arts of India at Arader Galleries, 29 East 72nd Street. The superb quality of carving of the translucent white nephrite of this small vessel, decorated with fine kundan inlay, illustrates an extraordinary level of craftsmanship associated only with the royal workshops. It was crafted in Mughal or Deccan, India.
Runjeet Singh (Warwickshire, UK)
A wonderful khanjar, or jambiya dagger, with a pale nephrite jade hilt and scabbard mounts, attracts attention at Arms & Armor from the East, on display at Tambaran Gallery, 5 East 82nd Street, Lower Level. There is an abundance of decoration on this weapon: large flower heads and fruits in groupings of cabochon rubies and leaves of cabochon emeralds. Made in the late 17th or early 18th century in Turkey using Indian jade mounts, the dagger’s wavy snake-like blade of watered steel has traces of gold decoration at the forte as well as a gold border.
Tenzing Asian Art (San Francisco)
The subject matter may appear macabre or violent—flayed human skin—but in reality, carpets like this example were commonly used in religious ceremonies and for purifying. Made in Tibet, the carpet was made sometime in the 19th century in the Ningxia region of China, renowned for luxurious wool, and it once belonged to a very high-level Tibetan monk. It measures approximately 2½ by 5 feet and is part of Buddhist Bronzes, Paintings, and Textiles from the Himalayas at Arader Galleries, 1016 Madison Avenue.
ANCIENT AND/OR CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE ART
The Art of Japan (Medina, Washington)
Fine Japanese Prints and Paintings from 1750-1950 is an exhibition in Suite 215 of the Mark Hotel, 25 East 77th Street, and Beauty Combing Her Hair is a must-see. Dating from 1933, this image, by Torii Kotondo, elegantly conveys the quiet essence of the wonderful Japanese ethic of shibui--less is more. The beautiful woman, lost in quiet thought, arranges her hair and communicates fluently the formal simplicity of the image. This print stands as one of the finest examples of shin hanga bijin designs anywhere
BachmannEckenstein JapaneseArt (Basel, Switzerland)
In Japanese Art—Pre-Modern and Beyond at Gallery Schlesinger, 24 East 73rd Street, 2nd Floor, don’t overlook a woodblock print of a rural scene by Inui Tai (born 1929) whose over-sized hanging scrolls will be on view. No one documents the cheerfulness of everyday life, the joyful festivals (matsuri) and the emotional strengths of tradition quite like Inui. This work measures almost 3 feet by 4 feet with other hanging scrolls as large as 5 1/3 x 2 ½ feet and 6 ½ by 2 ½ feet.
Dai Ichi Arts Ltd. (New York)
In The West in the East, 18 East 64th Street, Suite 1F, a work by Miwa Ryusaku (born 1940) is singled out for special appreciation. Titled Love, this stoneware sculpture stands almost 14 inches tall. It comes in a wooden box, signed on the back by the artist.
Egenolf Gallery Japanese Prints (Burbank, CA)
A visit to Masters of the Genre: Fine 18th-20th Century Japanese Prints, Highlighting Early 20th Century Landscapes, Suite 1806 of the Carlyle Hotel, 35 East 76th Street, will reveal Fukagawa Susaki and Jûman tsubo, in which a powerful eagle soars over the wintry snow-scape of Edo Bay. This print is considered one of the three best designs from Utagawa Hiroshige’s world renowned series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. The viewer can easily understand from this print, dated 1857, how strongly Hiroshige’s prints—through cropping and unusual angles of vision—influenced major Western artists like Van Gogh, Manet, Monet and Whistler.
Laurence Miller Gallery (New York)
Toshio Shibata’s signature focus as a photographer has always been on the manner by which contemporary municipal infrastructure weaves itself into the traditional Japanese landscape. In his picture Midori City, Gunma Prefecture of 2008, classical Japanese themes are at the fore, whereas a modern bridge in the distance is seen through a screen of cherry blossoms, long venerated by the Japanese as a symbol of the evanescence of life. Shibata frames the picture in a way that emphasizes that this scene, for all its beauty, is also a quotidian roadside moment, embodying his interest in finding beauty where most don’t think to look. These and other photographs are part of Toshio Shibata: Recent Work, 20 West 57th Street, 3rd Floor.
Joan B. Mirviss Ltd. (New York)
Eight Views of the Parlor, circa 1766, is a superb mid-size woodblock print with exceptional color, and it is of little surprise that it is by the hand of the woodblock print master of that era, Suzuki Harunobu (1725-1770). The work is from his landmark series, Zashiki hakkei, and depicts a courtesan seated on a verandah wearing a yukata (bath robe) and gazing at an unusual and expensive clock while her attendant massages her back. This extremely rare impression very nearly matches another impression in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and is one of the many significant works at this milestone exhibition, Timeless Elegance in Japanese Art: Celebrating 40 Years! 39 East 78th Street, 4th Floor.
