Hong Kong and China Auctions Retain Momentum

ASIAN ART
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Hong Kong and China
Auctions Retain Momentum
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THERE’S MOVEMENT afoot in the auction Chinese buyers who can take advantage of a
world in China and Hong Kong. Sotheby’s has Sotheby’s branch office planned for Beijing in the
signed an equity joint venture agreement with near future. As it stands now, the only actual
Beijing GeHua Art Company, a Beijing State- auctions to be held will be restricted to Western art,
Owned Enterprise that is part of GeHua Cultural Chinese contemporary art and specialist sales such
and Development Group. This newly created as jewellery, watches and wine. There will also be
company will be called Sotheby’s (Beijing) Auction exhibitions of such material up for retail sale and
Co., Ltd. Sotheby’s will own 80%, GeHua will own Sotheby’s curiously refers to the material in these
20% and Sotheby’s will be responsible for its day- exhibitions as ‘non-cultural relics’ [sic].’
Coming in the other direction is China Guardian.
to-day management and operations. It will be
physically within the Tianzhu Free Trade Zone in Their first sales in Hong Kong at the Mandarin
Beijing and can take advantage of its free trade zone Hotel on 7 October concentrated on their main
location. Sotheby’s held its first auction in China on strengths – Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from
27 September at The Millennium Hall of Beijing the Four Seas and Classic Furniture and Garden
World Art Museum at the China Millennium Ornament of Ming and Qing Dynasties. The
inaugural auction series totalled HK$455 million
Monument. It comprised just one lot, Self and Self
Shadow, a sculpture by prominent Chinese artist (US$58.6 million), more than doubling the presale
Wang Huaiqing, which carried a pre-sale estimate estimate of HK$185 million. Highlights of the
of RMB 1-1.5 million (US$128,200) and sold for painting sale included top lot Album of Mountains
and Rivers by Qi Baishi, which sold for HK$46
RMB 1.69 million (US$267,307).
Even though Sotheby’s cannot hold auctions of million. Other lots in the sale included The Sun after
Chinese works of art inside the mainland, what it the Rain by Li Keran (sold for HK$16.1 million),
should be able to do is to take advantage of the free and The Eagle and the Pine Tree by Xu Beihong
trade zone by hosting in-and-out travelling (sold for HK$21.27 million). The highlight of the
exhibitions of works of art scheduled for upcoming furniture sale was a huanghuali table with top
auctions in Hong Kong and the West. This creates flanges from the Ming dynasty, which sold for
ADpossibility
Gisele Croes
Asian Art Newspaper2_Mise
en page
1 16/10/12
13:02 Page5
HK$10.35
million.
the
of increasing
the pool of potential
Meanwhile at the Sotheby’s sales in Hong Kong,
the Fine Chinese Ceramics And Works Of Art
sale saw intense bidding for a pair of yellow ground
famille-rose, double-gourd vases, Qianlong period,
from the collection of Mrs Christian Holmes
(1871-1941), which doubled its pre-sale estimate
of HK$40-60 million, selling for HK$107 million
(US$13.7 million) and bought by a phone bidder.
The vases, with auspicious decoration, would have
been a perfect birthday or wedding gift for the
emperor or one of his family members. More
success was seen when all 12 lots of Qing Imperial
Monochromes from The J.M. Hu Collection were
100% sold, achieving a total of HK$84.5 million
(US$10.8 million), well above the high estimate for
the group.
Great interest was seen in The Modern and
Contemporary Southeast Asian Art sale, with an
auction record for a Southeast Asian painting by
Indonesian artist Lee Man Fong (Fortune and
Longevity sold for HK$34.26 Million, est. HK$12
million). This helped to achieve a record sale for
Southeast Asian art. Another record was set by
contemporary Chinese artist Liu Wei.
Bonhams Hong Kong sales are on 24 November.
Christie’s Hong Kong Autumn series are from
24 to 28 November.
Pair of yellow ground, famille-rose, double-gourd
vases seal, marks and period of Qianlong,
est HK$40-60 million, sold for HK$84.5 million,
at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 9 October 2012
news in brief
Inside
NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE
The novelist Mo Yan is the first ever Chinese author to
win the Nobel prize in literature. The Swedish
Academy, announcing his win said that with
hallucinatory realism Mo Yan merges folktales, history
and the contemporary. His award makes him the first
Chinese writer to win the Nobel prize in its 111-year
history: although Gao Xingjian won in 2000, and was
born in China, he is now a French citizen; and Pearl
Buck (1892-1973), who took the prize in 1938, for her
rich and epic descriptions of peasant life in China and
her biographical masterpieces, was an American author.
Mo Yan’s writing draws inspiration from his peasant
background, and from the folktales he was told as a
child. Leaving school at 12, the author went to work
in the fields, eventually gaining an education in the
army. He writes about the peasantry, about life in the
countryside, about people struggling to survive,
struggling for their dignity, sometimes winning but
most of the time losing. He published his first book in
1981, but he first found literary success with Red
Sorghum, a novel which was also made into an
internationally successful film by Zhang Yimou. The
author’s most recent novel, Wa, is the story of the
consequences of the single-child policy implemented
in China.
british Library, london
More than half a million pages of historic documents
detailing Arabic history and culture are to be made
available online for the first time, as part of the British
Library’s plans to make its contents more accessible.
Among the works is J.G. Lorimer’s Gazetter,
considered by many to be one of the most important
sources on the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia, which
was originally compiled in the early 20th century as a
guide for British policy makers in the Middle East.
The 8.7 million pound (US$14 million) project will
feature more than half a million documents from the
East India Company and India Office, as well as
25,000 pages of mediaeval Arabic manuscripts
depicting the Arab world’s science and medicine.
These materials could previously only be viewed by
visiting the British Library’s Reading Rooms in
Continued on page 2
2 Profile: the painter
Yan Pei-Ming
5 Photographer Liu Zheng’s
The Chinese series
7 Reinstallation of Chinese ceramics
on the Great Hall Balcony at the Met
8 The ink painting of Qiu Deshu
9 Vietnamese Buddhist calligraphy
in Germany
10 The painter Ma Hui
11 The history of Pagoda Paris
12 Song and Yuan Paintings from
American Collections in Shanghai
14 Light from the Middle East:
15
16
19
20
21
22
23
New Arab photography at
the V&A in London
Locarno International Film Festival
New York September
auction reviews
Japanese shunga in Honolulu
New Arts of Korea Gallery in Boston
and Lost in Paradise in Paris
SoftPower, the inaugural exhibition
at Alaan Art Space in Riyadh
Listings
Islamic Arts Diary
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December 2012
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Yan Pei-Ming
By Olivia Sand
Asian Art Newspaper:
Your most recent exhibition in
New York (at David Zwirner in
May 2012) included some paintings
with topics that could be labelled as
‘difficult’ in a commercial sense.
Similarly, Fernando Botero had
completed in 2005 an entire series
on the abuses at the prison of Abu
Ghraib, Iraq. He was even willing
to donate the series to an
institution, but initially, nobody
wanted it. What feedback did you
get with paintings depicting
Ghadaffi, for example?
Yan Pei-Ming: Of course, I had
a hard time imagining that
somebody would acquire the painting
depicting the dead body of Gadaffi.
However, it is a painting dealing with
the history of our time, and as an
artist, I cannot even consider being
driven by the fact whether a painting
is an interesting piece for acquisition.
I do not paint such pieces with the
mere goal of selling them, but in
order to build an exhibition. The
painting of Gaddafi dead is an
important piece, because to me it
belongs to one of these circumstances
requiring a painting to be completed.
At the same time, I realise that this
specific painting is part of a small
group of works that are not sellable.
My goal was to set up an interesting
exhibition with a story to tell.
Yan Pei-Ming (b. 1960 in
Shanghai) is a true painter, one
whose talent combined with
work seems to be endless. Based
in Dijon, France since 1982, he
has developed and matured at his
own pace and belongs to the
most interesting artists of his
generation. Yan-Pei Ming is in
tune with his world, reflecting on
the issues of our times, as well as
being part of the rare breed of
artists determined to take a
stand, whilst avoiding cheap
criticism or cynicism. With a
career that spans almost three
decades, Yan-Pei Ming continues
to explore new horizons. In the
interview below, he discusses his
projects, past and future with the
Asian Art Newspaper.
Art direction
Gary Ottewill, Editorial Design
garyottewill.com
Subscriptions manager
Heather Milligan
[email protected]
tel +44 (0)20 7229 6040
AAN: What was the theme of the
New York exhibition?
Yan Pei-Ming
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asian art november 2012
news in brief
London. The partnership between
the British Library and the Qatar
Foundation was announced last
month and is aimed at expanding
people’s understanding of the history
of the Middle East, and the region’s
relationship with Britain and the rest
of the world.
pitt rivers museum,
oxford
The Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford
University, has announced that it has
received a grant from the Heritage
Lottery Fund (HLF) for £1,049,400
towards the project VERVE
(Visitors, Engagement, Renewal,
Visibility, Enrichment). VERVE will
fund vital conservation, refreshment
of displays and much-improved case
lighting, alongside a wide-ranging
programme of public activities
illuminating the ways in which
human creativity has driven
developments in techniques and
technologies. In order to keep the
Museum open throughout, the
project will be staged over five years.
For more information, visit
www.prm.ox.ac.uk.
indianapolis
museum of art
Dr. Charles L. Venable has been
appointed The Melvin & Bren
Simon Director and CEO of the
museum. Dr. Venable, currently the
director and CEO of the Speed Art
Museum, succeeds Maxwell L.
Anderson, who became director of
the Dallas Museum of Art in
January 2012.
A second appointment has also
been announced – Amy Poster has
been appointed The Mellon
Curator-at-Large Program. The
programme began in 2011, when
the Indianapolis Museum of Art
(IMA) received a $1,250,000 grant
from The Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation to fund the three-year
pilot programme that allows leading
scholars to conduct specialised
research on the IMA’s collections.
The inaugural Mellon Curator-atLarge, renowned scholar of Chinese
art, James Watt, had analysed the
IMA’s collection of Chinese
ceramics, jade, and bronzes to certify
the dates and periods of several
works in the collection.
Amy Poster will focus her work at
the IMA on the evaluation of the
works, iconography, and historical
importance of the museum’s Indian,
Southeast Asian, and Himalayan art
collections and, in addition to this,
will oversee the expansion of the
museum’s collection of Indian and
Southeast Asian works of art. MBL
ABRAAJ CAPITAL ART
PRIZE
The Abraaj Capital Art Prize is
awarded annually to five artists on the
basis of proposals for new artworks,
which become permanent additions
to the Abraaj Capital Art Collection
following their unveiling at Art
Dubai. This year’s winners are:
Vartan Avakian (Lebanon); Iman Issa
(Egypt); Huma Mulji (Pakistan);
Hrair Sarkissian (Syria); and Rayyane
Tabet (Lebanon). Applications for
the sixth edition of the prize will be
accepted online for curators from
1 October to 31 December and for
artists from 1 November 2012 to
31 January 2013. Information on
www.abraajcapitalartprize.com.
HARN MUSEUM,
FLORIDA
The Harn Museum of Art are
hosting this extremely important
three-day international symposium
on Korean art that is bringing
together experts from Korea, Japan,
England, Scotland, and the United
States to present diverse papers on
the arts of Korea, with topics such as
investigations of museum collection
histories, connoisseurship, scholarship
and emerging developments in the
field. Intentionally wide in scope, the
symposium will encourage critical
reviews of Korean art history and its
art historical canons. The goal of the
symposium, the proceedings of which
will be published subsequently, is to
examine the complete historiography
of Korean art, from the traditional
through the contemporary.
From 30 November to 2 December,
no registration required and free to
all, information on www.harn.ufl.edu.
bonhams, london
Bonhams has announced that they
have appointed Joe Earle as a senior
consultant for the Japanese Art
department in Europe and Asia.
He started in London on 1 October.
A graduate of Oxford University, he
joined London’s Victoria and Albert
Museum in 1974 and in 1983 was
appointed Keeper of the Far Eastern
Department, the youngest person to
hold such a post at a British national
museum. As keeper, he led a project
to establish a major permanent
Japanese gallery at the V&A, the
Toshiba Gallery of Japanese Art,
which opened in December 1986. As
a private consultant and advisor from
1990 through 2003, he catalogued
and created Japanese art exhibition
projects for prominent collectors and
dealers throughout the world.
From 2003 until 2012, he was
resident in the US, serving first as
Chair of the Department of Art of
Asia, Oceania, and Africa at the
Museum of Fine Arts (MFA),
Boston and most recently as
Vice-President of Japan Society
(New York) and Director of Japan
Society Gallery. His last exhibition,
which opened in New York in
September, was Silver Wind: The Arts
of Sakai Hōitsu (1761-1828). He has
authored, translated, edited, or
contributed to more than 20 major
publications on Japanese art. MBL
SOTHEBY’s, LONDON
Sotheby’s has announced the
appointment of Yamini Mehta as
their London-based International
Head of Indian and Southeast Asian
Antiquities/Modern and
Contemporary South Asian Art.
She will be directing operations in
both London and New York,
working very closely with Sotheby’s’
teams already in place on both sides
of the Atlantic. She joins Sotheby’s
after 14 years at Christie’s’ Indian and
Southeast Asian department in New
York and, since 2006, head of their
Modern and Contemporary Indian
Art department in London.
Profile 3
‘I am unable to complete a sweet or flattering
painting. I prefer to react in a contemporary
way and express the pain of certain events’
YPM: I consider the exhibition was
based on ‘dark’ paintings, whether
looking at the subject matter, or the
painting itself. One can easily imagine
this famous scene from the Spanish
revolution painted after Goya with a
Spanish revolutionary facing a French
soldier about to kill him. When
trying to analyse revolutions, there is
always one same pattern whatever the
time, the cause or the country: a
revolution is always followed by
repression. I am assessing the great
principles ruling this world, and over
time, these principles seem to remain
unchanged with a revolution with the
desire to accomplish something, and
subsequently a repression that goes
against this desire. AAN: Recently, you have been
dealing with sensitive topics in
various countries. Would you
consider completing a series on the
events that took place in your
country, for example, the events of
Tiananmen for example?
YPM: The events of Tiananmen take
us back to a different time: there were
no cell phones, no internet. There
were very few images that could be
broadcast, and most of them were
available only through the official
newspapers. Today, images can be
made available almost instantly and to
anyone, and somehow we have all
become spies. Previously, in order to
record what people were saying, it
required an enormous machinery.
I recently visited the musée
Nicéphore Niépce (early
photography) in Chalon-sur-Saône,
which features a collection of spy
photo cameras. Back then such
devices were included in small lights,
cigarette cases, pens, etc. Today, with
our cell phones, we all have our own
equipment to be active spies. We can
take a picture, shoot a video, and
immediately put it on the internet.
It is no longer possible to carry out a
repression without being one hundred
percent aware of the situation. Times
have really changed.
AAN: History seems to be an
important part of your life.
YPM: Absolutely. I am unable to
complete a sweet or a flattering
painting. I prefer to react in a
contemporary way and express the
pain of certain events.
AAN: Some people featured in your
paintings have become infamous
because of their negative behaviour.
While painting such pieces, are you
including your personal feelings and
your judgment regarding them?
YPM: The situation is quite ironic
because, as long as these people are
winning, they are considered as kings,
but once they are seen under a
different light and they begin loosing,
they are considered ‘rats’. This is true
in any time in history. Now, with
Gaddafi, it is as if people wanted
revenge. In addition, what is so ironic
is that he is the victim of his own
victims. That type of vengeance is
only human. He was known as being
very violent, aggressive, keeping his
people under a tight regime, and
suddenly these people woke up. There
are numerous dark and troubling
circumstances in this specific case.
AAN: Through your paintings, do
you consider yourself a witness of
our time?
YPM: Absolutely. When I exhibited
the painting of Bernard Madoff,
people hated it and wanted to throw
tomatoes at it. Nobody was even
considering buying that piece. Had
this particular piece been exhibited
one year earlier, there would have
been many collectors willing to buy
it. It is all a question of timing. This
leads me to ask myself how could
there be such a drastic change of
faith in such a short period of time?
While people were making money
thanks to him, they kept quiet, but
the minute they lost money, they
were ready to start a demonstration.
With his son bearing his name
committing suicide, the whole story
is a drama. However, time is the sole
judge of our history.
AAN: You have been part of the
international art scene for almost
three decades. Many of your fellow
painters, Julian Schnabel, Alex Katz
or Francesco Clemente, to name
just a few, have repeatedly
completed paintings featuring their
family, like their spouse or children.
