What's Happening in Asian Art...
May 22, 2023
Wu Hufan (1894-1968), Monastery in the Autumn Mountains, 1950. Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper 40 5/8 x 22 3/4 in (103.19 x 57.79 cm.) Lent to the Denver Art Museum by Robert and Lisa Kessler
The second rotation of Fantastic Brush: Twentieth-Century Chinese Ink Art from the Robert and Lisa Kessler Collection is now on view.
The 23 ink paintings featured in the exhibition are lent by the Denver-based collectors Mr. and Mrs. Kessler. Works on view showcase some of the most important artists in twentieth-century China, including Zhang Daqian, Qi Baishi, Xu Beihong, Wu Changshuo, and Wu Guanzhong. Some traveled to Europe or to Japan to study Japanese and Western art, and others never went abroad. All were well versed in traditional Chinese ink art and found their own unique interpretation of what it means to produce ink art in the twentieth century.
After 1949 and the establishment of the communist government some artists left mainland China, moving to Hong Kong, Taiwan, and elsewhere. For those who stayed on the mainland, their art and lives were significantly altered by the political climate and reflected their response to the larger socioeconomic seismic shifts they witnessed during their lifetime.
May 18, 2023
Kaori Teraoka, b. 1995, [Rhythm 4/3 - 4/6], 2023, Mashi Hemp Paper, Dyed Mud Pigment, Natural Mineral Pigment, H23 7/8 x W35 7/8 x D1 1/8 in, H60.6 x W91 x D3 cm, Copyright The Artist, Courtesy of Ippodo Gallery
Saturday, May 20, 2023
Join ARTnews and Madison Avenue’s galleries for the Madison Avenue Spring Gallery Walk. This free event invites the public to visit participating galleries, view their spring exhibitions and attend expert talks led by artists and curators on Madison Avenue & side streets from East 57 to East 86 St.
For more information and to book talks, click here.
Scheduled Gallery Talks are quite popular and are often booked to capacity. Reservations are not required for visits to participating galleries during times when they are not hosting scheduled gallery talks.
Ippodo Gallery, 32 East 67th Street, 10am-6pm
“Pantha Rei: Everything Flows” presents selected washi artworks by five Japanese artists working with traditional paper in diverse modes.
Gallery Talk: 2pm: The Gallery Talk includes a deep dive into the artist’s statements, process, and impact on the contemporary Kogei world.
Ganesha Enthroned (detail), Kangra, 1st half 19th century, opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper, Courtesy of Kapoor Galleries
Kapoor Galleries, 34 East 67 Street, Floor 3, 11am-3pm
“Divine Gestures: Channels of Enlightenment” features rare sculptures and paintings from India, Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, China and the ancient region of Gandhara.
Gallery Talk: 1pm: We’ll explore how iconography across artistic mediums channels and embodies the energies of specific deities.
Carolyn Swiszcz, Night Laundry, 2023, acryllic, monoprint, and collage on paper, 29 x 60 in / 73.7 x 152.4 cm; Courtesy: MIYAKO YOSHINAGA, New York
Miyako Yoshinaga Gallery, 24 East 64 Street, 11am-6pm
“Carolyn Swiszcz: Burgers & Bonsai"
Gallery Talk: 2pm & 4pm: American artist Carolyn Swiszcz talks about her inspiration from her surroundings in Midwest suburbia. Using various printmaking techniques, she transforms banal buildings, shop signs, and park trees into modest yet vibrant subjects in her work.
Matsushima Hakkō, attributed (1895–1937), Twittering Birds, circa 1932, two-panel folding screen, ink, mineral pigments, shell powder, and gold wash on silk, 67¾ x 66¼ in. (172 x 168.5 cm.) Courtesy of Thomsen Gallery
Thomsen Gallery, 9 East 63 Street, Floor 2, 11am-5pm
“Japanese Art 1910-1940” Paintings and works of art from this period illustrate how the Japanese art market changed from the previous export-oriented output to a focus on the domestic market, incorporating Western influences.
Gallery Talk: 11am, 2pm, 3pm, & 4pm: Join us for a curator’s tour of the works on view.
May 17, 2023
Carolyn Swiszcz, Parking Lot Bonsai, 2023, watercolor monoprint, collage, monoprint on paper, un-stretched canvas, 40 x 51 in / 101.6 x 129.5 cm; courtesy of MIYAKO YOSHINAGA
Burgers & Bonsai opens on Friday, May 19 at MIYAKO YOSHINAGA and will be on view until June 30, 2023.
Opening reception, May 19, 6 - 8 pm.