Onishi Gallery (New York)
Ito Sekisui V (born in 1941) is revered as a Living National Treasure in Japan. His stoneware Mumyōi Yōhen Jar, made last year, stands as a testament as to why he has been so honored. It is a masterpiece of his craft, standing 12 inches and displaying the full range of the artist’s gifts. The word yohen means "changes in kiln,” and Ito is a wizard at manipulating colors and patterns while one of his works is firing in the hellish temperatures of a kiln. Catch sight of it as part of Japanese Art and Modern Living, Dalva Brothers, Inc., 53 East 77th Street.
Giuseppe Piva Japanese Art (Milan, Italy)
Among the riches gathered into a show titled Japanese Art and Antiques, Samurai armor bearing the crest of the Inaba family is not-to-be-missed. The imposing armor, signed by Myochin Munesada and dated 1757, is on view at Adam Williams and Moretti Gallery, 24 East 80th Street.
Scholten Japanese Art (New York)
At 145 West 58th Street, Suite 6D, a single-artist exhibition celebrates the work of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892), one of the last great ukiyo-e artists of the 19th century. Included in the show is a huge six-panel woodblock composed as two separate triptychs. Lined up, the triptychs illustrate a dynamic composition of a battlefield. Because the triptychs were issued six months apart, complete sets with six panels (with complementary color palettes and conditions) are rare to come across, to say the least.
Erik Thomsen (New York)
In Post-War Japanese Calligraphy, a work titled En (Cycle/Eternity), 1977, garners special notice at 23 East 67th Street, because its maker, Yuichi Inoue (1916-1985), was the most important post-war Japanese calligrapher. He managed to straddle East and West, combining two visual languages—written characters and Abstract Expressionism—to convey deeply felt inner conflicts. The strokes of his characters, sometimes so thick that they are more mass than line, explode onto the paper, and are strongly conveyed in this work.
Hiroshi Yanagi Oriental Art (Kyoto, Japan)
This 16th century sculpture depicts a standing Amida Nyorai and follows the standard iconography for such works: the hair is rendered in a snail shape and the monk’s stole wraps around the body from the left shoulder downward. The left hand is lowered, whereas the right hand is raised. The most important feature is an inscription in ink on the inside of the figure’s body that records the name of the sculptor, Daizō Kakushun Hōgen, and the year he made the work, 1512. It is part of Selections of Japanese Art at Arader Galleries, 1016 Madison Avenue.
ANCIENT AND CONTEMPORARY KOREAN ART
HK Art and Antiques LLC (New York)
Working in Seoul and Paris, Tschangyeul Kim (born 1929) is a well-known artist in Korea, the United States and France. His unique untitled oil-on-canvas painting of 1968 dates from the middle period of his career, before he started painting water drops. Acquired from a private collection in the U.S., the painting is part of an exhibition titled, Nature, Rocks, Flowers, Water and Clay at the Jason Jacques Gallery, 29 East 73rd Street.
Kang Collection Korean Art (New York)
A stunning mixed-media work by Jongsook Kim is not to be overlooked. In her Artificial Landscape series, Kim applies hundreds of shimmering crystals to the canvas by hand, a meditative process for the artist that transmits to viewers. Born and raised in South Korea and holding a doctoral degree in art from Hongik University, Kim was influenced by both traditional Korean landscape paintings and contemporary Western artists who also use crystals and other decorative materials in their works, namely the “Diamond Dust” prints of Andy Warhol, Russell Young, and Damien Hirst. Kim’s effort is a prominent part of Korean Contemporary Paintings and Decorative Traditional Arts, 9 East 82nd Street, 3rd Floor.
Tina Kim Gallery (New York)
An entire exhibition at 525 West 21st is centered on the arresting work of artist Seoyoung Chung. In pieces that explore multiple methods of practice in sculpture, installation, drawing, photography, text and video, objects not ordinarily considered sculpture reveal themselves as just that. With Table, constructed from wood in 2007, Chung isolates the moment in which such a “sculpture” emerges into the world.
From every corner of the continent of Asia comes an exquisite array of beautiful things to be seen and savored at galleries sprinkled around Manhattan beginning March 9 through March 18. In these museum-quality displays by some of the world's most knowledgeable and discerning Asian art specialists, art lovers will be able to behold examples of painting, sculpture, bronzes, ceramics, jewelry, jade, textiles, prints and photographs gathered from all over Asia.