In your case, there are numerous
works on your father, but what
about the rest of your family?
YPM: I have not completed any
pieces yet. You can compare me to
the owner of a repair shoe store, who
is always the one wearing the worst
possible shoes. I know I will do it at
some point, but the opportunity
never presented itself. Once my
studio in Dijon is fully renovated,
I will have the time to work in depth
on certain projects.
Les Funérailles de Mona Lisa, musée du Louvre, Paris, 2009. Photography: André Morin © Yan Pei-Ming.
Courtesy Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum, 2012.
Hong Kong
Autumn Auctions
Saturday 24 November 2012
Island Shangri-La Hotel, Hong Kong
The Paul Braga Collection of Snuff Bottles
Timeless and Translucent:
The Harold E. Stack Collection of Chinese Jades
A Private North American Collection of
Scholar’s Objects
AAN: Are the paintings you
yourself were particularly satisfied
with the ones getting the best
response from the audience?
YPM: It varies. Sometimes, a piece
I was thrilled about gets little
attention, whereas a painting that I
thought was very nice, but not my
best, becomes the centre of attention.
However, I always try to make sure
that I am satisfied with all the pieces
leaving my studio.
AAN: One of the major projects of
the past years has been the
exhibition you had at the Louvre in
2009. You have frequently said that
this exhibition represented a
turning point in your career. In
what sense?
YPM: I could imagine someday
having an exhibition at the Centre
Pompidou, or perhaps at the
Museum of Modern Art in New
York. However, one thing I never
even dreamed about was having an
exhibition at the Louvre. It is an
opportunity that represents a radical
turning point and based on a world
famous painting, the Mona Lisa.
Today, one would tend to think of
the Mona Lisa as a work exclusively
for tourists. I kept asking myself how
I could come up with my own
interpretation of the piece? When I
make an interpretation of the Mona
Lisa, I am not simply painting and
copying the image of her portrait, but
I am painting her shadow. A shadow
without the detail of her expression
makes a grey painting, and in the
shadow I included all the expression,
the face, the volume. I think that was
an interesting way to go about it.
Personally, this exhibition made me
extremely proud and made me realise
Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art
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Continued on page 4
november 2012 asian art
4 Profile
AAN: Do you still have some of the
pieces you painted when you were
fifteen, or twenty years old?
YPM: Yes, I do.
that I was capable of rivalling with all
great painters in art history. AAN: Once you submitted your
proposal to the Louvre to build your
exhibition around the Mona Lisa,
how did they react?
YPM: Initially, it was a simple joke. I
was asked with which painting from
the collection I wanted to establish a
connection. I answered the Mona
Lisa. They were very enthusiastic
about the idea, and I found myself
trapped, wondering why I had
chosen that specific painting, the
most famous painting and the most
symbolic of the entire museum?
I then began thinking about the
topic, but the Mona Lisa was a very
spontaneous choice on my part.
AAN: The Mona Lisa is one of the
world’s most famous paintings for
tourists. For you as a painter, is it a
work you would place on top of the
hierarchy of art history?
YPM: I think that as a painter it is
not easy to deal with a myth as
universally appreciated as the Mona
Lisa. My version of the Mona Lisa
was later exhibited in Abu Dhabi, and
young boys visiting the show
recognised the piece immediately, and
kept saying ‘Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa’.
The entire world knows and
recognises her face. Besides
representing a great challenge, dealing
with such a painting is also a
wonderful opportunity for any artist:
there is the Mona Lisa, the myth of
the artist who painted her (Leonardo
da Vinci), and the myth of the Louvre.
I cannot think of any other painting
that shines worldwide as the Mona
Lisa does. AAN: By taking historical
paintings as a starting point, were
you never accused of plagiarism?
YPM: No, never. I see it as a
quotation, as revisiting a historical
painting. Painting my own version of
a historical piece is a sign of respect
for the artist, for art. To me, it is also
a way to get into the piece and try to
understand the painting of the
time, and how they dealt with the
composition. Goya’s painting The
Third of May 1808 (1814) bears no
connotation. It is entirely the artist’s
imagination, which creates that
specific scene of the war. Today, my
painting of Gaddafi is based on real
facts, on documents, on actual
images. At the time, artists like Goya
had to imagine and to compose a
scene of the revolution. I am working
on contemporaneity, on new actual
images, and always on real facts.
AAN: At various stages of your
career, you revisited the image of
Mao. Have you done so recently or
is that chapter closed?
YPM: I have recently completed a piece
for the exhibition L’artiste face aux tyrans
in Dinard, France. I painted Mao’s dead
body at Tiananmen in a crystal coffin.
The tyrant is dead, but the crystal coffin
gives the piece a different meaning.
AAN: At the early stages of your
career, you were often quoted as
saying ‘I paint the same way I would
go to war’. Is that still true?
YPM:That was back then.Today,
I think it would be a more intelligent war.
AAN: You are known as being a fast
painter. Why that speed?
YPM: That has to do with the
medium of oil painting. When
working too long on an oil painting
there is a technical problem: it may
become matt, shiny, etc., and
therefore, difficult to master. I want
to work on a ‘fresh’ painting. In that
sense, I need to work fast, and the
asian art november 2012
AAN: You work with oil painting
and also watercolours. Do you also
draw?
YPN: Yes, a great deal. When I
began painting when I was still on
China, I did draw a lot (crayon,
charcoal). Recently, I never got to do
any drawings because I was always
busy preparing major exhibitions.
Once my studio in Dijon is
renovated, I want to keep an intimate
space where I can start drawing again
on a small scale. These works will
represent a separate body of work
from my paintings.
AAN: Do you draw the same way
you paint?
YPM: Yes, almost.
View of Marat’s studio (13 July 1793, Paris) I, II & III, 2012, oil on canvas, each canvas 280 x 280 cm.
Photography: André Morin © Yan Pei-Ming, ADAGP, Paris, 2012
dead person, is that you depict
yourself as a person dying today,
and never as old, weak or ill.
YPM: When an artist starts painting
his own death, it is logically a fiction.
As a child, just with the thought of
my own death, I had tears in my eyes.
I find it revolting that even with me
dead, the world will keep turning. I
find it terribly unjust that we have to
die one day. Death is definitely my
major personal fear. I realise, however,
that there is nothing I cando to avoid
it. That makes me furious, sad, and
upset because I have no desire to die.
Gaddafi’s Corpse, 2011, oil on canvas, 280 x 400 cm.
Photography: André Morin © Yan Pei-Ming, ADAGP, Paris, 2012
Execution, After Goya, 2008, oil on canvas, 280 x 400 cm. Photography: André
Morin © Yan Pei-Ming, ADAGP, Paris, 2012
piece needs to be fully executed in
three to four days maximum.
I cannot afford to be too slow
because otherwise the paint begins to
dry. When adding something on dry
and humid paint, the next layer does
not work, and the painting is not
perfectly balanced between the matt
and the shiny parts. It is in those
situations that I realise that the piece
needs to be completed very fast. At
the same time, I do not like to drag
myself along: once I have an idea, I
immediately want to see how I lay it
down on the canvas in a spontaneous
and concentrated manner.
AAN: Although your paintings are
figurative, would you agree that
technically you become more and
more abstract? Would you consider
venturing even further into
abstraction?
YPM: Absolutely. At the same time,
my work is more abstract and more
figurative. When seeing the painting
from the distance, it is entirely figurative,
but up close, it is painterly pictorial.
I have an urge to take the painting even
further in its painterliness, and try to
take it as far as possible. It is a challenge
I want to take up.
AAN: After arriving in Paris from
China, one of the first exhibitions
you saw was by De Kooning. Why
did that exhibition have such a
strong impact on you?
YPM: Before seeing that exhibition,
I was painting in a way that was not
very gestural. I was building a
painting that was ‘shy’. My images
were not gestural, but a construction.
The de Kooning show underlined the
gestural and constructive side of a
painting. That exhibition made me
understand all these aspects.
AAN: You have completed a
number of paintings dealing with
death. What strikes me when
looking at your self-portraits as a
AAN: It seems to me that in our
eyes, the fiction takes place
immediately. If I were to paint my
own death, I would portrait myself
as old with wrinkles.
YPM: As death is a permanent topic
in my work, it grows old with me.
Depending on my age and the stage
of my life, I will not paint it in the
same way. It will not be the same
vision, the same composition, the
same outlook or philosophy I have
on death, but it is a topic that will
remain with me.
AAN: Has the fact of addressing
the topic of death in your work had
an impact on the way you look at
death today?
YPM: The more I paint it, the more
scared I am. The more I am scared,
the less I want to die and leave this
world. The moment I feel I do not
want to go away is the moment I
want to paint it. Painting one of your
personal fears is not easy. Whereas
for me it is a serious issue, I realise
that the viewer may laugh about it, as
it is unconceivable for a painter to
complete his self-portrait at the
morgue. Therefore, it has to be a
fiction with the difference that one
day that fiction will become real.
AAN: Do you believe that there is a
life after death?
YPM: There is something after
death, perhaps more in the line of
destiny. Now, I live in the present,
and once I die, there is nothing left,
and the world will go on. Actually, I
am concerned about both: the fear of
dying, and the fear of no longer
being alive. Life is the same for all of
us. When I see photographs from
the time when I was fifteen or
sixteen. And today, I have already
grown old, it is an unavoidable path.
I want to move on with my paintings
following an axis based on the
human tragedy.
AAN: Watercolour has become an
important medium in your work
with certain exhibitions solely
devoted to that medium.
YPM: Yes. I am preparing a major
exhibition in Doha this fall. I am in
the process of completing one
hundred watercolours about the Arab
world, with portraits of writers,
actors, revolutionaries, dictators. It is
the Arab world as it is today.
AAN: What do you specifically like
about watercolours that you don’t
find in painting?
YPM: I had never done any
watercolours until 2006, and that is
when I discovered that the medium is
truly extraordinary. It is exactly the
opposite of oil painting. For oil
painting, I can work standing, for
watercolour I work lying on the floor.
Both media imply a different vision,
one with a painting based on oil, the
other with a painting based on water.
Watercolour is very gentle, rich,
providing a great palette of
expressions. It is most interesting to
me, also because it is a nomad work.
I can work when and where I want.
AAN: What about sculpture?
YPM: In my studio in Dijon, which
is being renovated, I will have the
facility to experiment with sculpture.
I have already tried several times
working with resin, but because of
the medium, I am not as autonomous
as I would like. I would be interested
to complete a sculpture in papier
mâché for example, perhaps develop a
new technique with papier mâché.
I think I would go for a unique, and
paint it again, in a metallic colour, like
silver for example. There are many
things to do in the future!
AAN: Especially for sculpture or
works requiring a large staff, many
of your fellow artists have them
completed in China. Would you be
tempted to spend more time in
China?
YPM: No. I truly love France. It is
France that has given me a fabulous
opportunity, and I think I will always
remain in Dijon. I like going to
China to visit, but I do not see myself
going there without a specific
purpose or without work I want to
complete over there. When I go
there, it is clearly in order to work.
AAN: Where do you see your work
going?
YPM: It may sound idyllic, but I will
try to find the nicest subject matter
and paint the best painting in the
world. Also, I have a very personal
handwriting and a very personal
vision. I simply need time to work,
and to develop. It is my dream to be a
real, true painter alone in my studio.
Photography 5
Fine Asian Works of
Art Auction
Monday, December 17, 2012*
Quelling the White-Bone Demon, 1997, gelatin silver print.
All images © Liu Zheng. Courtesy Yossi Milo Gallery, New York
Liu Zheng
By Rajesh Punj
Begun in early 1994, The Chinese
series could well be described as Liu
Zheng’s biography of China through
the vast populace of the People’s
Republic of China. With a blend of
choreographed
images
and
unprompted photographs, Zheng has
effectively conceived a visual archive of
modern China akin to the laboured
documentation of early Western
ethnographers. For The Chinese, Liu
Zheng has photographed very distinct
elements of the Chinese people in
order to record their altering
circumstances; and by repeating his
actions through photographing so
many individuals from so many parts
of China’s vast landscape, Zheng
appears to action a ‘protest against
forgetting’ the people in the face of
such
unprecedented
economic
disruption. The British historian, Eric
Hobsbawm, described the necessity
for ‘a protest against forgetting’ as a
way to consider something many more
times over in order to remember it,
and Zheng’s series of photographs
effectively immortalise his subjects
into history.
The Chinese series reads like a vast
visual encyclopaedia of the most
densely populated country in the
world, as Zheng’s candid images of
prosperous landowners, transsexuals,
performers and the poor, all are evenly
lit, each deserving equal attention in
order to produce a concord of lasting
photo-images. Examples from the
series include, an untitled photograph,
Qigong, Beijing, 1996, which is of an
The Chinese series, untitled, Qigong,
Beijing, 1996, gelatin silver print
elderly man dressed in traditional
Maoist uniform, protruding from the
darkness, in what initially might
appear as a moment of rage; (as his
hands are held aloft), on closer
inspection suggests a man in idle
contemplation,
practising
the
formative steps of Tai Chi before the
lights go out. Likened to the oeuvre of
a number of images, Zheng appears to
have choreographed this scene, in
order that the resulting image sits
evenly within the frame, and he
succeeds in encompassing the spirit of
a man in unfettered meditation. Like
so many of the elderly in China, this
man is without lavish attire, dressed
simply in a black pullover and a dark
canvas jacket and flat-cap. For Zheng
his allure is not in his appearance but
in his inner strength; his measured
breathing and composed posture.
Zheng’s Buddha in Cage, Wutai
Mountain, Shanxi Province, 1998, is
more observation than animation, as a
large marble statue of Buddha is
photographed at the very edge of the
precipice, against a thick curtain of fog.
The seated Buddha is encased in this
rib-caged casket is held aloft by two
bamboo beams, that if removed might
see the statue topple over the ravine.
Captured in a moment of utter
isolation, the devotees have since
dispersed and this elegant monument
is in the process of transition to the
village below, Zheng’s image subtlety
alludes to meditation as something
other than of one’s own choice; as
much incrassation as freedom of will.
A Flower Boy at the Roadside, Daqing
Mountain, Inner-Mongolia, 1998, has
Zheng on the very edge of China, in
Mongolia, for which the landscape is
vast and untethered. Where the
photographer appears to have
encountered a flower-boy, either by
chance or design Zheng has the boy
pressed against this idyllic scene of
open prairie, the clouds rolling over
the horizon. A little perturbed by his
new role as a figure in a picture, the
boy clasps onto these rather unkempt
flowers, as he comes to realise that
Zheng is not interested in buying his
trade but wishes instead to make him
the subject of his photograph; as an
Previews: November 30 - December 2, 15 - 17
and by appointment
A Fine Blue and
White Baluster Vase,
Chenghua Mark,
Kangxi Period
Estimate: $5,000/7,000
Inquiries:
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+1 (510) 227-2535
[email protected]
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+1 (510) 227-2511
[email protected]
* Date subject to change
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Bond #70044066
Continued on page 6
november 2012 asian art
6 Photography
Four Beauties, Wang Zhaojun, 2003, gelatin silver print. All images © Liu Zheng, Courtesy Yossi Milo Gallery, New York
opportune sale for the nomadic boy
becomes something else entirely.
Two Old Clowns, Dita, Beijing,
2000, recalls something of the vivacity
of early Chinese opera. Two elderly
figures, (faces painted), of ambiguous
sexuality appear to wrestle one another
as they positively fall into Zheng’s lap.
The smaller of the two figures, standing
against an erect tent, comes across the
taller protagonist, caressing a paintbrush that could well lead to a canvas.
Dressed head-to-foot in the traditional
regalia of Chinese theatre, the two
dated and dishevelled clowns muster a
smile for the camera. Zheng
photograph manages to capture
something of the regal history of
China, when the dynasty’s reigned and
the ‘age
of
one
thousand
entertainments’ flourished.
Yet for all the majesty of such
recollections, the crest-fallen embrace
of his two made-up clowns suggests
the closing moments of a piece of
Chinese history; as traditions have
become supplanted by a quest for
modernity and grand economics, as
China is in the hands of the
industrialists now.
For much of the 1990s, Liu Zheng
worked as a committed photojournalist
for the Chinese Workers’ Daily
newspaper. It was whilst entrusted
with his role as a journalist that Zheng
appears to have had a revolution of his
own, that would alter his perception of
reality. Exposed to every element of
the Chinese social strata, such
circumstances impressed upon Zheng
the resolve of the Chinese, who in
spite of their candour for the camera
remained anonymous to the outside
world. Recording the truth was a
means to comprehend the greater
good of the people. Apolitical, the
action was a deliberate breach of the
rationale for image-making, and in
particular photography in China.