The exhibition is composed of whimsical landscapes by Minnesota-based American artist Carolyn Swiszcz (b. 1972) based on her everyday observation of her surroundings and showcases a dozen of her small to large works on paper.
Carolyn Swiszcz is renowned for her uncanny, yet affectionate landscapes and building exteriors, employing a wide range of printmaking techniques, vibrant colors, and distinctive patterns. Swiszcz derives inspiration from quirky features of buildings, parks, signs and banners, window displays, and distinctive trees.
Swiszcz is fond of the sometimes-unpredictable nature of printmaking, meticulously devising the stencils, stamps, and monoprint processes that make her images pop with delightful surprises. In her images, Swiszcz blends layers of abstraction and randomness with figurative elements including letters and geometric patterns, creating a sense of otherworldliness. Her latest work revels in off-kilter multicultural elements in Midwest suburbia, i.e. her Parking Lot Bonsai (2023), which features neatly arranged silhouettes of miniature trees in a Burger King parking lot.
As part of the semiannual Madison Avenue Gallery Walk on Saturday, May 20, MIYAKO YOSHINAGA will present Artist Talk by Carolyn Swiszcz at 2 & 4 pm.
May 16, 2023
Fung Ming Chip, 160503, 2016, ink on paper, 48 7/8 x 71 5/8 in.
This is the last opportunity to see the exhibition Fung Ming Chip: Traces of Time at Fu Qiumeng Fine Art before it closes on May 20.
The show includes works from the latest series by the artist (b. 1951 in Guangdong and raised in Hong Kong), entitled NumberS. These are juxtaposed with representative examples drawn from his lifelong exploration of the art of calligraphy and the various scripts he has developed during this process.
To better understand Fung Ming Chip's approach, read the following interview conducted over email by the exhibition's curator, Dr. Daniel Greenberg.
Fung Ming Chip and Curator Dr. Dan M. Greenberg ©The FQM, 2023
Fu Qiumeng Fine Art is currently exhibiting a special presentation of Chinese artist Fung Ming Chip (冯明秋, b. 1951)’s latest series, NumberS, while also showcasing the artist’s unique approach to the medium of shufa (书法, the art of writing) through a selection of works taken from across his long career. Born in Guangdong and raised in Hong Kong, Fung began his artistic career after he moved to New York City in 1977. His first experiments in seal carving (篆刻, zhuanke) deconstructed the forms of Chinese characters in this traditional medium. This engagement with the written word led Fung to a broader study of Chinese characters in the art of shufa. Over the past forty years, Fung has invented over a hundred distinctive “scripts” that employ a wide range of styles and non-traditional processes, each of which explores how shufa works to represent the artist’s practice unfolding in time. Don’t miss your final chance to explore Fung Ming Chip’s conceptual calligraphy in “Traces of Time.” The exhibition will be on view until The exhibition will be on view until Saturday, May 20th.
Building upon conversations between the curator and artist during the installation and opening of this exhibition, the following interview was conducted via email.
Fung Ming Chip: Looking back now, the emergence of number script fifteen years ago was actually a wake-up call for me regarding the temporal nature of Chinese calligraphy. Over the past fifteen years, in my artistic creation pivoting around calligraphy, I occasionally used numbers instead of Chinese characters to eliminate the literary nature of the text, allowing the technique and composition to be manifested. In this way, numbers gradually became an integral part of my calligraphy practice. It wasn't until 2015 that I was certain that calligraphy is an art of time and I began to think about ways to make numbers as demarcations of time, constructing and exploring issues of painting.
Fung Ming Chip and Curator Dr. Dan M. Greenberg ©The FQM, 2023
Daniel Greenberg: NumberS Series utilizes and combines a wide range of artistic practices that you invented for other “scripts.” Does working with numbers and pictorial representation rather than characters change the meaning or visual characteristic of these processes?
Fung Ming Chip: Definitely! When an artwork contains text in the form of Chinese characters, most people who can read will try to understand its meaning, which can influence how viewers perceive the work and their emotions. Although there is little difference in the creative process and various techniques used between writing numbers and text, the audience's perception of the artwork can be significantly different. Whether or not there is literary significance, the use of numbers can evoke a very different feeling from the audience.
Daniel Greenberg: Numbers Series marks the first time you have used a razor to cut the surface of your works. What does this unique process add to your work both visually and intellectually?
Fung Ming Chip: In my opinion, the excision of the surface did not significantly change the composition of my artwork. Rather, it was simply a conceptual and technical necessity. Although it was my first time experimenting with excision, I knew exactly what the visual outcome would be. The use of excision serves the spatial needs of the artwork.
