More than a decade before the pandemic, collectors and private dealers of Asian antiquities gathered in New York each spring for annual auctions at half a dozen homes, including Bonham’s, Christie’s and Sotheby’s. Many out-of-town dealers hosted their own shows in hotels or partner galleries, while galleries and museums in their own city hosted special exhibitions for the occasion.
In 2020, this festival, known as Asia Week, was one of the first art events disrupted by Covid-19, and it has since grown into a trade group that organizes lectures, events and exhibitions of art from India, China, Korea throughout the year. , Japan and Tibet. But the festival returns, March 16-25, with exhibits at eight New York museums and more than two dozen galleries. Search for artifacts from all eras, including Tang Dynasty vases, contemporary ink paintings, intricate bamboo baskets, and at least one iron hawk. Below are a few highlights to get you started, but as always, check the website before you go — and keep in mind that most of these shows are closing soon.
museums
Shell and Resin: Korean Mother of Pearl and Lacquer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Tucked inside the Met’s Korea gallery, you’ll find a treasure trove of stationery boxes, furniture, and even stirrups covered in smooth black lacquer and inlaid with shimmering mother-of-pearl. The oldest piece, a trefoil-shaped cosmetic box covered in tiny shards of shimmering orange and pink, dates more or less to the 12th century. But in Korea, this kind of inlay work remains a living tradition, and some of the show’s most notable pieces were created by the artist Sohn Daehyun, born in 1949, including his breathtaking “Hexagonal Vessel With Cover Decorated With Peonies.” Every square inch of its surface is filled with an intricate, symmetrical design of thumbnail-sized golden peony blossoms, surrounded by tiny curly tendrils, and it’s hard to say which is most astonishing: its design or its execution. Through July 5 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan; 212-535-7710, metmuseum.org†
In Wonju Seo’s “Contemporary Silk Bojagi” a series of colorful squares are sewn together with pink or white thread and bordered by longer rectangles. Inspired by the silk cloths Koreans use to wrap boxes and gifts – known as “bojagi” or, when sewn together from scraps like this one, “jogakbo”, the piece is just one of many subtle textile abstractions in a tantalizing exhibit high above Midtown. But I recommend sticking with bojagi until the variety shock wears off and you can pick out the scarlet, aubergine, and other gorgeous colors of the individual squares. Until May 27 at the Korea Society, 350 Madison Avenue, Manhattan; 212-759-7525, koreasociety.org†
Shiko Munakata: A Way of Seeing at the Japan Society
Dizzy expressionism meets old-fashioned craft in the work of Japan’s most prolific 20th-century woodcut artist. (Reviewed in our Galleries section.) Until March 20 at Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street, Manhattan; 212-832-1155, japansociety.org†
Galleries
Court, Epic, Spirit: Indian Art 15th-19th Centuries at Luhring Augustine with Francesca Galloway
My favorite piece in this museum-quality exhibit—a display of Rajasthani textiles, Mughal sandstone, and centuries of luminescent miniature paintings—is a depiction of Krishna beating a rampaging elephant named Kuvalayapida. Shielded from a lawn and two receding walls, the elegant blue god pushes his huge gray opponent to his knees with one hand. Through March 24 at Luhring Augustine TriBeCa, 17 White Street, Manhattan; 212-206-9100, luhringaugustine.com†
This unusual show of decorative objects in precious alloys includes a bright yellow copper box with carved fern patterns by Masako Otsuki. Through March 23 at Onishi Gallery, 521 West 26th street, Manhattan; 212-695-8035, onishigallery.com†
Influencers: Japonism and Modern Japan at Scholten Japanese Art
Stylish, graphic and modern, Japanese prints made a big impression on 19th-century Europe, and this fascinating show collects European watercolors and woodcuts whose influence is not to be missed. Until March 25 at Scholten Japanese Art, 145 West 58th Street, Manhattan; 212-585-0474, scholten-japanese-art.com†
Privately commissioned Japanese prints and albums from the late 18th and early 19th centuries at Sebastian Izzard
Bullfinches, dried persimmons, and a complete first edition of Hiroshige’s “Eight Views of the Suburbs of Edo” appear in this extended dive into the luscious, often experimental form known as “surimono.” Until March 26 by appointment only at Sebastian Izzard Asian Art, 17 East 76th Street, Manhattan; 212-794-1522, izzardasianart.com†