Tellingly, The Chinese series was
initiated whilst Zheng was still
committed to the newspaper, and it
was the subsequent accumulation of
his photographs that was to preoccupy
him
more
substantially
and
subsequently liberate him from his
political ties.
Historically, Zheng’s moment was
during a time of great social and
cultural change, when China’s leader,
Deng Xiaoping had opened up the
economy to foreign investment;
orchestrating
a
daring
and
unprecedented system of change that
allowed free enterprise to grow and
flourish under the all-pervading eye of
the one-party state. During this time
the peasant revolt was replaced by
well-educated,
professional
technocrats, and revolution was
replaced by economic evolution. For
Zheng, this critical shift from the
sustainable economics of the
countryside for the potential wealth of
asian art november 2012
The Chinese series, A Flower Boy at the Roadside, Daqing Mountain, Inner-Mongolia,
1998, gelatin silver print. Images © Liu Zheng. Courtesy Yossi Milo Gallery, New York
the cities had him return to those
citizens most affected by the suitors of
modernity. Zheng’s portraits are of
individuals who appeared to have
absorbed political and cultural
traditions at the expense of their own
self-worth – the powerless, the
penniless and those of little education.
Tellingly, Zheng’s
photo-works
critique a modern China that has
arrived at its zenith at the expense of
its people. Zheng’s formulaic approach
had his figures all appear within a
square frame. Initiating a series of
photographs, it was obvious that he
had decided upon a work of some
importance. Dates, times, seasons
appear irrelevant in these encyclopedic
photo-images of men, women,
children and the elderly, captured in
unruly poses.
Historically Zheng’s photographs
can be likened to the visual integrity of
American photographer Diane Arbus,
who also employed a black-and-white
square format photographs in the late
1960s, photographing deviant and
disillusioned people in their own
settings; raw and unruly as this was, it
was Arbus’ way of scrutinising the
truth at a time when influences such as
the ‘beat generation’ were introducing
The Chinese Series, Two Old Clowns, Ditan, Beijing, 2000, gelatin silver print
new narratives to American culture.
There is a sense that Zheng was
seeking something of the absurdity
and fatalism of Arbus’ works in his
own deviant images.
For Zheng, another leading light
was the work of German documentary
photographer August Sander, who
was responsible for the defining series
of portraits People of the 20th Century,
for which he diligently and deliberately
photographed swathes of people from
the German Weimar Republic from
early 1911. An apocalyptic era when
men and women indulged to excess,
the country was driven to ruin and
reached for National Socialism. Of
very different era’s both Arbus and
Sander were determined to reveal
something of the greater truths of
their monumental circumstances, and
as a photojournalist and photographer
Liu Zheng had such aesthetic
references in his psyche, as his images
appear intrinsically open and outward
looking.
Significantly
when
considering international influences,
The Chinese series can be described
more as photographs of an
international reputation, made by a
Chinese photographer, and less
Chinese photography by a Chinese
artist. Photography the world over has
acted in a similar vein to seek a return
to the real, to challenge the picturesque
in painting and draw on the
uncertainty of the truth.
Somewhere between American
photographers Diane Arbus, dealing
in the casualties of real life, and another
American Philip-Lorca diCorcia,
renowned for his documentary
photography, artificial lighting and
pose, is where Zheng deposits his
work. Photographs employing a fine
balancing act between those that are
more spontaneous and those that are
tableau. Works that are unapologetic
for their grid, from those that are
subtly choreographed.
In China, the history of frank
documentary photography was rudely
interrupted by the extended tenure of
Communism. Illuminories such as
Sha Fei (1912-1950), Zhuang
Xueben (1909-1984), and Fang
Dacheng (1912-1937), were among
the
fledgling
photographers
responsible for early photography by
design, and it was not until the 1990s,
with the liberal exchange of trade and
industry and the influx of Western
influences that photography was once
again open to such radical ideals that
would allow for something new. Liu
Zheng was among a wave of avantgrade photographers that substituted
the restrictions of photojournalism
for their own idealism manifest in a
new publication; the journal New
Photography was initiated a year into
his Chinese series. Zheng formally
chose to distance himself from his
newspaper role for something more of
his own making, and it would have
meant his acting more independently,
working surreptitiously, without
formal recognition and recognised
salary.
For Liu Zheng, The Chinese series
is a substantial reexamination of the
Chinese, uncensored and without
political cause, Zheng’s portfolio
proves an unequivocal account of the
beleaguered lives of those living in
China now and when given to
speaking about his mission, he
positively describes his endeavour as
something akin to a revelation.
‘Through the process of photography, I
have come to understand many
abstract concepts, such as truth and
falsehood, emptiness and reality, and
gradually the division of these concepts
have lost meaning to me. The Chinese
started with an attempt to record
reality, but ended by becoming a
singular vision.’ (Liu Zheng, On Liu
The Chinese Series, Buddha in Cage,
Wutai Mountain, Shanxi Province,
1998, gelatin silver print
Zheng’s Photographs, Historical
Traces, Gu Zheng, Associate Professor,
School of Journalism, Fudan, Shanghai
University, China.)
In context, Liu Zheng’s early works
include the Three Realms that appeared
as a performative installation of man,
ghost and god. Elemental forces, these
three manifestations of man, were for
Zheng an operatic attempt to critique
the prevailing cultural orthodoxy. It
might have been said in this early work
that Zheng was attempted to
substitute the dry rhetoric of the
country’’s manifesto for something
much more emotionally charged.
More recently the Three Realms has
been replaced by The Four Beauties that
further delves into the ruthless
substance of Chinese history and
mythology, for a new appraisal of
China. Unburdening himself of the
thick historical details and any of the
political polish, Zheng peels history
open to reveal the ugly injustices that
have been endemic of China’s past;
recalling his prevailing attempt at ‘a
protest against forgetting’. The Four
Beauties specifically references four
female protagonists from modern
Chinese history. Xi Shi, (a political
prisoner), Diao Chan, (pursued by the
reigning emperor and his son), Wang
Zhaojun, (married off to a foreign
leader), and Yang Guifei, (an imperial
concubine, beheaded for her close
associations to the emperor); each
draw their own political intrigue, whist
collectively they represent the
impossible treachery that runs the
length of modern Chinese history.
This work and his previous one, The
Three Realms are for Liu Zheng
complex reappraisals of his cultural
and political history, as he
fundamentally asks questions of his
country that have gone unanswered
time immemorial.
Liu Zheng’s influence on the
contemporary Chinese art scene can
be measured in his unbridled ambition
for seeking the truth. Distrusting the
apparatus of information in China;
Zheng in his photography attempts to
challenge the tired propaganda lead
imagery of men and women at the
precipice of a mountain, holding aloft
copies of Mao’s ‘Little Red Book’
whilst reaching for the stars. In
contrast unearthing of reality is closer
to the gutter. Images of beleaguered
figures on street-corners; devotees,
deviants and the destitute are all from
the underbelly of the state; as vast
swaths of people largely ignored by
China.
It is Zheng’s idealism, of wanting to
challenge the status quo that can be
seen in the works of his contemporaries,
Ai Wei Wei, Song Dong, Wang
Guangyi and Xu Bing, among others;
and as an artist practising in China
today, Zheng dares to run a fresh eye
over the topic and applies
immeasurable determination in
recording everything that has
previously been overlooked and
dormant. A modern ethnographer in
his own country, Zheng seeks to
emphasise the individuality of Chinese
people against the masses.
Ceramics 7
Chinese Ceramics
at the
Metropolitan
Museum of ART
By Martin Barnes Lorber
Stale is the only way to
describe the old installation
of Chinese ceramics; it had
become so familiar and so
expected that it was no
longer so interesting. Finally,
in the first full re-installation
of the Great Hall Balcony
display in more than three
decades, the Met has taken
matters in hand with this
installation of more than 300
examples from the museum’s
important and extensive
collection of Chinese
ceramics, which began with a
purchase of about 1,000
pieces in 1879. Covering
ceramics from the moulded
green-glazed Northern Qi to
the colourful flamboyance of
Qianlong, the display
includes recently acquired
pieces, as well as works that
are being shown for the
first time.
Happily, in this case, the
installation will not be
exclusively Chinese and this
is because of the change in
purpose. Heretofore, the
installation had been
monocultural. Even though
the display of the Chinese
ceramics will continue to
focus on their technological
and historical development,
the inclusion of 100
comparative works from
Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia,
the Islamic world, Europe,
and the Americas creates an
extension and entirely new
purpose of the reinstallation.
That purpose is to
illustrate, by means of
comparison to wares from
other cultures, the seminal
role played by China and its
artistic influence in global
ceramic history from the
eighth to the 21st century.
To accomplish this, the
installation is interspersed
with these foreign ceramics
and, by reverse extension, will
also elucidate the role played
by foreign artistic traditions
on Chinese ceramics
themselves, particularly from
the Middle East. One can
easily cite Central Asia as the
source for the designs found
in the Met‘s great, moulded
Northern Qi jar, discovered
by Sue Valenstein, and the
obvious Middle Eastern
influences in Tang ceramics
and sculptures and the blue
and white porcelains of the
Yuan and early Ming.
The display begins with
the unprecedented growth of
the 6th/9th-century Chinese
ceramic production. The
growing Song period
importance of drinking tea
created the production of
white, brown, black and
green-glazed ceramics,
well-represented here, that
were produced in hundreds
of kilns throughout China.
The fortuitous combination of
the beginnings of transoceanic trade and the rise in
foreign demand for ceramics
helped spur the development
of the harder, more durable,
more elegant and more
hygienic Chinese stoneware
and proto-porcelaneous
ceramics, but after the
14th century, most of these
stoneware kilns had
disappeared, to be replaced by
the development and
production of porcelain at
Jingdezhen. Herein begins
the explosion of the popularity
of celadons from Longquan
and the beginning of the
international influence of blue
and white Chinese ceramics
from Jingdezhen.
There are two theories of
the origin of the term
‘celadon’. One is that it was
named after a shepherd
named Celadon who wore
green ribbons in the 1627
pastoral romance, l’Astrée, by
Honoré d’Urfé. The other is
that it is a corruption of the
name of the Ayyubid Sultan,
The first full
reinstallation of
the Great Hall
Balcony ceramics
in three decades
Saladin (Salah ad-Din,) who
sent 40 pieces of Longquan
ware to Nur ad-Din Zengi,
then Sultan of Syria.
Regardless of origin, the
non-Chinese name stuck.
It was with the 14thcentury importation of cobalt
from Persia that really kicked
matters into high gear. Using
the combination of huge
deposits of kaolin clay at
Jingdezhen in Jiangxi
Province, Persian cobalt
(domestic cobalt after
Xuande) and Middle Eastern
designs, the artisans at
Jingdezhen went on a
profit-making export spree
throughout the Yuan and
Ming dynasties. Early on,
wares were exported to such
places as Persia (found at the
Ardebil Shrine), the Topkapi
Sarayi in Istanbul, and later to
Europe where they caused a
fashion craze and the creation
of European copies at Delft. It
was at the same time that the
fashion for Chinese blue and
white was so great that
pottery copies were being
made locally in such places as
Japan, Vietnam, Persia,
Turkey, and even Mexico.
Chinese potters were using
overglaze colours such as red
and green in the 16th century,
but actual enamels were to
come in the 17th century,
with the last colour, pink,
being imported under Kangxi
by Portuguese Jesuits in the
early 18th century.
By the 17th century,
millions of Chinese and
Japanese porcelains were
imported into Europe,
spurring an exchange of
technology, shapes, and
designs that remains
unparalleled in world history.
Chinese potters copied
European wooden, glass, and
metal vessels, while Chinese
shapes, such as the teapot,
were introduced to Europe.
In addition, the rich visual
languages of China and
Japan, which included
flowers and birds, mythical
and natural animals, and
narrative tales, were
reinterpreted in ceramics
made in Germany (which
produced the first European
porcelain in Meissen in the
early 18th century), as well as
in France and England.
The rush in Europe to
discover the secret of
porcelain was finally resolved
at Meissen in the early 18th
century. The secret of how to
make true porcelain in
Europe was actually
discovered by accident in
Florence under the Medici in
the 15th century, but the
secret was lost and the few
existing pieces of ‘Medici’
porcelain that exist are copies
of Chinese blue and white. I
remember the last piece
‘Medici’ porcelain, an exact
copy of a Chinese original, to
appear at auction was at the
old Parke-Bernet Galleries in
New York in 1970 and at the
time it fetched the unheardof price of $65,000.
The final section of the
installation is devoted to
works by international
potters influenced by
Chinese ceramics, including
the black/brown wares of the
Song dynasty. Those potters
include Auguste Delaherche,
George Ohr, Hamada Shōji,
Bernard Leach, Lucy Rie,
Toshiko Takaezu, Rudy
Autio, Wayne Higby, Cliff
Lee, Sakiyama Takayuki, and
Chun Liao.
All-in-all, this is much,
much more than a
reinstallation. It is a much
needed teaching tool created
by a forward-thinking and
innovative approach by the
Metropolitan Museum of
Art so that visitors can
actually come away with real
knowledge and a greater
understanding of the
international complexities of
this great art form.
Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Chinese ceramics, Great Hall
balcony, 1000 5th Avenue,
New York 10028,
www.metmuseum.org
Auction November 2012
Wednesday 21st November 2012
Asian Art and Antiquities
Exhibition in Florence
16 - 19 November 2012
Hours 10.00-13.00/14.00-19.00
Enquiries and Catalogues
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november 2012 asian art
8 Profile
Qiu Deshu
By Olivia Sand
Few contemporary artists from China now can claim to have
a career spanning more than 30 years. Not only has Qiu Deshu (b. 1948
in Shanghai) been a steady presence in China’s contemporary art scene,
but he has also been part of the ‘founding artists’ of the late 20th
century, who in the late 1970s and early 1980s, paved the way for
China’s ‘new art’ as it has now become popularly labelled. Co-founder of the ‘Grass Society’ in the late 1970s, Qiu Deshu
helped organise the group’s daring exhibitions, championing artistic
freedom, a cause shared by the two other groups created around the
same time: the ‘No Name’ and the ‘Stars’. The Grass Society was
determined to revolutionise the medium of ink painting, a motto
to which Qui Deshu has remained committed. Within traditional ink
painting, he is commercially one of the most successful Chinese artists
abroad, and has made his ‘fissuring’ technique (the tearing apart
of his own paintings in order to reassemble them, leaving some visible
fissures, or ‘cracks’ in the work) his hallmark. Working away from the
mainstream, his work constantly evolves yet leaving his passion for the
medium of ink remaining intact. A passion that he now shares with
Asian Art Newspaper.
Asian Art Newspaper: We know
very little about your early artistic
development. Were you exposed to
art during your childhood?
Qiu Deshu: As a child, I very much
enjoyed painting and drawing. It has
been a passion of mine since I was a
little boy. In addition, both my
parents were involved in artistic
activity, which created a very
stimulating environment for me.
My parents were not artists; they ran
a hat shop. My father actually
designed the hats and my mother
was extremely talented at
embroidery. They were always very
supportive of my painting and
drawing, and clearly had an
influence on my development.
AAN: As the Cultural Revolution
started, you were around eighteen
years old. Had the Cultural
Revolution not taken place at that
time, what career would you have
chosen? QD: I do not know. When the
Cultural Revolution started, I was
about eighteen, and just like many
other young people of my age, I
wanted to go to university. As the
Cultural Revolution began, I was
committed to ‘lend’ my abilities in
painting and drawing to the party, to
the community. At the time, my goal
was probably not to become an artist.
I would have done any type of work
for the party, but as it turned out my
strength lay in painting, and with the
encouragement of the party that is
what I ended up doing. AAN: The Cultural Revolution was
a very difficult and uncertain time
for many artists, and you were no
exception. QD: Of course, there are many
stories of how it affected people
individually. If I had to single out
one episode, I can still remember
very clearly how during the Cultural
Revolution, the Red Guards came to
people’s houses, ripping everything
down and taking everything away.
I myself was also part of these Red
Guards, and I had to do the same
thing when I went to other people’s
houses. My mother kept telling me
that when going to other people’s
house in order to rip things down,
I should still try to be a good person,
and do it in a descent manner.