Daniel Greenberg: What parts of Chinese painting are you attempting to integrate into NumberS Series? What can painting express that shufa cannot?
Fung Ming Chip: My intention in creating the Numbers Series was to demonstrate the differences in how perspectives are perceived in Chinese and Western paintings, which is something that cannot be addressed through calligraphy.
Fung Ming Chip and Curator Dr. Dan M. Greenberg ©The FQM, 2023
Fung Ming Chip, NumberS: Transparent Script with Pagoda, 数字系列:宝塔透字, 2022, Ink on Paper, 27 1/8 x 56 1/4 in
Daniel Greenberg: In NumberS: Transparent Script with Pagoda, you include a seal with the Daoist phrase 元神出竅 and paint the forms of stupas or pagodas. How do Daoist and Buddhist ideas and imagery relate to your art?
Fung Ming Chip: Buddhism is a foreign religion that has had an influence on Taoism, but ultimately they are two different practices. You won't see Buddhist monks going to mountaintops to absorb the essence of the sun and moon. While I am not a Buddhist or a Taoist, I appreciate the philosophical thinking in Buddhism and the mystical concepts in Taoism. I believe that the two can complement each other, so I don't mind incorporating both into my artwork.
May 15, 2023
Gōda Ippō (born 1875–1880, still active 1926), By the Fence (detail; right side of a screen pair), 1912, pair of two-panel folding screens, ink, mineral colors, and shell powder on silk, 61½ x 69 in. (156.5 x 175 cm.)
Japanese Art: 1910-1940 will continue until June 2, 2023 with a new selection of works.
The exhibition focuses on folding screens, hanging scroll paintings, and gold lacquer works from the Taisho and early Showa eras, 1910-1940. It was a period of great change during which superb works were created for the domestic market, in contrast to the export-oriented output during the preceding Meiji era (1868-1912).
Thomsen Gallery will be open exceptionally on a Saturday to participate in the annual Madison Avenue Spring Gallery Walk on Saturday, May 20, 2023.
May 12, 2023
Installation view of 'Summoning Memories: Art Beyond Chinese Traditions.' Photo by Chris Dunn.
Summoning Memories: Art Beyond Chinese Borders
Friday, May 19, 2023--Registration at 9:00 am; Keynote presentation at 5:00 pm
1370 Southmore Blvd
Houston, TX 77004
Join Asia Society Texas for a symposium about the artists and issues featured in their current exhibition Summoning Memories: Art Beyond Chinese Traditions.
Beginning with a guided gallery tour, guest curator Dr. Susan L. Beningson will lead a series of conversations with featured artists, including Bingyi, Cui Fei, Kelly Wang, Zheng Chongbin, and others, and joined by leading curators such as Dr. Hiromi Kinoshita (Philadelphia Museum of Art) and Dr. Zoe Kwok (Princeton University Museum of Art). Throughout this day of discussion, explore the breadth and depth of cultural, historical, and artistic themes on view in the exhibition as we rethink and reimagine the histories, traditions, and artistic practices of artists of Chinese and Chinese American descent.
This event is free and open to the public; registration required.
For more information and to register, click here.
May 11, 2023
Ito Jakuchu, Giant Daruma, late 18th century, hanging scroll; ink on paper, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Gitter-Yelen Collection, gift of Dr. Kurt Gitter and Alice Yelen Gitter.
None Whatsoever at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
This exhibition features masterworks of Zen Buddhist Japanese paintings from the renowned Gitter-Yelen Collection spanning more than four centuries. Many of the works from the Gitter-Yelen Collection were recently acquired by the MFAH.
“Maharana Ari Singh II enjoying Jagmandir” Attributed to Jiva and others, ca. 1767 Opaque watercolor and gold on paper Image, 58.3 × 114 cm The City Palace Museum, Udaipur, 2011.18.0037
A Splendid Land: Paintings from Royal Udaipur at The National Museum of Asian Art
Around 1700, artists in Udaipur (a court in northwest India) began creating immersive paintings that express the moods (bhava) of the city’s palaces, lakes, and mountains. These large works and their emphasis on lived experience constituted a new direction in Indian painting.
With dazzling paintings on paper and cloth—many on public view for the first time—the exhibition reveals the environmental, political, and emotional contexts in which the new genre emerged. A Splendid Land explores the unique visual strategies that artists developed to communicate emotions, depict places, and celebrate water resources.