"In my years as Chairman of Asia Week New York never I have been prouder of this event," says Lark Mason. "Our members are pulling out all the stops to present the best there is to offer in their respective fields. Never before has Asia Week New York offered such a large adventure to seekers of Far Eastern treasures-all on view for the first time. Adds Mason: "Connoisseurs of Asian beauty will feel as though they have traversed a continent and experienced the best it has to offer without ever leaving the island of Manhattan."
Organized by category and region, here is a rundown of the exhibitions by the participating galleries:
ANCIENT AND/OR CONTEMPORARY CHINESE ART
Walter Arader Himalayan Art (New York)
Claiming a special place in Recent Acquisitions at 1016 Madison Avenue is an outstanding gilt lacquer Chinese sculpture that likely originated during the Reign of Kangxi (1661-1722). The work once belonged to a set of 12 retinue figures that accompanied a larger sculpture of Shri Devi Magzor Gyalmo. Four examples from this set were first published in Body, Speech, and Mind in 1998, and another suite recently sold at a European auction in 2015. The imperial set would have been very impressive in its entirety and was probably displayed at large state rituals for protection.
Ralph M. Chait Galleries (New York)
A key element in Spring Collection of Chinese Art, and standing 17 inches is a superb famille verte porcelain rouleau vase decorated with a scene from the Chinese classic Romance of the Three Kingdoms, an epic with themes of reverence for the past and loyalty to the ruler. Dating from the Kangxi period (1662-1722), the painting is of the finest quality, beautifully executed in deep and vibrant enamels -- a true masterpiece in decoration and form -- on view at 16 East 52nd Street, 10th Floor.
China 2000 Fine Art (New York)
Stronger Together: Two Western Artists Who Embraced the Chinese Idiom, 1556 Third Avenue, Suite 601, focuses on two Western artists: Roy Lichtenstein and Robert Rauschenberg, both of whom created final projects that re-examined their attraction to Chinese artistic expression and translated this affinity into their own unique idioms. For Rauschenberg's Lotus V (The Lotus Series) of 2008, the last printed project he completed before his death in 2008, the artist made prints based on photographs from his trips to China between 1982 and 1985. In these works, Rauschenberg blends the traditional with the innovative, prompting the viewer to contrast a receding past with the hyper clarity that today's technology has made possible.
Carole Davenport (New York)
Secured in a private collection since World War II, this foot-tall jizo bosatsu, made from aromatic wood (with traces of gesso, lacquer, paint and gilding), has been verified through careful research, including a Carbon 14 test, to have originated in the 9th or 10th century. It is a beautiful and serene sculpture, a protective figure to both travelers and mothers-to-be. Because Japanese works from this time are rare, to say the least, seeing one is an uncommon opportunity at THEN NOW/ Meet Hiroyuki Asano & His Sculpture in a Milieu of Classic Art, 5 East 82nd Street, Suite 2.
FitzGerald Fine Arts (New York)
In their exhibition featuring the work of artist Beili Liu, a work of blown sumi ink on canvas is noteworthy.. Titled Rise & Fall Series, Wind Drawing (Panel 1), on view at 40 Wooster Street, this large-scale triptych evokes the movement and look of wind, conjuring its life-giving energy known as prana. It is typical of the works that Liu is known for, which embody transience, fragility and the passage of time.
Nicholas Grindley (Brooklyn)
From the early Tang period (7th century) bounds a playful shaggy-haired lion-dog, his hind-quarters sticking straight up in the air, his heavy-clawed front paws folded up beneath him. This enchanting creature, which can be seen at Hazlitt, 17 East 76th Street, has a long coat that covers the whole of the body-the thick fur depicted by deep incised lines-and a wide-open teeth-bared mouth with flared nostrils and large eyes surrounded by hairy eyebrows. White slip covers most of the body.
Robert Hall Asian Art Ltd. (London)
Lu Shoukun (1919-75), one of the most influential Hong Kong Chinese artists, founded the new ink movement and was the prime driving force in the development of modern art there in the 1960s and '70s. His work Zen Lotus, in ink on paper executed in 1974, clearly evidences his embrace of a new style, one that combined traditional Chinese and modern Western elements. On view in Chinese Paintings, Works of Art and Snuff Bottles, Gallery Vallois America, 27 East 67th Street, 3rd Floor, the painting embodies calligraphic and Abstract Expressionist features and represents an artistic and theoretic rejuvenation of classical Chinese art.
