Art Guides
Your Go-To Guide to Asia Week New York 2017
From "A Third Gender" at Japan Society to a contested shipwreck at Asia Society, and much more.
Sarah Cascone
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Hot on the heels of Armory Week and just ahead of the Whitney Biennial—proving yet again that there’s rarely a dull moment in the New York art world—comes Asia Week New York, touching down at galleries across the Upper East Side, March 9–18.
Beyond the main affair, which will see a record 50 international galleries from England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, and the United States present their wares, museums and auction houses are also getting in on the action with auctions, exhibitions, and even an art fair.
Christie’s New York and Bonhams will both hold no less than seven separate auctions, while Sotheby’s New York does them one better with eight. All in all, the week is your best chance to appreciate the impressive breadth and variety of Asian art, with work spanning multiple millennia, ancient to contemporary from China, Japan, and India, as well as the Himalayas, and Southeast Asia.
Here’s artnet News’s guide to some of the week’s highlights:
GALLERIES:
Yoshitoshi, Courageous Warriors: Sagami Jiro Taira Masakado, (1883), detail. Courtesy of Scholten Japanese Art.
Yoshitoshi at Scholten Japanese Art
Approximately 40 works by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839–1892), a master printmaker of the 19th century, reveal the tumultuous history of Japan as it opened its doors to foreign influence beginning in 1853. Included in the exhibition are the paired 1866 and 1867 triptychs Picture of the Great Battle of Kawanakajima and the Picture of the Bloody Battle of the Brave Generals of the Takeda Clan, which depict a 16th-century battle, but feature some soldiers dressed in the armor of 1860s Japanese infantrymen.
Location: Scholten Japanese Art, 145 West 58th Street, Suite 6D
Price: Free
Date and Time: March 9–18. 11 a.m.–5 p.m. or by appointment.
Dragon and phoenix bowl from the Qing dynasty’s Kangxi emperor. Courtesy of Littleton and Hennessy.
“Littleton & Hennessy: 21 Years” from Littleton & Hennessy Asian Art
Expect colorful treasures like this dragon and phoenix bowl from the Qing dynasty’s Kangxi emperor in Littleton’s exhibition, which celebrates the gallery’s 21 years of business.
Location: Daniel Crouch Rare Books, 24 East 64th Street, 2nd Floor
Price: Free
Date and Time: March 9–18. Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturday by appointment.
Chinese ceramics. Courtesy of Joan B. Mirviss.
“Timeless Elegance in Japanese Art: A Celebration of Forty Years” at Joan B. Mirviss LTD
An even more impressive milestone, Joan B. Mirviss marks the 40th anniversary of its opening with an exhibition of Asian painting and ceramics, some of which were selected for this presentation several years ahead of time. Japanese potter Sakiyama Takayuki, who has known Mirviss for almost 20 years, created a special stoneware vessel, titled Listening to the Waves, for the occasion.
Location: Joan B. Mirviss LTD, Japanese Fine Art, 39 East 78th Street, Suite 401
Price: Free
Date and Time: March 9–April 14. Monday–Friday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
Dickson Yew, lattice ring worn by Michelle Obama. Courtesy of Aaron Faber.
“Aaron Faber Presents Dickson Yewn Asia Week” at Aaron Faber
Hong Kong-based luxury jeweler Dickson Yew imbues his work, such as a square-shaped lattice ring once worn by Michelle Obama, with Chinese symbolism, adapting it to contemporary design.
Location: Aaron Faber, 666 Fifth Avenue
Price: Free
Date and Time: March 9–April 14. Monday–Wednesday and Friday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m.–7 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
Li Jin, Eating Dumplings on the Winter Solstice (2016). Courtesy of Ink Studio.
“China Now: New Literati Art” from Ink Studio, Beijing
Popping up in Chelsea for the week, Beijing’s Ink Studio presents contemporary Chinese ink painting by Bingyi, Li Huasheng, Li Jin, Yang Jiechang, and Zheng Chongbin. The show promises modern-day interpretations of pre-modern Chinese literati philosophy, “which sees humankind as a microcosm of a universe in flux and emphasizes cultivation of one’s humanity through practice of the arts, into global contemporary artistic practices.”
Location: Art100 New York, 555 West 25th Street
Price: Free
Date and Time: March 10–18. 10 a.m.–6:30 p.m.