During the Cultural Revolution,
my role actually changed from being
a Red Guard to becoming a worker
in an institution. My abilities as an
artist were put to the service of the
asian art november 2012
Qiu Deshu
Cultural Revolution, and, at that
stage, I was a very passionate painter
for the revolution. Later, after the
Cultural Revolution, the ‘fissuring’
became a way to address my own
wounds and all the bad experiences
I had. As my work evolved, the
fissuring also began to refer to other
people’s wounds. Like many people,
I suffered a great deal from the
Cultural Revolution, but ultimately,
that gave me the strength to
complete the work I have been
doing over the past decades. AAN: Some of your earlier pieces
were included in last year’s
exhibition Blooming in the Shadows:
Unofficial Chinese art, 1974-1985 at
the China Institute in New York,
showing that the fissuring only came
about gradually. How did you
develop that technique? QD: That is a very important aspect
to me. Back in 1979 and together
with some other artists, we started an
association, a club – the Grass Society
– which underlined the importance
for artists to be independent, to have
their own style, and to put their own
stamp on their work. One year later,
the government launched a political
campaign against spiritual pollution
with the result that I became a target
and was publicly criticised and
punished by the authorities. Needless
to say, that period was extremely
difficult for me, as I felt wounded and
carried a deep scar from it.
Nevertheless, I continued working
during that time, trying to get back
my inner strength in order to survive.
By 1982, while working on a piece,
I noticed a crack on one of the boards
I had in my studio. That specific
crack reminded me of my own scar,
and actually became the inspiration
for my work and style. I realised that
was the direction I wanted to follow.
That is how everything started.
AAN: Recently, many writings have
been published about contemporary
art and new art from China. Do you
feel the Grass Society is finally
getting the attention and recognition
it deserves preparing the way for the
movement that followed in the early
1980s and that has been so
immensely successful in the West?
QD: I guess the recognition of the
Grass Society is slowly taking place.
All along, I have been trying to work
according to the principles we were
promoting, trying to be a unique, and
independent artist. I would tend to say
that my work still echoes the spirit of
the Grass Society. AAN: The Grass Society dissolved
later on. You subsequently never
joined any other movement, or
group, but deliberately remained
independent from any art
organisation or movement whatever
its structure. Can you comment on
that?
QD: I am almost tempted to say that,
taken individually, my life is a work of
art. I have tried to lead a life in
compliance with my art. I know that
generally speaking people cannot
remove themselves or separate from
society, but I have tried to maintain a
certain distance from the art society or
the art establishment if you want to
call it that. I did not go to art school so
in a way I am a self-taught painter and
that may explain why I am
independent from anyone else.
Throughout my career, I followed my
nature. Although I never deliberately
planned on a career or on a specific
style, everything happened very
naturally. AAN: Earlier in your career, you
were interested in the work of
Jackson Pollock. Why was he an
important artist in your
development?
QD: At the early stages of my career,
I used to study the work of Pollock or
Picasso, and borrow their techniques.
To me, these two artists were
spiritually very free and were standing
for the freedom of language and
strong ideas. Later on, I pursued my
own style, trying to create a style that
would be completely mine, without
copying anyone else. That style reflects
my life and my personality.
AAN: Studying these artists, who
were very proficient at using oil
painting, were you not tempted to go
on with a different medium instead
of ink?
QD: When I was little, I tried various
media like watercolour, oil painting
and ink painting, but the majority of
my work was based on ink painting,
also perhaps because at one point
during my childhood, I had a private
teacher for ink painting. Oil painting
is a very rich field and has reached a
level where I do not feel I can make a
significant contribution to the
medium. However, in the medium of
ink painting, as I have used it for a
long time, I feel more confident that I
can use it to my advantage and create
something that nobody else has
done before. AAN: How did acrylic slowly make
its way into your work?
QD: I think that in terms of colour, in
terms of intensity, acrylic is much
Two Demons, 1984, mixed media on paper, 61 x 64.8 cm
better than traditional ink. It is more
expressive than ink and that is why I
like using it in my work. AAN: Would you tend to agree that
in terms of subject matter, your work
has become more realist, but in
terms of technique, it has become
more abstract with no visible
brushstroke to the eye?
QD: I agree with you. My work is a
combination of abstraction and
impressionism. That is how I view it.
AAN: There are many discussions
among scholars about the relevance
of ink painting to the world of
Western art.
QD: With regards to traditional ink
painting, for a very long time, there
was just a small group of people
having access and mastering the
medium. There were a lot of
limitations. As for my work, I want to
rely on my own style, and make my
work known to the Western audience.
However, I realise that with ink
painting, a medium not traditionally
anchored in Western culture, there
may still be a gap with people not
always fully understanding what these
artists want to say. AAN: You are one of the most
successful traditional Chinese ink
painters in the West. What do you
think you owe your success to?
QD: My work can appeal to Eastern
and Western audiences, because it is
based on Eastern and Western styles,
and it is combination of both styles.
In addition, my style is also evolving
towards both – East and West.
AAN: Although traditional Chinese
painting has continued to be
practised by artists – even over the
past few decades, it is only now that
it is being taken more seriously by
collectors and institutions. Why do
you think it took so long?
QD: It probably has to do with
China’s economic development and
China’s present position in the world.
Oil painting has been undergoing
such a boom, that perhaps collectors
and institutions now want to expand
their interest into different areas,
realising that there are other media
besides the ‘modern’ ones (video, oil
painting, etc). AAN: The other members of the
Grass Society were slightly older
than you. How have their careers
developed?
QD: I would answer that like in
nature, only the fittest survive. Some
of the members are no longer creative
enough and evolved and moved to
different areas of art. Others, in order
to survive and make a living in today’s
China, had to switch to a different
profession. Ultimately, I think that a
lot of them did not really follow their
dream, or the original idea we had
with this group. In a way, it is the law
of nature. AAN: Some scholars say that in
order to make revolutionary work,
one has to re-examine the old
masters. Do you share that opinion?
QD: Looking at the old masters is
certainly helpful, but in my opinion
the ‘enlightenment’ comes from
following their spirit, and not their
technique. I do not want to be
restricted by the old masters’ style, but
on the contrary, I want to break
through. I use their accomplishments
as a springboard in order to reach a
new stage, and make the world of ink
painting a different world.
AAN: You have changed your style,
now experimenting all the time with
colour, abstraction, even with
different content (Buddhistic themes
for example). Can you comment on
that?
QD: The change of content in my
work is based on different periods in
my life. Regarding the Buddhist work,
my parents believed in Buddha. I
studied Buddhistic philosophy, and
subsequently wanted to translate that
philosophy into my work. Even
though I was never a follower,
Buddhism clearly not only influenced
my work, but also my outlook to the
world. AAN: Do you acknowledge the
importance of the element of chance
in your work?
QD: Actually, there are two types of
paintings: the one with no purpose,
and the ones with a purpose, following
the rule of beauty. I am working on the
second category, trying to explore what
kind of rule of beauty to search for. AAN: In the West, traditional ink
painting is also known for the many
rules with which one has to comply.
Do you try to comply with all the
rules, or on the contrary, are you
trying to break free from them?
QD: I do not follow the rules in order
to achieve any goals. When I make a
piece, I work randomly, but I am
nevertheless trying to make the colour
more expressive, more unique. By
using various layers in my work,
I want to create a certain mystery,
which I think is something nobody
has done before.
Calligraphy 9
Zen Calligraphy
By Denise Heywood
The meditative beauty of
Zen calligraphy is celebrated in an
exhibition by the Vietnamese monk
Venerable Thich Nhat Hahn at the
new Ashoka Institute of the European
Institute of Applied Buddhism in
Waldbröl, Germany. The Mindful Art
of Thich Naht Hahn, the calligraphic
work of the world-renowned
Buddhist monk, peace activist, poet
and scholar, now 86 years old, opened
in August at the inauguration of the
new institute of which he is the
spiritual leader, bringing an aura of
calm to a building that has had a
troubled history.
Thich Nhat Hahn’s contemplative
works resonate with the ancient
precepts of the art of Zen calligraphy,
which introduce a path to
enlightenment, compassion and
internal harmony. Scribes developed
the ancient art of beautiful writing
long before print existed and
illustrated narrative handscrolls were
the oldest means for transmitting
Buddhist beliefs in the sutras.
Calligraphy – from the Greek kalos,
beautiful, and graphos, drawing – is a
visual art, its focus being more on the
fluid strokes and lines that form each
character than the actual content. In
Japan, Zen calligraphy was practised
initially by monks and originates in
the Buddhist concept, shonen sozoku,
meaning true thought. While the
inspiration, or hand, of the artist is
visible in a work, it is the sho, the
brushed calligraphy, that is the real
artist, with each phase of the creation
expressing the spirit of the calligrapher.
Creativity is perceived as the
phenomenon of life itself, evoking a
deep wisdom and inner peace. A
living, meditative experience, the
delicately rendered calligraphy of
Thich Nhat Hahn’s poems, on rice
paper, embraces these concepts and
his philosophical teachings on the Art
of Mindfulness, the form of Zen
Buddhism practised in Vietnam.
These reflect the Zen aspiration to the
meditative state of ‘no mind’, while
the spare simplicity of Zen, with its
distinctive minimalist aesthetic, is
realised in Nhat Hahn’s art.
Predominantly in English, his
Western calligraphy starts with the
stark image of the circle, where form
is
balanced
with
emptiness,
representing the totality of the
universe and, at the same time, the
ultimate void. The monochromatic
imagery reveals the tension between
the immediacy of the present moment
and eternity. The thick, heavy brush
strokes, achieved through slow,
deliberate movements, contrast with
the fluid flow of the letters as the
works progress to simple but powerful
statements from his dharma teachings
from The Art of Mindful Living:
Peace is Every Step; Peace in Oneself
Peace in the World; Being Peace;
Peaceful Mind Open Heart; Be Still
and Know; Mindfulness is a Source of
Happiness; The Pure Land is Now or
Never. Contemplating his images
inspires in viewers a state of
mindfulness and serenity.
The 91 works of art by Thich Nhat
Hahn (known as Thay, teacher, to his
community) suffuse the gallery with a
sense of peace necessary to
counterbalance the sombre history of
the building. The first to be acquired
to house the European Institute of
Applied Buddhism (EIAB), a non-
profit organisation, in 2008, the
building was originally constructed in
1897 as a psychiatric hospital and
then used under the Nazi regime as a
military hospital. Between 19381939,
some 700 mentally
handicapped patients were forcibly
removed and more than half were
murdered by starvation, hypothermia
and gas under the Nazi euthanasia
programme. In the aftermath, the
building, set in the quiet, picturesque
region of Waldbröl, close to Cologne,
reverted to being a general hospital
and was then managed by the
German Federal Military until 2006,
but avoided by local people because of
its historic associations. As a result,
when it was put up for sale, the
EIAB’s monastic community was
able to purchase it at an artificially low
price and the monks and nuns, led by
Venerable Thich Nhat Hahn, began a
programme of restoration, funded by
donations to their community. As
well as currently providing over 60
bedrooms, with more under
renovation, it has a gallery, decorated
with mosaics of pastoral scenes from
the Nazi era which have been left in
situ, seminar rooms, a meditation hall
with an ancestors’ altar, a library,
studies, offices and storage rooms.
Every week special prayers and
meditation are devoted to the
memory of the wartime psychiatric
inmates.
Along with Nhat Hahn’s display of
calligraphy there is also an exhibition,
Healing Hearts, of 700 hand-woven
cloth hearts in remembrance of the
700 patients who lost their lives. These
pieces have been sewn by the local
community, including several school
groups, creating a way to honour and
remember relatives who had been
victims in the war. As the response to
the idea of making these has been so
great, more and more hearts were
brought to the gallery and there are
now 1,300 on display.
An extensive garden, filled with
mature trees and flowers, now named
the Garden of Transformation,
contains the Gate of Interbeing, the
Path of Joy and the Stupa of
Inclusiveness. The gate and stupa are
being made from large stone columns
that have lain unused in the Institute
for more than 70 years, originally
destined for the creation of a large
plaza in front of the building for
speeches and gatherings by the
National Socialist Party.
The Stupa of Inclusiveness is being
carved in the form of a lotus bud to
represent the process of transformation
from the mud of suffering to the lotus
of enlightenment. The stupa will
become the spiritual symbol for the
Institute as it would be difficult and
expensive to modify the existing
buildings to architecturally represent
the spiritual principles. The whole
structure is designed on the principle
of balancing and harmonizing energy
flows. The shape of the 21-metre high
stupa itself represents the core
teachings of the Buddha, with eight
levels. The first seven symbolise the
Seven Factors of Enlightenment, the
successive stages of the practice in the
realm of conventional truth, through
the seven Buddhas of the past. The
eighth level stands for the final
accomplishment,
complete
enlightenment, the Buddha of the
present and future, the ever-present
reality of enlightenment. At the base
of the stupa there are three steps on
Thich Nhat Hahn: Peace is every step
Thich Nhat Hahn
‘With the mud of
discrimination and
fanaticism,
we grow the lotus of
tolerance and
inclusiveness’
each of the four sides signifying the
Three Refuges: the Buddha, the
Dharma and the Sangha. The ground
floor is built in the shape of an octagon
signifying the Noble Eightfold Path
with four open faces alternating with
four closed faces. The four closed faces
of the Noble Eightfold Path signify
the practice of stopping and looking
deeply within for the benefit of
transformation regarding negative
energy accumulated in the past.
A vast, 1.7 metre high bell,
weighing 800 kilograms, has been
donated by the Taiwan Compassionate
Service Society and its reverberating
sound will be an integral part of daily
life, calling the community members
to meditation. On each of the four
sides of the bell there is a circular
symbol. On the north side is the
official logo of EIAB while on the
other three sides are Nhat Hahn’s
calligraphies with his famous Zen
circles. On the south side the
calligraphy reads Höre mit Mitgefühl
(Listen with Compassion). On the
west side Intersein (Interbeing), the
foundation of his teaching. On the
east side is Für eine bessere Welt (For a
better World). Mantras are also
engraved in Chinese and Sanskrit to
release beings from the realms of
suffering and darkness, an aid to
liberation, as well as the names of the
four Great Bodhisattvas: Manjushri,
the
Bodhisattva
of
Great
Understanding, Samantabhadra, the
Bodhisattva of Great Action,
Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of
Great Compassion, and Ksitigarbha,
the Bodhisattva of Great Aspiration.
‘This renewal and sacred infusion of
a spirit of place is doubly important,’
explains a fellow Vietnamese monk,
Brother Phap An, of the EIAB. ‘It
represents an important step towards
healing the wounds of this land and a
transformation of the tragic history of
the building’. Reflecting on the
inherent spirit of Buddhism, he adds:
‘Transformation is at the heart of the
teachings and practices offered by
Thay, and reflects the pragmatic
nature of the Buddha’s original
teachings rather than abstract theory
or philosophy. This emphasis is born
from Thay’s lifetime of practice in the
midst of periods of great turmoil and
war in Vietnam’.
Arriving at the Garden of
Transformation from either one of
the town’s main streets brings
residents and visitors to a
contemplative space. Brother Phap
An explains: ‘We walk through the
Gate of Interbeing, and continue in a
meditative and peaceful walk on the
Path of Joy. The Path of Joy is the path
of our community. To cultivate joy in
every moment of our life is a very
important part of our practice’. As
one of Nhat Hahn’s calligraphies
states:
‘With the mud of discrimination and
fanaticism,we grow the lotus of tolerance
and inclusiveness.’
Thus the Institute, officially
opened on 22 August by Thich Nhat
Hahn and the Mayor of the City of
Waldbröl, Peter Köster, has become
a place of healing and reconciliation.
Reconciliation is central to Nhat
Hahn’s teachings, as expressed in his
calligraphy. Born Nguyen Xuân Bao
in central Vietnam in 1926, he
became a monk, receiving training in
Zen
(thien
in
Vietnamese)
meditation and the Mahayana
school of Buddhism, and was
ordained at 16 years old, in 1942,
exactly 70 years ago. He studied
comparative religion at Princeton
University and became a lecturer in
Buddhist Studies at Columbia
University. Fluent in English,
French, Chinese, Japanese, Sanskrit
and Pali, in addition to his native
language, he returned to Vietnam in
1963 to help his fellow monks in
their non-violent peace efforts.
Caught up in the tragedy and horror
of the war in Vietnam, he initiated a
movement known as Engaged
Buddhism,
which
combined
traditional meditative practices with
active non-violent civil disobedience.