Michael C. Hughes LLC (New York)
What makes this large famille verte baluster vase particularly significant is the extraordinarily dense depiction of the flora. The painterly combination of peony, bamboo, pine, grasses and rockwork combine and mingle in a continuous design around this elegant vessel. It stands 17 inches and has handles that convey a fine naturalism, which beautifully complements the vase, which is one of the many beautiful objects on view Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Gallery Vallois America, 27 East 67th Street, 3rd Floor.
Andrew Kahane, Ltd. (New York)
Although black-glazed vases with russet decoration of birds or flowers of this form and from this period are well represented in public and private collections, examples with iron-oxide 'partridge-feather' splashes are quite rare. The 13-inch pear-shaped vase dating from the Northern Song-Jin Dynasty (12th-early 13th century) compares closely with an example of smaller size in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, one in the Hakutsuru Art Museum, Kobe and another of later date in the Tokyo National Museum. The vase is featured at Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, The Mark Hotel, Madison Avenue and 77th Street, Suite 1207.
Kaikodo LLC (New York)
A stand out in the exhibition, River of Stars, a poetic term in Chinese for the Milky Way, is a 15th -16th century masterwork--a bird and flower painting. The 5 by 10 foot hanging scroll, intended for display in a grand hall, was designed for maximum visual impact and can be seen in all its glory at 74 East 79th Street, Suite 14B.
Alan Kennedy (Santa Monica)
Paintings of beautiful women (meiren) are a type of genre painting that was much appreciated during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Measuring 6'2" x2'1", this example, in ink and colors on silk, is quite rare in that the female subject of the painting represents the Chinese perception of a European lady in her native dress. The artist is unlikely to have had direct contact with a European woman and therefore probably employed a European print as the source image for the work. This unusual work of art is among Chinese and Japanese Paintings and Textiles, James Goodman Gallery, 41 East 57th Street, 8th Floor.
J.J. Lally & Co. (New York)
This rare ancient Chinese limestone stele shows the meeting of two benevolent Buddhist deities: Wenshu mounted on a lion and Puxian mounted on an elephant, with the Seven Buddhas of the Past bearing witness. A dedication inscribed on one side includes a Tang dynasty date corresponding to A.D. 742. The sculpture, formerly in the Worch Collection, brought to America in the 1940's, is one of 23 works included in the exhibition of Buddhist Sculpture from Ancient China, 41 East 57th Street, 14th Floor.
Littleton & Hennessey (London)
Littleton & Hennessy-21 Years is the heading given to the retrospective at Daniel Crouch Rare Books, 24 East 64th Street. There, an 18th-century watermelon tourmaline conjoined 'dragon' vase claims significant importance because of its size, the quality of the stone and the expertise of the carving. Two-colored tourmalines of such vibrancy and clarity are incredibly hard to find, and the craftsman who fashioned this five-inch piece almost certainly worked for the Qianlong Emperor, who was known to demand for his court the most exquisite works of art in porcelain, bronze, jade and other precious stones that could possibly be achieved.
Sue Ollemans Oriental Art (London)
This alluring enameled gold ring, on display at Ancient and Modern Design in Asian Jewels, 23 East 73rd Street, 7th Floor, shows a bird with a Basra pearl hanging from its beak, standing on a green base, the shank in lal zamin enamel. The top of the Mughal creation from the 17th-18th century is screwed onto the base, leaving a small, concealed place where potions could have been hidden. This genre of jewelry was exported to Europe, where it influenced Renaissance jewelry design.
Pace Gallery (New York)
Lee Ufan's Untitled, a painting on porcelain from 2016, radiates the artist's mastery of the brush and is one of the many works in ceramic at this single-artist exhibition, Lee Ufan: Ceramics, 32 East 57th Street, 2nd Floor. This is the first exhibition solely of ceramics that the artist has organized in the United States. Through a career spanning five decades. Ufan's work in sculpture, installation, painting and drawing have been the focus of major exhibitions the world over, including a retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum in 2008 and a major installation at the Palace of Versailles in 2014. His conceptual concerns embrace philosophical theories of the East and West and play off the spaces in which they are situated.
Phoenix Ancient Art (New York)
A show-stopper at The Diffusion of Buddha in Antiquity is a head of Bodhisattva, easily one of the most impressive Gandharan heads known. Dating from the 2nd to 3rd century A.D., this impressive schist sculpture is a good centerpiece for an exhibition that will circle around the different depictions of Buddha, on view at 47 East 66th Street, Ground Floor.
19th Century Rare Book & Photograph Shop (Brooklyn)
Island Pagoda is a classic image by John Thomson, one of the greatest figures in 19th-century photography in China. The site is near Fuzhou, now known as Lo-Sing, on the picturesque Min River, long celebrated for its dramatic scenery. The photograph is from Thomson's Foochow and the River Min (1873), the most magnificent of Thomson's photographically illustrated works. Only seven complete sets are known to survive. This and other images are being exhibited in Masterpieces of Early Chinese Photography (exhibition only-not for sale) at PRPH Books, 24 East 64th Street, 3rd Floor.