Katsushika Hokusai, The Great Wave. Courtesy of Japanese Art Dealers Association.
“JADA 2016: An Exhibition by the Japanese Art Dealers Association” at the Ukrainian Institute of America
For the ninth year running, the Japanese Art Dealers Association hosts an Asia Week exhibition, this year featuring an impression of Katsushika Hokusai’s iconic The Great Wave. Other showstoppers will include a full set of Edo-period armor, designed by Noguchi Zessai and crafted from lacquered leather and iron as well as animal skin and fur.
Location: Ukrainian Institute of America, 2 East 79th Street
Price: Free
Date and Time: March 11–13. 11:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
A bronze okimono of a realistically chiseled terrapin family, the offspring clambering upon the parent’s back and the precise physical details of their skins and carapace expertly rendered. Meiji Period, Japan. Courtesy of Flying Cranes Antiques.
Asia Art Fair New York at the the Manhattan Art & Antiques Center
At least eight dealers, including Texas’s Lotus Gallery, Michigan’s Jade Dragon, London’s Nicholas Pitcher, and New York’s Flying Crane Antiques will participate in this small annual event, held for the first time this year at the Manhattan Art & Antiques Center (MAAC), a large mall at East 55th Street dedicated to antiques and home to over 100 galleries.
The center is also kicking off “MAAC on the Map,” a four-part series featuring female Asian artists, with an exhibition of work by eight women.
Location: Manhattan Art & Antiques Center, 1050 2nd Avenue #86
Price: Free
Date and Time: March 10–18. Monday–Saturday, 10:30 a.m.–6 p.m.; Sunday 12 p.m.–6 p.m.
MUSEUMS
A piece on view in “Tibetan Tangkas Today: Masterpieces from the Dharmapala Thangka Center of Kathmandu.” Courtesy of Tibet House US.
“Tibetan Tangkas Today: Masterpieces from the Dharmapala Thangka Center of Kathmandu” at Tibet House US
Considered a national treasure in Kathmandu, Karsang Lama, born in 1962, specializes in tangka, paintings on cotton that usually depict Buddhist deities, scenes, or mandalas. The Tibet House is showcasing his paintings of both wrathful and peaceful deities.
Location: Tibet House US, 22 West 15th Street
Price: $5 suggested donation
Date and Time: March 10–May 11. Opening reception March 10, 12 p.m.–6 p.m. Monday–Friday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
A statue in “Musical Arts of Asia” at the Newark Museum. Courtesy of the Newark Museum.
“Musical Arts of Asia” at the Newark Museum
A selection of over 25 works from the museum’s collection, including historical musical instruments and paintings, prints, and sculptures depicting their use, celebrates the music of East and South Asia.
Location: The Newark Museum, 49 Washington Street, Newark
Price: $15
Date and Time: March 8, 2017–February 25, 2018. Wednesday–Sunday, 12 p.m.–5 p.m.
Kitagawa Utamaro (1753–1806), Party in Front of Mount Fuji (circa 1790). Courtesy of the Royal Ontario Museum, ©ROM.
“A Third Gender: Beautiful Youths in Japanese Prints” at the Japan Society of America
Gender fluidity isn’t just a 21st century thing. During Japan’s Edo period (1603–1868), beautiful youths known as wakashu were understood to belong to a third gender that had its own special place in the country’s social and sexual hierarchy. Paintings, personal objects, and over 65 period woodblock prints bring to light this little-known phenomena. The show is sure to resonate given how issues surrounding gender identity have become a major part of today’s cultural conversation.
Guest curator Asato Ikeda will give a lecture about the Edo-period sexuality and how it relates to today’s LGBTQ culture on March 10 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $12.
Location: Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street at First Avenue
Price: $12
Date and Time: March 10–June 11. Opening reception, March 9, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday–Thursday, 12 p.m.–7 p.m.; Friday, 12 p.m.–9 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
Group of Celedon figurines, Three Kingdoms period, Wu Kingdom (222–280). Courtesy of the China Institute, collection of the Nanjing Municipal Museum.
“Art in a Time of Chaos: Masterworks From Six Dynasties China, 3rd–6th Centuries” at the China Institute
The China Institute examines the artistic legacy of Six Dynasties, which bridged the gap between the Han and Tang dynasties, likening the period to the European Renaissance in terms of creative importance.