This movement lay behind the
establishment of the most influential
centre of Buddhist studies in Saigon
(Ho Chi Minh City), the Van Hanh
Buddhist University at the An
Quang Pagoda. He set up relief
organisations to rebuild destroyed
villages and started the School of
Youth for Social Service, a corps of
Buddhist peace workers. In 1967 he
was nominated for the Nobel Peace
Prize by Martin Luther King, whom
he had persuaded to publicly oppose
the Vietnam War. In 1973, after
attending the Paris Peace Accords in
Paris, he was not allowed back into
Vietnam and went into exile in
southwestern France, near Bordeaux,
where he founded a monastic order,
the Unified Buddhist Church, at a
centre called Plum Village Sangha
in 1982. He is now recognised as a
Dharmacharya and is the spiritual
leader of four other Buddhist centres
as well as the EIAB. In September
2001, a few days after the terrorist
attacks on the World Trade Centre
in New York, he addressed the issues
of non-violence and forgiveness in a
speech at Riverside Church in the
beleaguered city. In September 2003,
he addressed members of the US
Congress, leading them through a
two-day retreat. Finally in 2005, he
was permitted to return for the first
time to Vietnam to visit his original
temple, the Tu Hieu in Hue.
He cites the 13th-century
Vietnamese King Tran Nhân Tông as
the source of the concept of Engaged
Buddhism, as Tran Nhân Tông
abdicated his throne to become a
monk and founded the Vietnamese
Buddhist School in the Bamboo
Forest tradition. The revered art of
calligraphy was practised by many
subsequent kings of Vietnam,
especially Khai Dinh, the penultimate
emperor of the Nguyen dynasty. There
is an evocative portrait of him from
the 1920s where, resplendent in a
lavish and bejewelled brocade
costume, he pursues this noble and
contemplative art, perhaps to alleviate
the sorrow of his powerlessness before
the French colonisers who ruled his
country. His predecessor King Ham
Nghi was also a noted painter and
artist.
Following royal and religious
traditions that are both Vietnamese
and Japanese Zen, Thay’s art is a
fundamental part of his unceasing
work organising meditation retreats
and helping refugees and political
prisoners internationally, as well as
aiding Vietnam veterans and families
and children in Vietnam. As a peace
activist he has travelled all over the
world, meeting with leading figures
such as the Dalai Lama, and writes
prolifically, publishing more than 100
books. Exhibitions of his calligraphy
have taken place in Hong Kong, last
year, Vancouver and Taiwan.
Through
mindfulness
and
meditation, Nhat Hahn’s art captures
the essence of his teaching and
wisdom and incorporates the many
strands of his life that form a
continuous path dedicated to
universal peace. They adhere to one of
his most significant calligraphic works
of art: Peace in oneself, peace in
the world.
European Institute of
Applied Buddhism,
Schaumburgweg 3,
51545 Waldbröl,
Germany.
Tel: +49 (0)2291 9071373,
www.eiab.eu.
Plum Village Buddhist
Centre, France,
www.plumvillage.org.
november 2012 asian art
10 Profile
By Yvonne Tan
Ma Hui (b.1958, Chengde,
formerly Jehol, Hebei province)
has Muslim Ancestry and is one
of the most established Chinese
artists living in Amsterdam. She
trained at the Xian College of
Fine Arts in China and moved to
Europe, in 1987, to attended the
Academy of Fine Arts, Utrecht.
Ma Hui set up her studio in
Amsterdam in 1990. She works
on etchings influenced by
memories of her childhood in
Ningxia, an arid part of
northwest China bordering
Inner Mongolia, where she was
‘reformed through labour’ during
the Cultural Revolution. Using
ink on Chinese rice-paper, some
works use red string, coils of rope,
pieces of wire, rusty keys and
chains. In 2001, Ma Hui received
the Aemstelle Prize from the
Cobra Museum, Amstelveen, a
tri-annual event that was created
from a northern European art
movement after World War II.
Her winning entry, Yellow River,
was a series of 10 panels, ink on
canvas, measuring two by three
metres each. She has since
exhibited regularly at the Cobra
Museum and her works have also
toured Belgium, Denmark and
Switzerland, and in Asia, Hong
Kong, Shanghai and Singapore.
Ma Hui speaks to the Asian Art
Newspaper about her life and
work from her studio in
Amsterdam.
ASIAN ART NEWSPAPER:
How did you spend your childhood?
MA HUI: Much of my childhood
was spent in Ningxia, simply because
my father was transferred from
Chengde in Hebei province, where
I was born, to Beijing. I was just one
year old. Not much later, the whole
family moved to Yinchuan, capital of
Ningxia province. We lived in a big
house with a walled garden, and had
lots of servants. I must have been
eight years old when the Cultural
Revolution (1966-1976) started and
we fell victim to its excesses soon
after. Most of my formative years
were spent in Youai, a remote village,
to undergo re-education as the
daughter of a bourgeois father. He
was a Communist party leader in
Ningxia but was hounded down the
streets of Yinchuan by the Red
Guards in the late 1960s. My mother,
a Roman Catholic medical doctor,
was also arrested and sent to a
re-education camp. Eight years of
very hard physical labour followed
– without my family and without any
possibility to visit my parents, who
were in jail for political reasons.
AAN: Have you always want to be
an artist?
MH: Not in the beginning, no.
When I was very young I wanted to
become an architect. However, I
could not get a proper mathematics
education in those days of political
turmoil. The first opportunity came
after the Cultural Revolution ended
– when I was told that I could draw
very well. That was why I eventually
decided to enrol in an art academy.
AAN: Why did you choose the
Xian College of Fine Arts?
MH: I was living in Ningxia during
the Cultural Revolution and its
neighbouring provinces were Shaanxi
and Gansu. There was only one
academy with a Fine Arts
department in the entire region. That
was in Xian, capital of Shaanxi. It
asian art november 2012
time – outside of China – to Tibet,
Inner Mongolia and other remote
places. I discovered that I liked to
portray disappearing cultures.
Therefore, I worked hard, saved
money and arranged with my office
to leave for these places every
few months.
Ma Hui at work
Ma Hui
Walk on the River, 53.5 x 66.5 cm
had a good reputation in China from
the old days, with a strong Chinese
identity and was familiar with the
Yellow River culture surrounding it.
AAN: Did the training at Xian
bring out your artistic reserves?
MH: Yes, very much so. We had a
very classical and practical education
and I think it has formed a
foundation enabling me to reach the
level I wanted. It has been of utmost
importance and a necessity for every
aspiring artist. It brings out your
talent to draw and paint – and not
only in a technical way to improve
your skills. Its importance cannot be
over emphasised. For four years I
studied at the oil painting department
where you really had to learn how to
draw. First by pencil and charcoal for
weeks on end, and then you went on
to oil painting. Compared to most
other Chinese, I managed to learn
Western painting, such as that of the
Dutch masters, Vermeer and
Rembrandt, from models and copies
of their works. Later I studied the
works of Mondrian and Van Gogh.
Classical and modern art books were
available in the library. But there were
many limitations.
AAN: What were these limitations?
MH: We were not allowed to try out
modern art, so soon after the Cultural
Revolution. There was no free way to
express yourself. No experimenting,
no free thinking. It was not about
developing a lot of new ideas or of
invention. Teachers taught you what
they knew, the old way. Students just
followed in their footsteps, a very
traditional top-down kind of
education. For instance, once a year
the teachers instructed you to go into
a forest to explore nature. These
assignments were merely
based on directing you to a certain
topic, a subject or a theme. They did
not shape the way you developed.
Only in the Netherlands did I
discover a totally new way of thinking
and dealing with ideas in art. I now
realise that the battle to fight these
limitations is lifelong. Mostly because
to begin with, they inhibit you. Even
now, after years outside China,
I continue to look for new ways to
overcome these inhibitions.
AAN: After your time in Xian, why
did you ‘move back’ to the
countryside to portray disappearing
cultures in Tibet, Ningxia and Inner
Mongolia?
MH: It was compulsory – after
academic study in Xian – to move
back to my original danwei,
‘residential ward’ in Yinchuan,
Ningxia. You had to return to where
you originally came from. That is why
I went back to Ningxia. I started
working for an office that arranged
exhibitions all over China. It gave me
an opportunity to travel for the first
AAN: What made you leave China
in 1987?
MH: I always wanted to go abroad to
widen my professional scope. To
study a subject I did not know a lot
about and Europe seemed to be an
option. Mostly because of its splendid
art history. The Netherlands is well
known for its painting heritage, its
Dutch masters of the 16th and 17th
centuries, as well as its modern
masters. I wanted an opportunity to
improve my technique. Graphic
design was not immediately on my
mind, but there was an opening to
study etching in Utrecht in 1987.
At the time, it was quite difficult to
obtain a passport and leave China,
but to apply for one as a student
was easier.
AAN: Has Utrecht contributed to
your overall development?
MH: It opened a window, yes. In
1987, the Academy of Fine Arts in
Utrecht was one of the few Dutch
schools that accepted Chinese
students. My first choice had been
the Rietveld Academy in
Amsterdam. But they had negative
experiences with Chinese students,
who could not cope with the system.
So I did not have much choice. At
first I thought the teaching – or the
lack of it – was a disaster. There were
hardly any lessons to follow. Because
nobody appeared in the morning,
you went there at noon. You were on
your own. You had to draft your own
curriculum. You had to be the one to
ask. If you did not, nothing was
taught. To be honest, it was hard to
find a decent teacher. It was not a
person to person kind of education. I
quickly learned to work on my own.
The freedom was total – it was a
genuine culture shock. With other
students, I made up my own study
programmes in English. It was not
like attending a class at all. More like
using the tools that they provided,
like the etching press. You were able
to experiment with any kind of
material, as long as it was your own
idea. No technical instructions were
given. You had to push the assistants
to instruct you. After spending two
years toying with materials, I had
had enough – I decided to set out on
my own to develop further. During
this period I started exhibiting my
monoprints and etchings for the first
time at the Brouwers Gracht in
Amsterdam. The experience
encouraged me to continue along
this path until today.
AAN: Do you attribute the special
quality of your work to Utrecht?
MH: It has pushed me in the right
direction – to be an individual, and
not to copy others. I was able to work
with many different materials for the
first time. Also I learned how to put
my ideas into practice, into reality.
I felt free to be myself. This was the
most important stage in my personal
artistic development. It established
that I was truly an artist at heart. And
I did not miss Xian although it played
an important part in my life. My
work changed completely in Utrecht.
I learned to combine Western
techniques, like mixed media, with
traditional etchings. Afterwards I
started to work in the Graphic Atelier
in Amsterdam, the place where I lived
during my studies in Utrecht. So
today my work has elements of a
crossover between cultures, a fusion of
two different styles and tastes.
AAN: Why do you favour the
graphic technique over others?
MH: To me, graphics represent a
familiar technique, closer to home,
closer to the heart. In the past two
decades I have learnt to toil patiently
with the etching press and paper, while
perfecting my technique. Through the
years I achieved my own mark.
I particularly like the physical aspect
of working with fluids on paper, to see
the way they change form, shape and
texture. I also enjoy the manual side of
creating art, by applying force to turn
the wheel of my etching press, the
biggest I could find in the Low
Countries. Working with dry needle,
and acid on zinc plates is another
favourite technique. Because it lets me
create slowly – in stages – and
approach nature without knowing
what the end result is.
AAN: How did you create the work
The Wind Blows, line and circle
disappear, just leaving blue water’?
MH: I used an etching (deep
printing) made on my own etching
press, and then added blue ink on a
second plate. It is work from seven
years ago, from my very first catalogue,
The Landscape of My Childhood. I think
that I have progressed from this
technique but have used it in various
ways, such as on Walk on the River. In
Red Banner in the Sky, I used two
separate plates, adding red ink on the
second print.
AAN: You like using Chinese
ideograms and coils of thread on
Chinese rice-paper, what are you
trying to say?
MH: That ‘Life is a circle, you go back
to where you came from ...’. I write
haiku like this beneath all my etchings.
In Red Rope the endless red coil
symbolises the connection between
the present and the past – my past in a
‘re-education through labour’ camp in
Ningxia province in the 1970s. I try to
link my work with memories of open
skies, the distant horizon as one single
line, with the sun above it as just a dot.
Nature constantly gave me
consolation. Nature helped me survive
those lonely days as a child in the
re-education village at Youai. The lines
to the horizon, the misty fields, the
winding flow of the Yellow River,
these themes reflect my feelings about
life as an unstoppable movement of
time. Another of my favourite haiku is
‘The tree wants to rest but the wind
never stops’. Day-to-day, life goes by
without much space to reflect on
yesterday. The days pass by, the wind
covers our thoughts and idle
intentions under layers of dust and
sand. We commence this nameless
journey not knowing destiny, and
dance to life’s tune.
AAN: How do you see the future
direction of your work?
MH: I shall aim for larger size
artworks in the future. And continue
with etchings and mixed media. I will
supplement my work (for the first
time) with a video installation using
the haiku, ‘The tree wants to rest but
the wind never stops’. I would also like
to make monumental works based on
the Yellow River, by exploding ink on
large panels. And I shall increasingly
exhibit in China, as some form of
recognition from the land of my birth
is important to my development as an
artist. Etchings have not developed in
China in the manner that they have
attained in Europe. Therefore, I hope
I can make some sort of contribution
to abstract art in China by showing
my work in Beijing, Guangzhou and
Shenzhen, among other places.
Architecture 11
The
Pagoda
Paris
A monument to Asian art in Europe
By Tiffany Beres
Situated in the famous 8th arrondissement,
adjacent to the Parc Monceau, sits one of Paris’
most striking architectural treasures, the Pagoda.
With its crimson red exterior, jade-green roof
tiles capped with Chinese gargoyles, and its
latticework windows in imperial yellow, the
building stands as an exclamation mark among
the rows of grey and white Haussman-style
buildings. When I first arrived on its doorstep in
August 2011, the gate was locked and it
appeared unoccupied, possibly even abandoned.
But today, after extensive renovations and
planning, the gates are open and the building is
alive again with the art and culture of Asia.
Originally constructed as an hôtel particulier in
the Louis-Philippe style, the building was
acquired by Mr. Ching Tsai Loo, otherwise
known as C.T. Loo (1880-1957), a celebrated
collector and dealer of Chinese and Far Eastern
art and antiques, in 1925. With the help of
noted French architect Fernand Bloch, Mr. Loo
laboriously redesigned the building into the
Asian-styled architectural landmark we know
today. Given its unconventional appearance, one
can only imagine the impression that this
building must have given a contemporary visitor
to the building.
As a young Chinese immigrant to France,
Mr. Loo worked his way up from humble
beginnings to become one of the earliest and
most highly regarded Asian art dealers in the
first half of the 20th century. Taking advantage
of his privileged connections in China, in 1908,
Mr. Loo founded an antique firm under the
name Lai-Yuan & Co. in Paris. During this
period he was almost single-handedly
responsible for introducing important early
Chinese art – bronzes, jades, paintings – to the
West. Working between Europe and the United
States, Mr. Loo was instrumental in advising
and acquiring objects for many prestigious
private and institutional collections, including
those of J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller Jr.,
Charles Lang Freer, Samuel Peters, Alfred
Pillsbury, and Henry Clay Frick, among many
others.
The Pagoda was Mr. Loo’s gallery for the 50
plus years he was in operation. This historical
building not only housed an incredible collection
of paintings, furniture, porcelain, objects d’art and
works of art spanning the dynasties of Chinese
and Far Eastern art and antiques, it was also Mr.
Loo’s family residence for nearly a century. In
the late 1940s, Mr. Loo gradually retired from
active business, and from 1948 onward his Paris
gallery, C.T. Loo et Cie, was under the
management of his daughter Janine Loo. After
C.T. Loo passed away in 1957, his children and
grandchildren continued the Asian antiques
business at the Pagoda. However, given
increasingly restrictive international import
regulations, limited access to new material, and
the clearance of Mr. Loo’s inventories of art, it
became more difficult to fill the Pagoda.
In more recent times, the building was put on
the market and was purchased by a private
French investor in 2010. Now under the new
direction of Jacqueline Baroness von
Hammerstein-Loxten, the building has been
elegantly renovated and given new purpose as
an art and event centre. Given her conservation
activities and architectural modernisation
The Pagoda was Mr Loo’s
gallery for 50 years,
housing his vast collection
of antiques. Now Pagoda
Paris aspires to honour this
legacy and become the
premier space for
Asian Art in Europe
Watercolour of the Pagoda. Right: The original
building was designed as a hôtel particulier and
redesigned by C.T. Loo in the early 20th century
accomplishments, the director will be awarded
the Medaille d’Honneur from the Fondation
Prince Louis de Polignac in December 2012.