Priestly & Ferraro (London)
Bowls for tea were (and still are) items of supreme importance in China, made in a variety of methods and adorned with decorations of unending invention to best show off the tea to be drunk from them. This tea bowl was made with the glaze that resembles the fur of the hare, and the dark glaze contrasts with the pale foam of the tea that poured inside. It's from the early Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) and is 4½ inches in diameter, and is one of the treasures at Chinese & Korean Ceramics & Works of Art, 3 East 66th Street, Apartment 8B.
M. Sutherland Fine Arts Ltd. (New York)
CMYK-Five Dynasties, Gu Deqian, Waterfowl and Lotuses by Yang Mian is the highlight of Guo Hua: Defining Contemporary Chinese Painting, 7 East 74th Street, 3rd Floor. This large acrylic on canvas (3 feet by 5 feet) is the product of a painstaking, multi-step process using computers to produce digitally-printed layers of stencils and paint, resulting in a unique image loosely yet recognizably based on a masterpiece of classical Chinese painting. Nevertheless, the painting is totally modern, created by Yang through inventive technical processes of his own devising. The ambiguity that results draws in the viewer and stimulates further study.
YEWN (Hong Kong)
Why is this Chinese lattice jadeite ring newsworthy? In 2011, Michelle Obama wore it when she and the President hosted a state dinner for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. It is a focal point in Have You Seen "Contemporary Chinese Fine Jewelry" Before? at the Aaron Faber Gallery, 666 Fifth Avenue (entrance at West 53rd Street). The 18-karat white gold ring is set with diamonds and shows four bats hovering above a Chinese coin. The word bat carries a witty hint of blessings since in Mandarin it shares an identical pronunciation with the word luck.
Eric Zetterquist (New York)
Making a lasting impression in Chinese and Vietnamese Ceramics with Highlights from the Brow Collection, 3 East 66th Street, No. 1B, is an irresistible parrot lamp. Originating in the Ly Dynasty (11th to 12th century) in Vietnam, the parrot-shaped oil lamp takes its style cues from Indian metalwork, as translated through the Khmer Empire. The techniques employed by the Vietnamese at the time were informed by Chinese Song Dynasty ceramics, resulting in a genre unique to Vietnam. This particular example has striking life-like modeling of the feathers and head of the parrot, and is one of the finest examples in this country.
ANCIENT/AND OR CONTEMPORARY INDIAN, HIMALAYAN AND SOUTHEAST ASIAN ART
Dr. Robert R. Bigler (Ruschlikon/Zurich, Switzerland)
Although the 9½-inch Buddha Shakyamuni evidences some wear and signs of age, the quality of its casting is unimpeachable, showing details that are exquisitely modeled. The serene expression of the figure's countenance is striking. In the course of cleaning, an eight-character Chinese inscription was discovered on the back of the double-lotus base, indicating the name of two monks who commissioned the figure. The result of a thermoluminescence test on the work confirmed a dating to the early 14th century. This breath-taking figure is part of the special exhibition Dynasties and Identities, Tibeto-Chinese Buddhist Art of the 13th to 15th Centuries. Dickinson Roundell Inc., 19 East 66th Street.
Prahlad Bubbar (London)
A jewel-like painting of Jahangir (1569-1627), the aesthete whose legacy as Mughal Emperor of India continued well after his lifetime, takes center stage at Indian Paintings and Early Photography 1600-1880: Recent Acquisitions at Arader Galleries, 1016 Madison Avenue. The colors of the painting, dating from 1680-90 and ascribed to Usta Hasan al-Din, are ethereal, lending an atmospheric and lyrical feeling to the work, whereas the composition is clear in its beautifully traced geometric shapes, echoing the sharpness of detail typical of the finest work of Bikaner in the late 17th century.
Buddhist Art (Berlin, Germany)
Hailing originally from Eastern India, this black stone stele from the 11th century is significant both for its Buddhist motif and for its storied provenance. Pala stone sculpture invariably depicts Hindu deities with a rather stiff and motionless demeanor, whereas this Buddhist Lokesvara is just the opposite: full of life and vivacity! Seated in "royal ease" with a flowing body, a beautiful, serene face and a meditative half smile, the figure, is part of the exhibition called Serene Deities, at Arader Galleries, 29 East 72nd Street.