May 10, 2023
Yoshita Minori (b. 1932), Living National Treasure, Plate with peony and Dry-grass Patterns, 2012, Porcelain with gold underglaze, h. 4 3/8 x dia. 19 1/2 in. (11 x 49.5 cm), courtesy of Onishi Gallery
There is more time to see The Four Elements in Japanese Arts: Earth, Air, Fire and Water, now on view at Onishi Gallery until May 31.
The exhibition showcases the technical mastery of contemporary Japanese ceramic artists. Important works by Living National Treasures Tokuda Yasokichi III (1933-2009), Yoshita Minori (b. 1932), Imaizumi Imaemon XIV (b. 1962), Maeta Akihiro (b. 1974) and Inoue Manji (b. 1929) are featured along with those of many of their contemporaries.
May 9, 2023
Kawafune Misao, Lumberjack's Path, 1928, Color on silk, hanging scroll with a box signed by the artist, 257 x 145 cm (image), 334 x 169 cm (overall)
Shibunkaku is participating in Taipei Dangdai, May 12-14, 2023
Nangang Exhibition Center
For Taipei Dangdai 2023, under the theme of Seeing/Gazing at the Nature, Shibunkaku would like to put the ‘distance’ created by the artist’s subjective awareness as the main axis, unravelling the world through their perspectives which transcend time, borders, and genres.
‘Seeing’ is the root of all art. It is through seeing that we establish our place in the surrounding world; through seeing, we explore and deepen our understanding of this world to situate ourselves in relation to it. As one dives deeper, turning ‘seeing’ into ‘gazing,’ it then becomes an act of choice. Through this act, artists establish a relationship between themselves and objects – be it the earth in the vast universe, the waves shimmering in the setting sun, the mountains and rivers filled with urban ruins and structures, the hibiscus blossoming in the backyard, the hair moss in the temple that lives in reincarnation – it could be anything in the world. Distances between the two will then be felt when the artists project their ‘gazing’ onto brushworks, either getting closer to or drifting away from the objects. It is the ‘distance’ created in each artwork that shows the uniqueness of each artist, also a record of themselves of how they see the world transformed into an image through their brush.
Read more here
May 8, 2023
Manish Pushkale | Between the memory and a metaphor of a Forest - II | Acrylic on Canvas | 32 x 56 in | 2022
Manish Pushkale: Consistent (in)consistency
April 14-May 17, 2023 at Akar Prakar, Kolkata
For his latest exhibition 'Consistent (In)consistency', artist Manish Pushkale presents an extensive series of paintings deepening his enquiry into his ongoing exploration of deriving visual forms to soundscapes.
Working with large and small-scale formats, Pushkale's canvases are reflective of the textures of his background. Hailing from Bhopal, Manish is a self-taught artist who developed his practice as an artist at Bharat Bhavan’s creatively fertile environment. Evolving his artistic language over 25 years of practice, in his paintings Pushkale experiments with the imagery, working at the intersection of the personal and the spiritual.
The series of paintings presented in this exhibition is a result of his current enquiry. Playing with the notion of abstracting the auditory, the compositions transcend the tangible language of sound as we perceive them to be. This exhibition is evidence of the evolution of Pushkale’s artistic research while he remains faithful to his paintbrush, his preferred medium of choice.
—Siddhi Shailendra
Meera Mukherjee | Untitled | Bronze | 9.5 x 8 x .5 in
Meera Mukherjee: Life in all Things
April 28-May 26, 2023 at Akar Prakar, Delhi
“I belonged to a country which also had a great tradition of its own. It was the heritage which had in a thousand ways folded me. And, so though I was at the moment living, learning and growing in the West, I should still find my own way to myself, rooted in the great Indian tradition.” —Meera Mukherjee
On the occasion of the 100th birth anniversary of artist Meera Mukherjee, Akar Prakar presents ‘Meera Mukherjee: Life in all Things’ to celebrate her life and works.
Meera is unravelled as “the woman behind the metal,”as a woman of flesh and blood. In the initial years of trial and toil, she started turning each pebble to a new path and no trouble seemed enough for her at one time. This exhibition is dedicated to remembering Meera and her genius, her commitment to her art, through the various mediums that she used during her journey as an artist, from wooden dolls to ceramic tiles, plaster of Paris to carvings on marble and terracotta works both large and intimate, drawings and paintings and finally her sculptures in Bronze which defined her artistic practice and which she struggled to create in spite of her financial constraints. She would often plough back the funds she received from her sale to create more sculptures. We know that Meera often gave these away as gifts and was shy of asking for the price of the work and would sometimes use the weight of the bronze to define the price of the sculpture! Such was the simplicity of Meera. With passion and love, Meera brought rhythm and music, devotion and dedication, into everything she created. Through her art, she sings to us the theme which is life.
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