With renovations just completed, this midOctober, the rebranded Pagoda Paris has reopened to the public. Anyone who crosses the
threshold into its interior will be rewarded with
a unique and refined space that is both Asian
and Western. With approximately 800m² and its
five levels, the interior environment is a museum
in and of itself. Its 16th- and 17th-century
lacquered wood panelling, an art deco glass
ceiling depicting Chinese characters, an 18thand 19th-century sculpted wood galleria of
Indian origin, a lacquer and wood elevator, will
make you feel as if you have found yourself in
another time and place. In addition to the
Pagoda’s lavish and eclectic Asian architectural
elements and furnishings, it is also possible to
access Mr. Loo’s private library, with access to
some 2,000 books and 3,000 catalogues related
to Asian art, and his correspondence and
photographs, as well as original art archives, by
appointment for research purposes.
By hosting important exhibitions and sales of
Chinese and Asian Art, both contemporary and
antique, the Pagoda Paris aspires to honour
Mr. Loo’s legacy and become the premier space
in Europe for Asian art. The inaugural exhibition
from October to December 2012, L’Asie en Vogue
presents a major public display of contemporary
Asian artwork and antiques around the theme of
textiles and costumes. With art media as diverse
as photography, ceramic shards, buttons, stainless
steel, and pencil shavings, the exhibition features
the work of eight established and emerging panAsian contemporary artists, each exploring
themes of identity, tradition and culture through
his or her own unique visual art language. A
poetic unveiling of the building itself, through
the presentation of contemporary art along with
museum-quality textiles, the Pagoda is exploring
how today’s Asian artists weave and stitch
together meaning in their art, and how the past
and present are intertwined.
The Pagoda Paris is a veritable treasure-trove
of history, and is one of those rare places where
art and environment can complement and
inform each other. More than just a gallery or
event space, the Pagoda Paris has as its purpose
to promote informed understanding and the
mutual exchange of ideas between the diverse
communities of Europe and Asia. It is my great
honour to help contribute to this dialogue by
curating their first exhibition in the renovated
space and I look forward to welcoming you.
Tiffany Beres is the curator of “L’Asie en Vogue
at the Pagoda Paris, additional information,
visiting hours and events can be found at
www.pagodaparis.com
THROCKMORTON FINE ART
CHINA
Seated Buddha, Ming Dynasty
1368-1644 CE
Bronze
H:18 in.
145 EAST 57TH STREET, 3RD FLOOR, NEW YORK, NY 10022
TEL: 212.223.1059 FAX: 212.223.1937
www.throckmorton-nyc.com [email protected]
Throckmorton Nov12V.indd 1
11/10/2012 15:48
november 2012 asian art
12 Painting
Masterpieces of Song and
From American Collections
Court ladies preparing newly woven silk, Emperor Huizong (Chinese, 1082–1135, ruled 1100–1125) early 12th century, ink, colour, and gold on silk. Special Chinese and Japanese Fund.
Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
By Yvonne Tan
The Shanghai Museum
celebrates its 60th anniversary this
year with a monumental exhibition,
Masterpieces of Song and Yuan
Paintings from American Collections.
Sixty outstanding works from the
four most important collections of
Chinese art in the United States have
travelled
to
Shanghai:
The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New
York is sending 29; the Museum of
Fine Arts, Boston, 13; The Cleveland
Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, 10;
and The Nelson-Atkins Museum of
Art, Kansas City, nine. These works
hold a critical place in the history of
Chinese painting. They were selected
by the Shanghai Museum’s Director,
Chen Xiejun and Chief Curator of
Chinese Painting and Calligraphy,
Shan Guolin, a leading authority in
the field, when they visited the
American museums.
‘The exhibition demonstrates the
Shanghai Museum’s bold leadership
Five-coloured parakeet on a blossoming apricot tree, Emperor Huizong (Chinese, 1082–1135, ruled 1100–1125)
datable to 1110s, ink and colour on silk. Maria Antoinette Evans Fund. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
in the field of Chinese painting and
calligraphy,’ says Alfreda Murck,
Consultant of Chinese Painting and
Calligraphy at The Palace Museum,
Beijing.‘This is an historical exhibition
that will not be easily repeated.
Virtually all of these works are
returning to China for the first time
since they left the country – at the end
The Nine Songs, Zhang Wo (active ca. 1336–ca. 1364) and Chu Huan
(active ca. 1361), dated 1361, handscroll, ink on paper, 28 x 438.2 cm.
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
of the Qing (1644-1911), in the
Republican period (1911-1949) or
later.’ The Shanghai Museum is
committed to acquainting its home
audience with important collections
of Chinese art from outside of China,
and has the most extensive
international loan programme of any
Chinese museum. ‘To reciprocate its
generosity over the years, the
American museums could hardly turn
down loan requests,’ says Dr Murck.
‘The exhibition represents a unique
opportunity. Even if one could travel
to the US, to the four cities in four
different states, it is unlikely that all
these masterpieces could be seen –
they would never be on display at the
same time and would not be in
adjacent galleries.’
Scholarship of early Chinese
painting is limited by its low survival
rate. The Northern Song (960-1127)
is the earliest historical period in
which only a handful of works
attributed to recognised masters has
survived.The exceptional masterpieces
gathered tell us about the artists and
provide contextual information about
the circumstances that led to their
making. Painting had emerged an
important medium of expression
during this time, due to the eighth
Bamboo, Rocks, and Lonely Orchids, Zhao Mengfu (1254–1322), handscroll, ink on paper
50.5 x 144.1 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art. John L. Severance Fund by exchange
asian art november 2012
and last emperor, Huizong’s (10821135) direct imperial patronage. The
Xuanhe Huapu, ‘Illustrated Catalogue
of the Imperial Painting Collection’
(1120) compiled at his behest, had
classified 6,397 paintings into 10
picture-categories, whose stylistic
conventions form the basis of the
entire Chinese painting tradition.
They are reflected in the show, whose
highlights represent actual pictorial
achievements of that time.
Shansui, ‘landscape’ ranked sixth,
was held in high esteem and assumed
unrivalled power as a subject in itself.
The imposing landscape around the
Northern Song capital, Kaifeng
encouraged vertical constructions of
enormous complexity. A shifting
perspective of multiple viewpoints
was used to project the high mountain
where the evocation of mass, space
and depth were major concerns. Li
Cheng (919-967), an exponent of this
early landscape tradition, was declared
its foremost master. ‘One of the first
Chinese painters to fully master
realistic landscape painting, Li Cheng
was famed for his ‘piled up mountains’,
the miniaturist detail of his
architecture and human figures, and
his dynamic ‘crab-claw branches’,’
says Colin Mackenzie, Senior Curator
of Early Chinese Art at The NelsonAtkins Museum of Art. ‘These
features are all superbly represented in
A Solitary Temple amid Clearing Peaks,
one of only two or three works in
existence, plausibly attributed to the
revolutionary master.’
In Jiangnan, South of the Yangzi
River, a softer, but no less monumental
landscape of undulating country with
wide expanses and rounded contours
flourished. Dong Yuan (fl.930s-960s),
its chief representative in Nanjing,
worked on topographically accurate
landscape studies such as the majestic
Riverbank. His follower, Juran (fl.
ca.960-985) painted fluidly textured
river landscapes and gentle boulderstrewn mountains. Buddhist Retreat by
Stream and Mountain attributed to
Juran is a fine example of Song
monumental landscape that shows
the mist-shrouded mountains and
verdant woods of southern China,’
says Anita Chung, Curator of
Chinese Art at The Cleveland
Museum of Art. ‘Combining the
stylistic characteristics of both the Li
Cheng and Dong Yuan schools, it
sheds light on the southern landscape
painter’s adaptation to the mainstream
Li Cheng tradition. Significantly
enough, it was the combination of the
northern and southern traditions that
opened up new possibilities for the
future development of Yuan (12791368) landscape painting.’
In some quarters, the purpose of
painting was being questioned.
Scholar-gentry led by the great
statesman and poet, Su Shi (10371101) argued that painting might go
beyond representation. He is credited
with literati art, since he inaugurated
shiren hua, ‘scholar’s painting’ –
dependent on mastery of the brush –
as a means of self-expression. A
pioneer of this radical trend was Qiao
Zhongchang (fl.late 11th-early 12th
centuries), who is associated with a
seminal work in the history of
Chinese painting. ‘Perhaps most
remarkable of all the Nelson-Atkins
paintings is Illustration to the Second
Prose Poem on the Red Cliff, attributed
to Qiao Zhongchang,’ says Colin
Mackenzie. ‘This long handscroll,
some 24 feet in length, is one of the
earliest Chinese literati paintings in
existence and is remarkable for its
powerful brushwork and the
psychological intensity of its imagery.
Some scholars have justifiably deemed
it the world’s first expressionist
painting, since it does not merely
illustrate the Red Cliff poem, but
rather penetrates to the very core of
the artistic vision of the poem’s author,
the literary genius, Su Shi.’
When the court fled south, the lush
environment around the Southern
Song (1127-1279) capital, Hangzhou
encouraged new approaches, and new
forms of landscape painting. Many of
these were lost, but surviving numbers
have enabled the field of Southern
Song art to be defined. The influential
Ma-Xia school of Ma Yuan (fl.1189after 1225) and Xia Gui (ca.11801230) frequently used a diagonal
composition called bianjiaojing, ‘one
corner painting’ where landscape
elements were confined to a lower
Painting 13
Yuan Paintings
Poet Strolling by a Marshy Bank, Liang Kai (active first half of 13th century),
Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279), fan mounted as an album leaf; ink on silk,
22.9 x 24.3 cm, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Vimalakirti and the Doctrine of Nonduality, Wang Zhenpeng
(active ca. 1280–1329), Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), dated 1308, handscroll,
ink on silk, 39.2 x 218.3 cm, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
corner against a large receding space.
It circulated on small-scale formats
such as album leaves and fan paintings.
Panoramas in the handscroll format,
given to extended narrative when
unfurled from right to left, are not
often associated with the school.
Taking Northern Song literati
innovations further is Composing
Poetry on a Spring Outing, one of three
rare handscrolls extant attributed to
Ma Yuan. ‘It is one of the earliest and
finest depictions of literary gatherings
in a garden setting and is outstanding
for its exquisite brushwork, both of
the scenery and of the figures,’ says Dr
Mackenzie. Probably commissioned
by the wealthy Zhang Zi (1153-after
1211), scholar-official, amateur
painter and poet, the scene takes place
in his Hangzhou garden. Of the 38
figures depicted, four at the edges of
the literary gathering are poets from
the past, drawn to the event by
Zhang’s poetry, suggesting this
elegant work is a visual rendition of
the idea of shenjiao, ‘communing with
spirits’.
Around this time, brush-strokes
acquired names as further emphasis
was given to brush technique. Ma
Yuan’s contemporary, Xia Gui
identified with the axe-cut brushstroke and asymmetrical composition,
also veered towards abstraction. ‘His
handscroll, Twelve Views of Landscape,
is among the most minimalist
landscape paintings ever created,’
Dr Mackenzie tells us. ‘Rarely has an
artist been able to conjure such a
compelling vision with such an
economy of means – the majority of
the surface of the painting is left
largely untouched by the brush. Yet
still manages to excite the viewer to
imagine what lies beyond the misty
space.’
This vision was reduced still further
by Chan Buddhist monk artists in
monasteries surrounding the West
Lake. They understood the power of
abstraction and using monochrome
ink on paper, worked spontaneously
on the bare essentials. Prominent
among them was Liang Kai (fl.first
half of 13th century), formerly a
daizhao, ‘painter in attendance’ at the
Hangzhou court from 1201 to 1204.
His Poet Strolling by a Marshy Bank is
a play on the ‘one corner’ composition.
Much of the space is occupied by a
massive mist-shrouded, diagonal cliff,
shifting the focus to details beneath it.
Far removed from these Zen
attributes, was the academic court
painting. Figure painting, both
religious and secular, was part of the
repertory of Tang (618-906) mural,
tomb and handscroll painting. It came
under the aegis of Song Huizong’s
painting academy in the 12th century,
and was classified by the Xuanhe
Huapu under renwu, ‘human affairs’,
category two. Court Ladies preparing
Newly Woven Silk with three scenes of
ladies beating, sewing and ironing
new silk in vivid colour, attests to
academic taste and a preoccupation
with spatial arrangement. ‘One of the
great masterpieces of Chinese figure
painting, it is attributed to Huizong,
himself an accomplished artist,’ says
Jane Portal, Matsutaro Shoriki Chair,
Art of Asia, Oceania and Africa at the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. ‘The
engagement of aristocratic ladies in
domestic labour reflects the traditional
springtime event when the empress
would lead them through the ancient
ritual of producing silk.’
The Song period was imbued with
a ‘spirit for investigating things’ and
natural, intellectual and philosophical
enquiry had led to a fascination with
the
natural
world. Detailed
observation of birds, flowers and small
creatures gave rise to huaniao, ‘bird
and flower’ painting, ranked eighth, a
subject in which Huizong excelled.
‘Judging from the distinct style of
calligraphy and painting, Fivecoloured Parakeet on a Blossoming
Apricot Tree is one of the very few
surviving works likely to have been
painted by the emperor,’ says
Ms Portal. Originally part of a large
album, it was compiled by Huizong to
record rare birds and flowers, exquisite
objects and important events.
The natural world apart, perhaps it
is the almighty dragon that epitomises
the celestial realm. Longyu, ‘dragon
and fish’, category five, is best
represented in Chen Rong’s (fl.1st
half of 13th century) Nine Dragons.
‘Arguably the greatest of all Chinese
dragon paintings, this handscroll
almost 36 feet long, treats the dragon
as a manifestation of the principles of
Daoism,’ she adds. ‘The dragons,
hidden and then revealed amid mist,
waves and clouds, may symbolise the
Great Dao itself.’
The portrayal of Daoist and
Buddhist subjects took a distinct turn
however, during the affluent Southern
Song
market
economy. The
commercial possibilities of art in the
service of religion were being realised
in the port-city of Ningbo, where
workshops produced paintings for the
market place and for export. Visual
images of deities for elite clients came
in sets, and include some of
impeccable ancestry. ‘Among the
most important of 12th-century
paintings are the Daitokuji Lohans,’
says Alfreda Murck. ‘Originally
painted in Ningbo in the late 1170s,
the 500 lohans were sold to Japan in
1246. They were stored in Kamakura
and later at Odawara. In 1590, they
A Solitary Temple Amid Clearing Peaks,
Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127),
attributed to Li Cheng, Chinese,
919-967, 111.76 x 55.88 cm, overall
223.52 x 57.15 cm, hanging scroll,
ink and slight colour on silk.
Purchase: William Rockhill Nelson
Trust, Nelson Atlkins Museum
were appropriated by Hideyoshi and
shortly after arrived at the famous
Daitokuji temple, Kyoto. In the late
19th century, 10 paintings were
acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts
and four by the painter, Zhou Jichang
(fl.second half of 12th century) are on
show. Some scholars suggest not only
Ningbo, but also Hangzhou was
producing art for the Buddhist
market.’
When the Mongols took power,
the court moved north to Dadu,
present-day Beijing. Despite the lack
of a formalised painting academy,
Yuan patronage created court art
based
on
established
Song
conventions. Leading Northern Song
figure painter, Li Gonglin (ca.10411106) identified with the baimiao,
‘plain line drawing’ technique enjoyed
a dominant reputation in the Yuan.
His historical themes, Buddhist
divinities, horses and landscapes
provided a template for Yuan court
painters who worked consciously on
styles derived from him. When the
future
emperor,
Renzong
(r.1312-1320), commissioned court
painter, Wang Zhenpeng (fl.ca.12801329) to illustrate the doctrinal debate
between layman Vimalakirti and the
bodhisattva Manjusri, he used
baimiao on his renowned handscroll,
Vimalakirti and the Doctrine of
Nonduality dated 1308. ‘The Yuan
painter Zhang Wo (fl.1336-1364)
was known to have painted several
versions of The Nine Songs, also in the
baimiao style originated by Li
Gonglin,’ says Anita Chung. ‘Three
versions survive today, of which the
late version from the Cleveland
collection, datable to 1361 or earlier,
can be compared with the earliest
extant scroll of 1346 in the Shanghai
Museum.’