Carlo Cristi (Daverio, Italy)
An important, rare and very large fragment of silk samite displays a bird, possibly an eagle, holding grapes in its beak, perhaps suggesting a ritual associated with the Cult of Dionysus that diffused throughout central Asia, thanks to colonies founded by Alexander the Great. Through carbon-dating, the almost 4-by-4-foot textile, a standout element in Art of India, Tibet, Central Asian Textiles at Leslie Feely Fine Art, 33 East 68th Street, 5th Floor, has been ascertained to have originated in the 7th or 8th century, and it may have been used as a hanging decoration during ceremonies.
DAG Modern (New York)
A portrait on cement by Ramkinkar Baij (born 1922) of Rabindranath Tagore, the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in literature, was executed in 1938. Baij has never been interested in realistic depictions; rather he strives to evoke the complexity and essence of a subject, as he has masterfully accomplished with this affecting likeness of Tagore, part of The Art of Bengal, 41 East 57th Street, Suite 708.
Oliver Forge and Brendan Lynch (London)
Made in either of the legendary courts of Bijapur or Golconda, in South India, in the late 15th or early 16th century, this lavishly decorated folio is calligraphed with the 99 names of God. An attention-grabber in Indian Court Painting, 9 East 82nd Street, Suite 1A, the page has script that has been rendered in large thulth, a magnificently dominant handwriting generally used for the grandest of Qur’ans, commissioned for use at court or as diplomatic gifts. The quality is impeccable, and there are seals on the reverse that record two previous owners, one of them a certain ’Abd al-Rahim, an officer of Ahmad Shah Bahadur (1725-75), a Mughal emperor who ruled for just six years.
Francesca Galloway (London)
Showcased in Pahari Paintings from the Eva and Konrad Seitz Collection at W.M. Brady & Co., 22 East 80th Street, is an unforgettable painting of Vishnu’s feet as objects of worship. The footprints of Vishnu (Vishnupada) are important symbols in Vaishnavism, and places where his feet came down to earth are sacred. The soles of Vishnu’s feet are decorated with gold images of his weapons and other symbols associated with the deity: lotuses, a parasol, a flag, the sun, the moon and a fish, among other things. It is a painting from the early 19th century and is exceptionally well painted.
Galerie Christophe Hioco (Paris)
Part of a triad, the standard layout of the Buddhist world, a 14th-century gilt-copper Buddha from Tibet claims a notable spot in New Acquisitions in Indian Art and Himalayan Art at Leslie Feely Fine Art, 33 East 68th Street, 5th Floor. Surrounded by two of the eight great bodhisattvas in a piece, this pieces shows off subtle muscles that seem to come to life. The work is a rare vestige of the great lamaic art of the Mongol era, and the pose of the work is evocative of a Nepalese statuette in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Nayef Homsi Ancient Art of Asia (New York)
An abundance of elements used to decorate the gray schist head of Prince Siddhartha as a Bodhisattva makes the 12-inch sculpture exceptionally compelling. A very elaborate turban is tied into a fan shape and held in place with large jewels and a pair of dragons, emphasizing the worldly possessions the prince will have to give up in order to become the Buddha in his simple robe. This fine 3rd-century work of art from Gandhara is a prized element in Recent Acquisitions at 7 East 75th Street, Unit 1A.
Kapoor Galleries (New York)
Occupying a prominent place in Recent Acquisitions is a very fine and important 17-inch bronze sculpture of Vishnu in yogic posture, produced in the same workshop as the version in the collection of the Norton Simon Museum. These two beautiful examples of northern Indian metalwork are derived from the historic and famous Kashmir region and date from the 10th or 11th century, and can be viewed at 34 East 67th Street, 3rd Floor.
Navin Kumar (New York)
In Vajradhara with Consort, a showpiece in Himalayan and Indian Art, 24 East 73rd Street, Suite 4F, a Tibetan painting created sometime between 1676 and 1705, Vajradhara, a deity considered to be the manifestation of phenomena and noumena, is depicted seated in the center in non-dual union with his consort Nairatmya. Surrounding them are the other Dhyana Buddhas, each in non-dual union, representing the qualities of an enlightened being. An exceptionally finely executed work, the painting was commissioned by the Mindrolling Monastery, the most revered center for esoteric teachings in the late 17th century. The inscription on the verso indicates the painting escaped the destruction of the original monastery in 1718 during the Dzungar War and passed to the hands of the fourth Mindrolling abbot, Gyurme Padmashasana (1737-1761).
Alexis Renard (Paris)
A monumental 19th-century ewer and basin, used to perform ablutions before prayers, has been decorated with a diamond pattern and gilded copper. Known as tombak, a word thought to have originated from the Malaysian word tumbaga, gilded copper was a highly sought-after technique in the Ottoman world for prestigious objects like chamfrains, shields and armor. Objects in tombak bearing diamond patterns are exceedingly rare, and this example can be seen at Tambaran Gallery, 5 East 82nd Street, Lower Level.
