When Asia Week New York starts its run on March 12th to the 19th, contemporary art enthusiasts will be introduced to an exciting group of painters and ceramists, several of whom are making their debut in New York. Here are 11 international galleries to look for:

Southeast Asia

With galleries in New Delhi and Kolkata, Akar Prakar makes its Asia Week New York debut with Form & Play–Recent Work by Ganesh Haloi with Roobina Karode, chief curator of Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, as their curatorial advisor, preceding his retrospective at CSMVS museum Mumbai, in October 2020. Untitled, a gouache on Nepali handmade paper, has a specific association with the nature of water. The near-abstract shapes, patterns and textures refer to the submerged and floating aquatic plants, their gentle movements and incessant and silent lifecycle. Glowing layers of colors on the deep, intense color-ground using natural and organic pigments, a technique he resurrected from the Asian traditional practice, illustrate Haloi’s extraordinary skill. 41 East 57th Street, Suite 704                                            

Rosenberg & Co. mounts a solo-artist exhibition called Blue Night, Red Earth: The Work of Nguyen Cam. Nguyen Cam is a contemporary visual artist working primarily in paint, collage, and mixed media. His chosen materials include used rice sacks, corrugated cardboard, and gingko leaves, each relating to his deep, complex relationship with his native country, Vietnam. 19 East 66th Street

Japan

Dai Ichi Arts features a beautiful stoneware Oribe-glazed vase by the contemporary ceramicist Yamaguchi Makoto. He was inspired by the "ouroboros,” an ancient symbol of death and rebirth, expressing this with the form and flow of the glaze, which originated in the 16th century Momoyama Period. 18 East 64th Street, Suite 1F

At Ippodo Gallery New York, Koichiro Isezaki’s contemporary spin on traditional Bizen ware in his yō series is the focal point of The Breath of Clay – The Life of Koichiro Isezaki’s Contemporary Bizen.  Appearing to sink into itself, this beautiful collapse-form ceramic vase, graced by delicate flashing, is reminiscent of the flame traveling upwards, leaving soft hues of orange and brown. 32 East 67th Street, 3rd Floor

Joan B Mirviss LTD juxtaposes contemporary ceramics with traditional woodblock prints in two simultaneous exhibitions: Restraint and Flamboyance, Masterworks of Mino and Ukiyo-e from the Collection of George Crawford. Katsushika Hokusai is arguably Japan’s most celebrated artist and many of his woodblock prints have become iconic images of Japan. While many designs from the artist’s “Thirty-six Views of Fuji” series, circa 1830, are better known, this dramatic and far rarer scene of Amida Waterfall stands as one of the artist’s most compelling compositions, effectively conveying the power of nature. 39 East 78th Street, Suite 401

This metal vessel called Ritsu (Rhythm) by Iede Takahiro, one of Japan’s most celebrated contemporary metal artists, stands out in The Four Elements in Japanese Arts: Earth, Air, Fire and Water, the exhibition at Onishi Gallery. The artist, inspired by traditional Japanese bamboo basketry, painstakingly weaves strips of rigid metal of different colors, heating and hammering each strip. 521 West 26th Street

When Kazuhito Kawai was a high school boy growing up in Mito city, in Ibaraki Prefecture, he became interested in fashion and discovered the clothing by the Paul Smith, the only brand available at his local department store called Marui OIOI. This colorful clay piece aptly titled Paul Smith at OIOI –on view at Shifted Expression: Japanese Ceramics, Lacquer and Metal Work at Sokyo Gallery–represents the artist’s memories of his days shopping at Marui OIOI. 29 East 73rd Street, 1st floor

Swirling Ring is one of the works featured in TAI Modern’s Abe Motoshi solo exhibition, the Japanese bamboo artist’s first in the United States. Abe is known for his numerous original plaiting techniques and devotion to the art form. He started this flower basket back in 1984 but only completed it in 2014, after he was inspired to flip the basket upside down and cut out the bottom, creating a more satisfying form. Abe’s work is shown in conjunction with the exhibition Selected Works of Japanese Bamboo Art, a survey of contemporary and historic pieces. 38 East 70th Street

The exhibition, Japanese Modern and Post-War Art at Thomsen Gallery offers an overview of Japan’s artistic achievements in the varied disciplines of bamboo; lacquer; neo-nativist screen and scroll painting; and avant-garde calligraphy and painting. Shiryū Morita’s ink-on-paper folding screen takes center stage. 9 East 63rd Street

Korea

Boccara Art presents two separate exhibitions: one in Manhattan called Lavinia Yu: In Search of Lost Ocean, and the other in Brooklyn titled Kim Jeong Yeon & Hyun Ae Kang: Living in a Restful House.  The installations in Living in a Restful House which combine the natural energy of Kim’s motherland with explosive expressionistic calligraphy, explores the concepts of family and home in modern society, as well as the existential angst of human beings in physical space and time. Lavinia Yu: In Search of Lost Ocean, at 130 West 56th Street; Kim Jeong Yeon & Hyun Ae Kang: Living in a Restful House, at 198 24th Street in Brooklyn

Dreams of Blue and White Porcelain and Photography at HK Art & Antiques features the work of Bohnchang Koo, whose photographs of blue and white ceramics from the Korean collections of well-known museums in the world, capture the simplistic beauty of the delicately painted porcelain– created with a rare and highly prized blue pigment. 49 East 78th Street, Suite 4B 

About Asia Week New York

The collaboration of top-tier international Asian art galleries, the six major auction houses, Bonhams, Christie’s, Doyle, Heritage Auctions, iGavel, and Sotheby’s, and numerous museums and Asian cultural institutions, Asia Week New York is a week-long celebration filled with a non-stop schedule of simultaneous gallery open houses, Asian art auctions as well as numerous museum exhibitions, lectures, and special events. Participants from Great Britain, India, Italy, Japan, and the United States unveil an extraordinary array of museum-quality treasures from China, India, the Himalayas, Southeast Asia, Tibet, Nepal, Japan, and Korea.  Asia Week New York Association, Inc. is a 501(c)(6) non-profit trade membership organization registered with the state of New York. For more information visit www.AsiaWeekNewYork.com @asiaweekny #asiaweekny

About Songtsam, Presenting Sponsor

Founded by Baima Duoji, in 2000, the Songtsam Group is the only collection of luxury Tibetan-style retreats found across the Tibetan Plateau that offers guests sophisticated elegance, refined design, modern amenities, and unobtrusive service in places of natural beauty and cultural interest. With his long-standing and strong interest in Chinese, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian art, Mr. Baima started collecting art long before he established his first hotel, Songtsam Lodge Shangri-La, which is located next to the famous Songzanlin Monastery in Shangri-La. Many of the properties across the Tibetan plateau are decorated with Mr. Baima’s personal collection, with each hotel acting as a private art museum. Songtsam aims to share the beauty of humanity’s imagination and creativity with people from all over the world.

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