Location: China Institute, 100 Washington Street
Price: $8
Date and Time: Through March 19. Monday–Wednesday and Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m.–8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
Hyong Nam Ahn with his work. Courtesy of the Korea Society.
“Finding Dignity: The Art of Hyong Nam Ahn” at the Korea Society
The Dongwha Cultural Foundation has teamed up with the Korea Society to present the light- and sound-based work of sculptor and installation artist Hyong Nam Ahn.
Location: The Korea Society Gallery, 950 Third Avenue, 8th Floor
Price: Free
Date and Time: Through April 29. Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
The wreckage of a ninth-century Chinese ship in 1998, when it was discovered by divers off the coast of Indonesia. Courtesy of Michael Flecker/the Asia Society.
“Secrets of the Sea: A Tang Shipwreck and Early Trade in Asia” at Asia Society
Last year’s Asia Week was marred by several raids of allegedly looted treasures, but that hasn’t stopped the Asia Society from courting controversy with a selection from a treasure trove of 60,000 luxury artifacts recovered from a ninth-century Chinese shipwreck by a commercial salvaging company.
The collection’s planned US debut was cancelled in 2011 by the Smithsonian’s Sackler Gallery in Washington, DC, when archaeologists argued that the excavation was conducted without the proper care. Despite concerns, the Asia Society maintains that the wreckage, which shows the impressive range of global trade at the time, is “one of the most significant archaeological finds in recent history.”
Location: Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue at East 70th Street
Price: $12
Date and Time: Through June 4. Tuesday–Friday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.–9 p.m.
Chen Hongshou, Figures, flowers, and landscapes (1627). Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Wan-go H.C. Weng, 1999.
“Show and Tell: Stories in Chinese Painting” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Chinese embrace of the pictorial narrative in all of its many forms takes center stage in this exhibition of about 100 works dating from the 12th century to the present day.
Location: Met Fifth Avenue, 1000 Fifth Avenue
Price: Suggested admission $25
Date and Time: Through August 6. Sunday–Thursday, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.; Friday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m.
Isamu Noguchi. Double Red Mountain (1969). Courtesy of Kevin Noble © the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York/ARS.
“Self-Interned” at the Noguchi Museum
Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi spent a harrowing nine months in an Japanese internment camp in Arizona in 1942—by choice. See the work he made both during and inspired by his confinement, as well as documents related to his time there, in the Noguchi Museum’s current exhibition.
Location: Noguchi Museum, 9-01 33rd Road (at Vernon Boulevard), Long Island City
Price: $10
Date and Time: Through January 7, 2018. Wednesday–Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
Young Yang Chung, Unification (10-panel folding screen with detail inset). Courtesy of the Korean Culture Center.
“The Movement of Herstory: Korean Embroidery, the Life and Artworks of Young Yang Chung” at the Korean Cultural Center New York
The traditionally female craft of embroidery becomes an art form in the hands of artist and historian Young Yang Chung, known for her ability to “paint with needles.”
Location: The Korea Culture Center, 460 Park Avenue 6th Floor
Price: Free
Date and Time: Through April 27. Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
PARTIES AND EVENTS
Courtesy of the Rubin Museum.
The Rubin Museum of Art Asia Week Celebration at the Rubin Museum of Art
Enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres as the Rubin Museum bids farewell to its exhibition “Nepalese Seasons: Rain and Ritual,” which closes March 27. The festivities will include participatory art installation by Miya Ando, and will use Bodhi leaves to create a mandala made on the floor of the Art Lounge. Party-goers can take part by dropping a leaf onto the piece and making a wish.
Location: Rubin Museum of Art, 150 West 17th Street
Price: $85
Date and Time: March 16, 6:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m.
The artist Lee Ufan. Courtesy Studio Lee/Ufan Château Mouton Rothschild
Touching Infinity: A Conversation with Lee Ufan at Asia Society
Michelle Yun, Asia Society Museum senior curator of Modern and contemporary art, chats with Lee Ufan for a conversation about his recent work, particularly clay sculptures created in a residency at a porcelain company.
Location: Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue at East 70th Street
Price: Sold Out
Date and Time: March 8, 6:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m.
Japan, Tokyo, Shino, Yuya, Japan Reacts to US Presidential Election Courtesy of Renaud Visage/Getty Images.