Samina Inc. (London)
Carved from nephrite jade, inlaid with gold and silver and set with diamonds, emeralds and rubies, this 18th-century cup is a show-stopping feature of The Jewelled Arts of India at Arader Galleries, 29 East 72nd Street. The superb quality of carving of the translucent white nephrite of this small vessel, decorated with fine kundan inlay, illustrates an extraordinary level of craftsmanship associated only with the royal workshops. It was crafted in Mughal or Deccan, India.
Runjeet Singh (Warwickshire, UK)
A wonderful khanjar, or jambiya dagger, with a pale nephrite jade hilt and scabbard mounts, attracts attention at Arms & Armor from the East, on display at Tambaran Gallery, 5 East 82nd Street, Lower Level. There is an abundance of decoration on this weapon: large flower heads and fruits in groupings of cabochon rubies and leaves of cabochon emeralds. Made in the late 17th or early 18th century in Turkey using Indian jade mounts, the dagger’s wavy snake-like blade of watered steel has traces of gold decoration at the forte as well as a gold border.
Tenzing Asian Art (San Francisco)
The subject matter may appear macabre or violent—flayed human skin—but in reality, carpets like this example were commonly used in religious ceremonies and for purifying. Made in Tibet, the carpet was made sometime in the 19th century in the Ningxia region of China, renowned for luxurious wool, and it once belonged to a very high-level Tibetan monk. It measures approximately 2½ by 5 feet and is part of Buddhist Bronzes, Paintings, and Textiles from the Himalayas at Arader Galleries, 1016 Madison Avenue.
ANCIENT AND/OR CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE ART
The Art of Japan (Medina, Washington)
Fine Japanese Prints and Paintings from 1750-1950 is an exhibition in Suite 215 of the Mark Hotel, 25 East 77th Street, and Beauty Combing Her Hair is a must-see. Dating from 1933, this image, by Torii Kotondo, elegantly conveys the quiet essence of the wonderful Japanese ethic of shibui--less is more. The beautiful woman, lost in quiet thought, arranges her hair and communicates fluently the formal simplicity of the image. This print stands as one of the finest examples of shin hanga bijin designs anywhere
BachmannEckenstein JapaneseArt (Basel, Switzerland)
In Japanese Art—Pre-Modern and Beyond at Gallery Schlesinger, 24 East 73rd Street, 2nd Floor, don’t overlook a woodblock print of a rural scene by Inui Tai (born 1929) whose over-sized hanging scrolls will be on view. No one documents the cheerfulness of everyday life, the joyful festivals (matsuri) and the emotional strengths of tradition quite like Inui. This work measures almost 3 feet by 4 feet with other hanging scrolls as large as 5 1/3 x 2 ½ feet and 6 ½ by 2 ½ feet.
Dai Ichi Arts Ltd. (New York)
In The West in the East, 18 East 64th Street, Suite 1F, a work by Miwa Ryusaku (born 1940) is singled out for special appreciation. Titled Love, this stoneware sculpture stands almost 14 inches tall. It comes in a wooden box, signed on the back by the artist.
Egenolf Gallery Japanese Prints (Burbank, CA)
A visit to Masters of the Genre: Fine 18th-20th Century Japanese Prints, Highlighting Early 20th Century Landscapes, Suite 1806 of the Carlyle Hotel, 35 East 76th Street, will reveal Fukagawa Susaki and Jûman tsubo, in which a powerful eagle soars over the wintry snow-scape of Edo Bay. This print is considered one of the three best designs from Utagawa Hiroshige’s world renowned series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. The viewer can easily understand from this print, dated 1857, how strongly Hiroshige’s prints—through cropping and unusual angles of vision—influenced major Western artists like Van Gogh, Manet, Monet and Whistler.
Laurence Miller Gallery (New York)
Toshio Shibata’s signature focus as a photographer has always been on the manner by which contemporary municipal infrastructure weaves itself into the traditional Japanese landscape. In his picture Midori City, Gunma Prefecture of 2008, classical Japanese themes are at the fore, whereas a modern bridge in the distance is seen through a screen of cherry blossoms, long venerated by the Japanese as a symbol of the evanescence of life. Shibata frames the picture in a way that emphasizes that this scene, for all its beauty, is also a quotidian roadside moment, embodying his interest in finding beauty where most don’t think to look. These and other photographs are part of Toshio Shibata: Recent Work, 20 West 57th Street, 3rd Floor.