The literati ideal explored earlier by
Su Shi, was also refined. One
protagonist was Zhao Mengfu (12541322), a distant descendant of the
Song imperial family at the Yuan
court, who first approached poetry,
painting and calligraphy as a unity.
‘Throughout his artistic development,
Zhao Mengfu pursued the spirit of
antiquity in painting, mastering the
brush idioms of the ancients and
imbuing his art with lofty and antique
conceptions,’ says Dr Chung. ‘His art
exemplifies the literati idea that
painting and calligraphy share the
same origin, both providing the artist
with vehicles for self-expression. In
Bamboo, Rocks and Lonely Orchids, the
bamboo follows the brush methods of
the clerical script, the orchids embrace
the ‘running’ style and the rocks
display the feibai, ‘flying white’
manner of calligraphy. The result is a
kind of ink play that brings the literati
style to a fresh level.’ When Zhao
retired to the south, he painted
landscapes linked directly to those of
Dong Yuan and Juran. They took the
Jiangnan convention full circle, laying
the groundwork for later masters of
the Yuan.
These masterpieces assembled in
Shanghai are of the highest order.
They speak of the genius of the Song
and are essential for the contemplation
and understanding of Chinese
painting. It is unlikely that they will
come together again.
From 3 November to 3 January 2013,
Masterpieces of Song and Yuan
Paintings from American Collections is at
the Shanghai Museum, 201 Renmin
Dadao, Shanghai 200003,
www.shanghaimuseum.net
Twelve Views of Landscape (Shan-shui shih-erh-ching), Southern Song Dynasty
(1127-1279), Xia Gui, Chinese, act. 1180-1224, image 27.31 x 253.68 cm,
overall 27.94 x 963.93 cm, handscroll, ink on silk.
Purchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust, Nelson Atkins Museum
Composing Poetry on a Spring Outing, Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), attributed to: Ma Yuan, Chinese, act. 1189-1225, handscroll, ink and colour on silk, image
29.54 x 301.63 cm, overall 30.16 x 655.32 cm. Purchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust, Nelson Atlkins Museum
november 2012 asian art
14 Photography
Rock The Kasbah
Wonder Beirut #13 by Joanna Hadjithomas & Kalhil Joreige, International Centre of Water-Skiing, from the series Wonder
Beirut, 1997-2006, C-print mounted on aluminium with face mounting, 70.5 x 105.4 cm. Courtesy of the artists and CRG
Gallery, New York and In Situ / Fabienne Leclerc, Paris. Copyright V&A. Art Fund Collection of Middle Eastern Photography at
the V&A and the British Museum
By Juliet Highet
Rock the Kasbah is a series of
street-scene photographs taken
during the first protest in Tunisia of
‘The Arab Awakening’ by Tunisian
Jellel Gasteli, who says: ‘The sit-in at
the Kasbah has helped reveal a silent
majority. I am not part of the silent
majority’. The uprising that has
shaken the Arab world drew local
photojournalists and also artphotographers to give a face to this
silent majority. For the first time at a
major museum – London’s Victoria
& Albert Museum (V&A) – an
exhibition titled Light from the Middle
East: New Photography gives visibility
and insight into the state of the art of
contemporary Arab photography.
Several of the photographers, like
Egyptian-born Nermine Hammam,
document the heartbeat of the Arab
protest. In her series Upekkha, she
transports weary soldiers she
photographed in Tahrir Square to
idyllic landscapes like fantasy
postcards far removed from turmoil.
She uses digital manipulation to
represent altered consciousness. Rose
Issa, whose exhibitions and publishing
have given massive profile to
contemporary Arab artists, comments:
‘The spread of digital technology, the
internet and new communication
technologies have accelerated the
emergence of young talent in the
region and speeded up the distribution
of their photographs… Amateur and
professional photographers helped
create the Arab revolution’.
Marta Weiss, curator of the
London exhibition, says that Arab
photographers are ‘all palpably
concerned with history, a common
thread is a focus on human beings…
this is socially engaged work’. This
concentration on the lives of Arabs,
both in their region and in the
diaspora, grapples with questions of
identity, belonging, emigration and
dislocation, and notably Arab women
trying to modernise in the thrall of
tradition. ‘These Arab photographers
love their countrymen; they are
insiders, not outsiders. We are
witnessing their desire to reconstruct
their own image,’ adds Issa.
asian art november 2012
Bodiless I by Mehraneh Atashi, 2004, from the series Zourkhaneh Project (House
of Strength) digital C-print, 76.5 x 112.5 cm. Copyright British Museum. Art Fund
Collection of Middle Eastern Photography at the V&A and the British Museum
The Break by Nermine Hammam, 2011, from the series Upekkha, Archival inkjet
print, 60 x 90 cm. Copyright V&A. Art Fund Collection of Middle Eastern
Photography at the V&A and the British Museum
The exhibition features the work of
30 of the most dynamic and visually
sophisticated photographers from 13
countries working today, displaying
their creative responses to social
challenges and emotive political
collisions. Curator Weiss declares: ‘In
the past few years contemporary
photographic practice from and about
the Middle East has been some of the
most exciting, innovative and varied
art anywhere in the world’. The show
is part of collaboration between
the British Museum and the V&A,
supported by the Art Fund.
The exhibition is structured around
three key themes: Recording,
Reframing and Resisting. ‘Recording’
essentially shows how photojournalism
is such a powerful tool for
documentation and commentary,
with war and occupation as a recurring
anthem, followed by the requiem of
its aftermath – the gaze of its suffering
victims. Newsha Tavakolian is one of
Iran’s
many
brilliant
female
photographers, focusing particularly
on women’s issues. In her series
Mothers of Martyrs, elderly mothers
hold framed pictures of their sons
killed in the Iran-Iraq war. Rose Issa
notes that ‘When a land is marked by
dispossession, diaspora, war and
ongoing occupation, the artists – like
those from fractured countries such as
Palestine and Lebanon – create
conceptually richer work than those
from larger, more settled countries’.
Even so, ‘Several artists from the oilrich Gulf countries convey their
unresolved wrestle with censorship,
double standards and women’s right
to vote, drive, work and empower
themselves,’ she adds. Jowhara
AlSaud, born in Jeddah, explores the
language of censorship and its effects
on visual communication. By
scratching only the outlines of
snapshots into negative emulsion, she
says: ‘I tried to apply the language of
the censors to my photographs
omitting faces and skin. This allowed
me to circumvent and comment on
some of the cultural taboos, namely
the stigma attached to the personal
portrait’ – and censorship.
Part of the second section,
‘Reframing’, includes reworking preexisting photographs. Inspired by
Qajar-era portraits, Shadi Ghadirian
recreates these 19th-century Iranian
studio portraits with wry humour,
updating them with contemporary
props such as a ghetto-blaster, a
vacuum-cleaner and Pepsi cans. As a
wife and working mother, her work
reflects her own life and addresses the
concerns of Iranian women of her
generation. ‘The jarring contrast of
these modern consumer goods with
the old-fashioned style of the portraits
is indicative of the tension between
tradition and modernity, public
personas and private desires that
many Iranian women navigate on a
daily basis,’ writes Marta Weiss.
‘Reframing’ could also imply
rebranding. In what he calls ‘Souk
with a twist’, Hassan Hajjaj crisscrosses between tradition and brand
logos, just as he lives in Marrakech
and London. He captures the upbeat
rhythm of north-African street life
iconography with warmth, humour
and a degree of kitsch self-mockery.
Dressed in veils and djellabahs, his
models seem to respect their heritage.
But look again – one of them is astride
a Harley Davidson, another is
winking above her veil, their hijabs
sport the Louis Vuitton logo, while
their babouches display the Nike tick.
The final section, ‘Resisting’,
displays photographs which question
the authority of the photograph,
challenging the medium’s ability to
transmit factual information as
documentary authority. Whether
manipulating or digitally altering or
scratching negatives, these artists
undermine
the
reliability
of
photography. Rejecting modern
technology and armed with a basic
box camera, Atiq Rahimi records
emotive sites across war-ravaged
Kabul. He fled Afghanistan after the
Soviet invasion and returned after the
fall of the Taliban. In his poetic,
melancholy
series
Le Retour
Imaginaire, he shows the bird market
now selling mostly empty cages, and
the Ghazi Stadium, used by the
Taliban as a place of execution, also
empty. In a series called the Zourkhaneh
Project (House of Strength), Iranian
Mehraneh Atashi investigates the
possibilities of self-portraiture. She
gained the confidence of members of
an all-male gymnasium, not only
capturing its world traditionally
forbidden to women, but used mirrors
to insert her own image. Youssef Nabil
(see Asian Art Newspaper, October
2012, profile p2) also embarked on
self-portraiture after he left Cairo, and
experienced diasphoric life, ‘I had
closed a door behind me and I was no
longer the person I used to be,’ he said.
Exiles, whether voluntary or enforced,
can use art to rebuild a sense of self –
one of Nabil’s self-portraits depicts
him sleeping among tree roots.
Another series inspired by the golden
age of Egyptian cinema in the 1940s
and 50s, created decadently pastiche,
highly staged portraits of glamorous
women, using a luminous gelatinesilver print process, which he
then tints. Contemporary Arab
photographers are not only exploring
questions of their own history, culture,
identity and individual choices, but are
reinterpreting photography’s role,
globally.
From 13 November to April 2013
at the Victoria & Albert Museum,
London, www.vam.ac.uk.
Cinema 15
LOCARNO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
By Olivia Sand
After several years with
special sections devoted to Asia or
some Asian countries in particular, the
focus of the 2012 festival belonged to
Mexico and Africa. Nonetheless and
although their number was limited,
the Asian films selected for the festival
covered a broad range of topics, often
courageously touching upon the most
sensitive issues. That was the case with
When Night Falls for which China was
awarded the Golden Leopard for best
director, as well best leading actress for
its leading character An Nai. Shot by
the young director Liang Ying, the
film recounts the true story of Yang
Jia, a man arrested and interrogated by
Shanghai police for driving an
unlicensed bicycle, and subsequently
said to have murdered six police
officers. As a consequence, and within
a few days, Yang Jia found himself
sentenced to death before a proper
investigation could take place and
with the isolation during the time of
the trial of key witnesses. His mother
was arrested and brought into a state
mental institution under a false name
to make sure she would have no
chance to give her evidence and meet
the deadline for a possible appeal. Back in 2007, the story triggered a
great deal of public sympathy in
China, and the international media
condemned the obvious shortages of
China’s legal system. Throughout the
film, director Liang Ying emphasises
how the young man’s mother is forced
to take up a fight similar to David
versus Goliath. Although she tries
with all the means at her disposal to
The director of
When Night Falls,
Liang Ying,
receiving a Golden
Leopard at Locarno
interrupt or reverse the outcome of the
procedure, she is facing a powerful
machinery crushing everything that
resembes contradiction, or opposition.
The government crowns Yang Jia’s
execution by sending his mother a
large bouquet of flowers with a banner
saying ‘sincere condolences’. Using
original images and footage as they
appeared in newspapers and on
television, Liang Ying shows how fast
one ends up being caught in a legal
system which even if it contradicts its
own laws, always has the final word.
Premiered at the Jeonju Film Festival
in South Korea, the Chinese
government attempted, but failed, to
buy the copyright of the film, and
Liang Ying himself, presently teaching
in Hong Kong, has been threatened
with arrest should he go back to
China. Another poignant film shot as a
documentary is Camp 14 - Total
Control Zone, based on the true story
of Shin Dong-huyk. Director Marc
Wiese
intelligently
avoided
sensationalism, but let Shin Donghuyk in the course of several
conversations recount, in his own
words, his unusual journey. Born as a
political prisoner in a North Korean
reeducation camp, Shin Dong-huyk
has no notion of the outside world and
is left to believe that everyone leads the
same life as his. Encouraged and
trained to denounce anyone and
anything that steps out of the ordinary,
Shin Dong-huyk, then as a young boy,
sees his elder brother at home telling
his mother that he has fled from the
factory to which he was attached. He
then denounces his brother and
mother to his teacher the next day.
Subsequently, he himself is arrested
and transferred to the camp’s prison
where he is interrogated and beaten
and then set free.
As Shin Dong-huyk grows older, he
discovers the life people lead outside of
the camp in North Korea through a
friend. Together with his friend, Shin
finally decides to flee, his fellow
prisoner ends up being electrocuted on
the barbed wire, however, he
successfully manages to reach the
nearest town. After several months on
the run through North Korea and
China, he arrives in South Korea
where he was granted political asylum.
Following the initial enthusiasm of
being a free man, he finds it difficult to
get used to his life outside the camp.
He eventually decides that he wants to
go back to the place where he was born
(the camp), where he led an organized
and structured life.
Besides the earlier films from China
based on a traditional story or the more
recent political documentaries, young
Chinese directors are presently
becoming more and more interested in
‘existential’ films, reflecting on their
present lives. Memories Look at Me is a
good example of that trend and which
also received the Golden Leopard for a
first feature film. As opposed to the
documentaries shot by her fellow
directors, this film follows Fang, the
film’s main character as she comes back
home to Nanjing to visit and stay with
her parents. Torn between her desire to
act like a modern women, being
independent and not tied to any social
conventions and her longing for her
teens with a regulated and protected
life, Fang feels unable to influence the
course of her life or to protect her
parents from getting older. The film is
driven by a certain nostalgia which
never leaves our leading character who
seems very conscious of the feelings
she experiences.
Nevertheless, not all films from Asia
were as difficult, dark, or grim as some
of the ones above. People’s Park, for
example, directed by Libbie Dina
Cohn and J.P Sniadecki, choose an
unusual approach towards taking the
viewer into one of the largest parks in
the city of Chengdu. Using just the
Neuilly
V
i
e
N
N
camera, and deliberately avoiding any
dialogues in order to catch on the
noises and casual conversations in the
park, the film introduces us to the life
that goes on day by day in a park, which
thousands of people visit. With no
precise script, the film keeps a good
rhythm, and never feels annoying or
dull.
Inori, a film describing the life of a
mountain community in Japan, was
awarded the Golden Leopard in the
category ‘Cineasts of the Present’.
Shot in Kannogawa, a small mountain
city mostly deserted by its younger
generation for larger cities, the film
follows the life of the ones remaining,
how they go about their daily duties
and tradition. The Mexican director,
Pedro Gonzalez-Rubio has placed
great emphasis on the landscape and
the sound in order to properly immerse
the viewer into the community.
Within the 2012 Locarno
International Film Festival, the
strongest contenders remained China,
Korea, and Japan. The 2012 edition
was also – as it was announced after
the Festival – the last one taking place
under the artistic directorship of
Olivier Père, who was appointed to
lead Arte France Cinema. His
replacement is the Italian Carlo
Chatrian (b. 1971), who has been
active in the world of cinema as a
journalist, curator, jury member,
consultant, and has been working with
the Film Festival in Locarno since
2002.
More information on the festival’s website:
www.pardolive.ch. Next year’s festival
runs from 7 to 17 August, 2013.
Drouot
Lyon
ASIAN ART
a
November, 19th 2012
Drouot-Paris
catalogue on request
Qi Baishi 齊白石 (1864 – 1957)
Two branches of lizhi with ripe fruit
Dated 1945
Ink and colours on paper
Inscription: Painted by the old Jieshan
[i.e. Qi Baishi] at the age of 85
Jieshan laoren bashiwu suishi hua
借山老人八十五歲時畫
Author’s seal: Qi the eldest
Qi da 齊大
From an old German collection
www.zacke.at
Galerie zacke • AustriA • 1010 ViennA • Kohlmarkt 7 • tel. +43 (0)1 532 04 52, Fax +20
[email protected]
zacke_AAN_1012_AUK_rz.indd 1
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Hôtel des Ventes de Neuilly - 164 bis av. Ch. de Gaulle - 92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine - Tél. : + 33 1 47 45 55 55
15.10.12 17:44
november 2012 asian art
16 Auctions
NEW YORK
September Asian Sales
The final dollar result of each sale was determined by calculating the
pre-sale estimates against the final hammer total, without Buyer’s
Premium.
Happily for both Sotheby’s and Christie’s, both Chinese sales
were dominated by archaic bronzes and jades and the results were very
good, with both exceeding their high estimates. After an analysis, the
sale at Sotheby’s outperformed the one at Christie’s. Sotheby’s had the
smaller sale with 400 lots, versus 581 at Christie’s, and sold 270 lots
versus 430, but realised $22,422,650 versus $15,950,500, with an
average lot value of $88,046 versus $37,112. With the very high
demand and resulting prices for archaic bronzes, both houses will be
scouring Japan, the last lode, like bloodhounds.