America as a Pacific Power? at the Asia Society
The Asia Scoiety continues its ongoing series on President Trump and Asia with a panel discussion on the new US administration and Asia’s economy.
Location: Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue at East 70th Street
Price: $15
Date and Time: March 9, 6:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m.
See the full list of participating Asia Week galleries and their exhibitions below:
Walter Arader, “New Acquisitions”
The Art of Japan, “Fine Japanese Prints and Paintings from 1750−1950”
BachmannEckenstein | JapaneseArt, “Japanese Art | Pre-modern and Beyond”
Dr. Robert R. Bigler, “Dynasties and Identities: Tibeto-Chinese Buddhist Art of the 13th to 15th Centuries”
Prahlad Bubbar, “Indian Paintings and Early Photography 1600–1880: Recent Acquisitions”
Buddhist Art, “Serene Deities”
Ralph M. Chait Galleries, Inc., “Spring Collection of Chinese Art”
China 2000 Fine Art, “Stronger Together: Two Western Artists Who Embraced the Chinese Idiom”
Carlo Cristi, “Art of India, Tibet, Central Asian Textiles”
DAG Modern, “The Art of Bengal”
Dai Ichi Arts, Ltd., “The West in the East”
Carole Davenport, “THEN NOW / Meet Hiroyuki Asano & His Sculpture in a Milieu of Classic Art”
Egenolf Gallery Japanese Prints, “Masters of the Genre: Fine 18th-20th c. Japanese Prints, Highlighting Early 20th c. Landscapes”
FitzGerald Fine Arts, “Beili Liu”
Oliver Forge & Brendan Lynch Ltd., “Indian Court Painting”
Francesca Galloway, “Pahari Paintings from the Eva and Konrad Seitz Collection”
Nicholas Grindley, “March 2017”
Robert Hall Asian Art Ltd, “Chinese Paintings, Works of Art and Snuff Bottles”
Galerie Christophe Hioco, “New Acquisitions in Indian Art and Himalayan Art”
HK Art & Antiques LLC, “Nature, Rocks, Flowers, Water and Clay”
Nayef Homsi Ancient Art of Asia, “Recent Acquisitions”
Michael C. Hughes LLC, “Chinese and Korean Works of Art”
Andrew Kahane, Ltd., “Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art”
Kaikodo LLC, “River of Stars”
Kang Collection Korean Art, “Korean Contemporary Paintings and Decorative Traditional Arts”
Kapoor Galleries Inc., “Recent Acquisitions”
Alan Kennedy, “Chinese and Japanese Paintings and Textiles”
Tina Kim Gallery, “Seoyoung Chung”
Navin Kumar Gallery, “Himalayan and Indian Art”
J. J. Lally & Co., “Buddhist Sculpture from Ancient China”
Littleton & Hennessy Asian Art, “Littleton & Hennessy: 21 Years”
Laurence Miller Gallery, “Toshio Shibata: Recent Work”
Joan B. Mirviss, Ltd, “Timeless Elegance in Japanese Art: Celebrating 40 Years!”
Susan Ollemans Oriental Art, “Ancient and Modern Design in Asian Jewels”
Onishi Gallery, “Japanese Art and Modern Living”
Pace Gallery, “Lee Ufan: Ceramics”
Phoenix Ancient Art, “The Diffusion of Buddha in Antiquity”
19th Century Rare Book & Photograph Shop, “Masterpieces of Early Chinese Photography”
Giuseppe Piva Japanese Art, “Japanese Art and Antiques”
Priestley & Ferraro, “Chinese & Korean Ceramics & Works of Art”
Alexis Renard
Samina Inc., “Jewelled Arts of India”
Scholten Japanese Art, “Yoshitoshi”
Runjeet Singh, “Arms & Armour from the East”
M. Sutherland Fine Arts, Ltd., “Guo Hua: Defining Contemporary Chinese Painting”
Tenzing Asian Art, “Buddhist Bronzes, Paintings, and Textiles from the Himalayas”
Erik Thomsen, “Post-War Japanese Calligraphy”
Hiroshi Yanagi Oriental Art, “Selections of Japanese Art”
YEWN, “Have You Seen “Contemporary Chinese Fine Jewelry” Before?”
Zetterquist Galleries, “Chinese and Vietnamese Ceramics with Highlights from the Brow Collection”
Asia Week New York takes place at various venues across the city, March 9–18, 2017.
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