Joan B. Mirviss Ltd. (New York)
Eight Views of the Parlor, circa 1766, is a superb mid-size woodblock print with exceptional color, and it is of little surprise that it is by the hand of the woodblock print master of that era, Suzuki Harunobu (1725-1770). The work is from his landmark series, Zashiki hakkei, and depicts a courtesan seated on a verandah wearing a yukata (bath robe) and gazing at an unusual and expensive clock while her attendant massages her back. This extremely rare impression very nearly matches another impression in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and is one of the many significant works at this milestone exhibition, Timeless Elegance in Japanese Art: Celebrating 40 Years! 39 East 78th Street, 4th Floor.
Onishi Gallery (New York)
Ito Sekisui V (born in 1941) is revered as a Living National Treasure in Japan. His stoneware Mumyōi Yōhen Jar, made last year, stands as a testament as to why he has been so honored. It is a masterpiece of his craft, standing 12 inches and displaying the full range of the artist’s gifts. The word yohen means "changes in kiln,” and Ito is a wizard at manipulating colors and patterns while one of his works is firing in the hellish temperatures of a kiln. Catch sight of it as part of Japanese Art and Modern Living, Dalva Brothers, Inc., 53 East 77th Street.
Giuseppe Piva Japanese Art (Milan, Italy)
Among the riches gathered into a show titled Japanese Art and Antiques, Samurai armor bearing the crest of the Inaba family is not-to-be-missed. The imposing armor, signed by Myochin Munesada and dated 1757, is on view at Adam Williams and Moretti Gallery, 24 East 80th Street.
Scholten Japanese Art (New York)
At 145 West 58th Street, Suite 6D, a single-artist exhibition celebrates the work of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892), one of the last great ukiyo-e artists of the 19th century. Included in the show is a huge six-panel woodblock composed as two separate triptychs. Lined up, the triptychs illustrate a dynamic composition of a battlefield. Because the triptychs were issued six months apart, complete sets with six panels (with complementary color palettes and conditions) are rare to come across, to say the least.
Erik Thomsen (New York)
In Post-War Japanese Calligraphy, a work titled En (Cycle/Eternity), 1977, garners special notice at 23 East 67th Street, because its maker, Yuichi Inoue (1916-1985), was the most important post-war Japanese calligrapher. He managed to straddle East and West, combining two visual languages—written characters and Abstract Expressionism—to convey deeply felt inner conflicts. The strokes of his characters, sometimes so thick that they are more mass than line, explode onto the paper, and are strongly conveyed in this work.
Hiroshi Yanagi Oriental Art (Kyoto, Japan)
This 16th century sculpture depicts a standing Amida Nyorai and follows the standard iconography for such works: the hair is rendered in a snail shape and the monk’s stole wraps around the body from the left shoulder downward. The left hand is lowered, whereas the right hand is raised. The most important feature is an inscription in ink on the inside of the figure’s body that records the name of the sculptor, Daizō Kakushun Hōgen, and the year he made the work, 1512. It is part of Selections of Japanese Art at Arader Galleries, 1016 Madison Avenue.
ANCIENT AND CONTEMPORARY KOREAN ART
HK Art and Antiques LLC (New York)
Working in Seoul and Paris, Tschangyeul Kim (born 1929) is a well-known artist in Korea, the United States and France. His unique untitled oil-on-canvas painting of 1968 dates from the middle period of his career, before he started painting water drops. Acquired from a private collection in the U.S., the painting is part of an exhibition titled, Nature, Rocks, Flowers, Water and Clay at the Jason Jacques Gallery, 29 East 73rd Street.
Kang Collection Korean Art (New York)
A stunning mixed-media work by Jongsook Kim is not to be overlooked. In her Artificial Landscape series, Kim applies hundreds of shimmering crystals to the canvas by hand, a meditative process for the artist that transmits to viewers. Born and raised in South Korea and holding a doctoral degree in art from Hongik University, Kim was influenced by both traditional Korean landscape paintings and contemporary Western artists who also use crystals and other decorative materials in their works, namely the “Diamond Dust” prints of Andy Warhol, Russell Young, and Damien Hirst. Kim’s effort is a prominent part of Korean Contemporary Paintings and Decorative Traditional Arts, 9 East 82nd Street, 3rd Floor.
Tina Kim Gallery (New York)
An entire exhibition at 525 West 21st is centered on the arresting work of artist Seoyoung Chung. In pieces that explore multiple methods of practice in sculpture, installation, drawing, photography, text and video, objects not ordinarily considered sculpture reveal themselves as just that. With Table, constructed from wood in 2007, Chung isolates the moment in which such a “sculpture” emerges into the world.