In March, both contemporary and modern South Indian sales failed
to reach their low estimates, but this time the Christie’s sale came in at
14% below the high.
Japanese continues in the doldrums, but with some very strong
prices for very strong pieces and, once again, the Korean market is
showing ongoing strength, but with high unsold percentages for
ceramics originating in Christie’s Tokyo office.
Doyle’s.
Asian Works of Art.
($1,567,645 w/BP.) $1,252,425.
(20% below the low). 568 lots,
340 sold (61%). Average lot value $3684.
THE SALE was not quite as strong
as the March sale, mainly because it
lacked some pricey pieces – usually
held out for the March sale. It was
well-balanced and its contents were
predominantly Chinese, as were the
bidders. Jades, always included in
good numbers, performed relatively
well with 52 of the 81 lots (64%)
selling and those that failed to sell
were mainly of less than great colour
or craftsmanship. The snuff bottles,
always popular, with 122 of the 165
offered being sold with $15,000 and
$14,000 paid for a white jade bottle
and an interior-painted bottle. The
porcelains, almost all Qing, were
mixed with $45,000 being paid for an
unmarked Kangxi blue and white
rouleau vase. The 20th-century
paintings were a bit of a
disappointment and the works of art
varied, but with $65,000 being paid
for an 18th-century, standing giltbronze Buddha, well over its
$12/$18,000 estimate. As a sign that
some life has returned to the Chinese
textile market, lot 479, a 19th-century
blue silk robe with embroidered
dragon roundels, sold far above its very
conservative $2500 high estimate for
$30,000.
Sotheby’s.
Modern &
Contemporary
South Asian Art.
($2,629,525 w/BP). $2,135,700.
(31% below the low). 93 lots,
54 sold (58%). Average lot value $39,550
Unfortunately, the sale
conjured images of the March results,
this time with two major lots by Ram
Kumar and M.F. Husain not selling.
However, the majority of good lots did
sell and were bought by both
American and Indian privates. Bought
by one such American private, lot 47,
M.F. Husain’s Untitled (Dancers Under
The Full Moon), sailed over its
$150,000 high estimate, finally selling
for $240,000. The second most
asian art november 2012
expensive lot was no. 37, S.H. Raza’s
Noël; it sold to the trade over its
$120,000 high estimate for $160,000.
Three of the remaining eight Top Ten
lots sold over their high estimates and
five sold within or just below their
estimates.
Priyanka Matthew, Head of
Modern and Contemporary Sales, did
comment that works from private
collections, such as the Weisblat and
Guyer Family Collections, performed
very well and some of those lots
bought by privates were nos. 1,
Husain’s Untitled (Woman at Work) for
$140.000; 8. Husain’s Untitled (Mother
and Child) for $110,000; 13, Kumar’s
Untitled (Benares) for $120,000; 47,
Husain’s aforementioned Dancers; 56,
Sabavala’s The Unruffled Calm for
$130,000; 73, Raza’s Village for
$95,000; and 79, Husain’s Untitled
(Woman Playing Sitar) for $120,000.
Bonhams.
Himalayan, Indian
and Southeast Asian
Works of Art.
($1,838,250 w/BP.) $1,491,600.
(1% below the high). 192 lots,
128 sold (64%). Average lot value
$11,653.
THE BUYERS’ demographics were
basically little changed since recent
sales: US 53%; China, India and Asia
Pacific 38%; Europe 18%. American
and European strength was evident in
the areas of Indian paintings and
sculpture, Himalayan and Southeast
Asian images. Indian determination
was felt to a degree in Indian paintings
and sculpture, while the Chinese
presence was basically limited to gilt
Himalayan images and some thangka.
Edward Wilkinson has created at
Bonhams a niche in the market that is
barely covered by Sotheby’s and
Christie’s – a venue for good, decent
material in a very reasonable price
range, ideal for encouraging new
collectors who rarely begin buying at
the $25,000+ level. The big auction
houses have basically priced
themselves out of this field with their
minimum acceptable single-lot value
of $5000 and have thus eliminated a
great deal of material, the commissions
of which cannot sufficiently support
their monstrously large and selfimposed corporate costs. The success
of Bonhams’ approach of being willing
to handle material of all price ranges
with reasonable estimates has resulted
in a selling percentage in this sale just
under the high estimate, unlike
Christie’s and Sotheby’s sales which
are usually below the low.
The first 23 lots were from the
Estate of Natasha Eilenberg, Sammy’s
former wife, and of the 23, 20 sold
(87%.) The most important of these
was lot 5, an extremely large (19
inches/48.3 cm) Thai Mon Dvaravati
bronze 8th-century Buddha that
carried a high estimate of $350,000,
but sold to an Australian museum for
$674,500 as a result of strong,
international
competition
from
private
collectors
and
other
institutions.
The six of the nine lots of Southeast
Asian material sold generally well
above their high estimates. The
Gandharan section of eight lots sold
relatively well, with the exception of
three 3rd/4th-century, medium-size
stucco heads, a category that has been
a bit weak as of late and the small (7
lots) of Indian sculpture and works of
art barely muddled through because
most were simply not very interesting.
The 47-lot Tibetan section performed
relatively very well, particularly the
thangka, where 11 of the 12 sold
nicely. The gilt Tibetan images
received strong Chinese interest and
sold crisply, except for lots 164 and
174 which were large, borderline
uninteresting
and
somewhat
overestimated.
The large 90-lot Indian Painting
section performed well above
expectations, boosted with very strong
American participation. Interestingly
enough about 50% of the buyers are
new to the field while the other half
was that regular group of international
collectors who are increasingly ready
to go head-to-head for paintings that
they feel are rapidly disappearing from
the international market. The buyers’
demographics for the painting section
proved interesting and partially
unexpected: US dealers and museums
Iron articulated model of a dragon fish,
Edo period, 18th century,
signed Toto ju Myochin Shikibu
(Sosuke), est $60-80,000,
sold for $485,500 at Christies
Wucai ‘Fish’ Jar And Cover, Jiajing
Mark And Period, height 43.8 cm,
est $500/700,000, sold for $1.98
million at Sotheby’s Property of the
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, sold to
benefit the Asian art acquisitions fund
39%, US privates 33%, UK dealers
(and a few privates) 7%, Canadian
dealers 3%, European privates 7%,
Hong Kong dealers 5%. Central
American and Singapore privates 2%
each.
The strongest prices were for the
very early, such as lots 54, 55 (16th
century North Indian illustrations to
the Bhagavata Purana) and the very
rare, such as lot 89 (late 18th-century
Kangra or Guler illustration to a
Ramayana series,) that exceeded their
high estimates ($12,000/$20,000;
$12,000/$23,750; $35,000/$74,500.)
Good compositions and dark,
tempestuous skies also brought out
the bidding, such as with lots 77 and
82, the first an early 18th-century
Ragamala illustration, the second a
double portrait attributed to Nihal
Chand, both of which sailed over their
high estimates at $23,750 and $22,500
respectively.
Christie’s.
Japanese and Korean
Works of Art.
Japanese ($3,302,975 w/BP).
$2,693,700 (12% above the low). 166
lots,
95 sold (57%). Average lot value $28,356.
Korean ($5,813,615 w/BP). $4,991,100.
(4% above the high.) 46 lots,
27 sold (55%). Average lot value
$184,856.
Japanese. The Japanese section
began with 31 paintings (19 of which
came from a private Japanese
collection) and 14 screens, with much
of this entire section being consigned
from Japan. In the painting section
were eight Zenga from an American
private, but only two sold – perhaps a
few too many on the market as of late
and these were not the very best in any
case. An early 18th-century Soga
Monogotari makemono, overestimated
at $100/$150,000, also failed to sell.
The 19-lot Japanese consignment
fared better with 12 of them selling,
mainly the screens which have
witnessed a bit of a resurgence lately.
The Korin sumi-e Hotei sold between
its $30/$50,000 estimates, as did the
Mori Sosen, colour on gold paper,
Peacock and Pinks. The best of the
section was a set of six sumi and colour
on gold paper fusuma, Egrets and
Ducks in a Winter Landscape, by
Hasegawa Tonin. Originally from
Akashi Castle in Kobe, they were
probably consigned by the person who
bought them at a Sotheby’s New York
in 1996. Estimated at $250/$300,000,
the six were from the same set as the
ones held by the Freer and sold to an
American private collector for
$520,000. Overall, the painting
section was bought mainly by
Americans (80%,) followed by
Europeans at 15% and Japanese at 5%.
Three of the four Buddhist works
sold, but 17 Noh masks hit a hard
patch with only one selling. Again,
there have been too many showing up
on the market in New York lately. The
two Noh costumes sold below their
$7000 low estimates, but there were
too many (seven) lacquered hand
drums (kotsuzumi) and only three
sold. Ceramics were very flat, but there
was interest in the lacquer section of
17 lots in which 14 sold, many to
European privates, such as lot 82, a
Haritsu ryoshibako that sold within its
$80/$120,000 estimates to an
American private collector.
There were two suits of armour
from Japan and the better was lot 104,
an 18th-century, purple-laced nimaido
gusoku. Complete with 18th-century
kiwamefuda certificates, it was a
handsome suit in top condition that
sold over its $80,000 high estimate for
$100,000 to the Portland Museum of
Art.
Meiji metalwork, here at Christie’s
as well as at Bonhams, has come to
life, mainly with support from
European privates. Lot 109 was such a
prime example – a large (28 cm)
articulated iron model of a dragon fish
by Myochin Sosuke, who worked in
the early 18th century. Exhibited at
the Tokyo National Museum and
published in Japan, it carried a high
estimate of $80,000, but sold for
$380,000. Even those very large
Victorian drawing room bronze
horrors have been selling briskly over
the last year, but this time around,
Meiji soft-metal vases, boxes and
small sculptures, long dormant, have
burgeoned. There were 24 such lots in
the sale and 18 sold, including lot 116,
again to a European private, a pair of
1885 dark bronze vases with very high
gold and soft metal relief of birds and
flowers that sold at their $70,000 low
estimate. The four lots of cloisonné all
sold with $65,000 being paid (high
estimate of $30,000) for an actually
very tasteful pair of Ando vases with
budding rhododendron on a grey
ground.
As for the prints, let’s just say there
have been far too many Hasuis
(Christie’s) and Yoshidas (Bonhams)
floating around these days. In a
curious case of loyalty (i.e. where was
support from the dealers who sold
them in the first place?), there were
seven lots of porcelain sculpture by
Fukami Sueharu in the sale and not
one of them sold.
KOREAN. Comparing the results
of the Japanese and Korean sections
(above,) it might appear that the
Korean section, as it has been for the
last several sales, is the tail that wags
the dog. This is despite the best efforts
of the Christie’s Tokyo Office to send
overestimated/over-reserved ceramics
to New York, viz. lots 186, 188, 189,
194 and 195. Lot 196 did sell (within
estimates) at $130,000. It was a good,
18th-century yongjun, or dragon jar,
executed in pale blue and with signs
that the physiognomy of Korean
dragons was in transition into the
blunt-headed creatures seen in 19thand early 20th-century examples. It
probably sold because of the
excitement created by lot 193, a
beautiful, 18th-century example (the
largest one in existence) with a very
early Ming-style head. With an
Auctions 17
excellent essay by Bob Mowry, it
carried a pre-sale ‘estimate on request’
(around $2,000,000) and was sold for
$2,800,000. Interestingly enough, a
slightly smaller (57.7 cm versus 60.5
cm) jar with an almost identical design
was sold at Christie’s New York as lot
1004 in last year’s March sale for
$3,400,000. Even though the present
jar was the largest known, the 2011 jar
had bolder colour more evenly applied,
greater energy and more precise lines.
A Park Sookeun, a guaranteed
money-maker. The 1962 Tree and
Three Figures in the sale sold for
$1,750,000 against its $800,000 high
estimate and this time, according to
Kim Heakyum, not to a Korean buyer.
Sotheby’s.
Fine Chinese Ceramics
and Works of Art.
($26,985.315 w/BP.) $22,422,650. (4%
above the high.) 400 lots, 270 sold (68%.)
Average lot value $83,046.
With Dr. Tao Wang now as the
Head of Department, Meeseen
Loong as consultant, and four good
specialists, Sotheby’s slightly ‘off ’ spell
lately appears to be over , with the
results of this sale as proof of the
pudding. The demographics were not
that surprising: China 38%, Hong
Kong 22%, Taiwan 8.5%, US 14%,
UK 9%, Europe 2%, various others
5%. The stats for Asia remained
constant since March, but the US
participation was down 6% and South
American participation vanished.
The first session of 92 lots comprised
the 18th- and 19th-century porcelain
Collection of William and Jennifer
Shaw and of those 92 lots, 79 sold
(86%). Through the ideal combination
of quality, condition, attractiveness
and very reasonable estimates, almost
everything that did sell sold a bit over
their high estimates. The one lot that
sold a bit more than just a ‘bit’ was no.
17, an exceedingly rare Yongzheng
mark/period turquoise ground lingzhi
vase that carried a high estimate of
$40,000. It came from the collection
of Sir Frederick Bruce (1814-1867,)
was illustrated by Soame Jenyns and
sold for $374,500.
The second session began with 20
lots consigned by the Masaki
Museum, 10 of which were archaic
bronzes and 8 of which sold. The
bronzes were generally good, but one
or two had restoration problems.
There were four lots of Chinese stones
and one from a California collection,
lot 118, soared. It was an early Tang
head of a bodhisattva that originated
in the collection of Arthur
Weisenberger (1896-1970), was on
exhibition at the Met from the 1960s
to 1973 and had a remarkable
combination of elegance, beauty and
serenity. This drew the intense
telephone bidding that ensued, leaving
its $60,000 high estimate in its wake,
finally selling for $825,000 to a
Chinese private.
There were 17 lots of Song ceramics
and 12 sold. There were some strong
prices, but an indication that the
market has remained unchanged for
at least 7 years was lot 127, a rare
Jizhou ‘plum blossom deer’ meiping
that sold at its low estimate of
$220,000, almost the exact amount
for which it sold at Sotheby’s London
in 2005.
This was followed by 31 lots of
archaic bronzes from Japanese
consignors, just what the Chinese
market wants. 21 sold and those that
did not sell had possible condition
problems. Five of the 10 lots of rhino
horns sold, mainly the best, and all
within estimates. The furniture was
quite good and sold well, with the best
being lot 218, a pair of 17th-century
huanghuali guanmaoyi consigned by an
Anglican church in British Columbia,
where they had been in use since given
in the 1950s. With a high estimate of
$250,000, they sold for $650,000.
The 56 lots of Qing porcelain
performed moderately well with 66%
sold, the two best being Ming. One
was lot 262, a Jiajing wucai ‘fish’ jar
and cover that was consigned by the
Walters Art Museum, having decided
to keep their unrestored example.
With a high estimate of $700,000, it
sold for $1,700,000. The other was a
‘discovery’ that press offices adore – a
Yongle moonflask found as a doorstop
in a Connecticut house. Offered at
$600/$900,000, it sold for $1,100,000.
Jades, almost all from private
American collections, comprised 69
lots of which 42 sold (61 %.) ‘Littles’
and miscellaneous pendants were a bit
soft and interest mainly lay in the
bigger carvings with good colour. The
sale had the luck of having two
Imperial jade seals, lots 303 and 362.
303 was a Qianlong white seal with
streaks of yellow and grey; with a high
estimate of $1,200,000, it sold for
$3,100,000, while 362, a spinach
green Jiajing seal, was estimated
between $400,000 and $600,000 and
sold for $1,000,000.
Bonhams.
Chinese Paintings and
Calligraphy.
($923,562 w/BP). $740,050. (41% below
the low). 113 lots, 80 sold (71%.) Average
lot value $9,251.
The demographics of the
sale generally paralleled those at
Sotheby’s. By lot: China 45%, US
36%, Hong Kong 16%, Taiwan 3%;
By value: China 47%, US 27%, Hong
Kong 19%, Taiwan 7%. In essence
the sale was dominated by Chinese
and American private buyers, all the
more reason for Bonhams (and
Sotheby’s) to continue along this
path.
The sale was a good first effort for
Bonhams despite the dollar results.
The fault lay mainly in the fact that
the two top lots, lots 2021 and 2029,
failed to sell. 2021, estimated at
$120/$180,000, was a handsome late
17th/early 18th-century painting of
Guanyin, in all probability based on
the 1593 original now in the
Collection of the Metropolitan
Museum of Art; it did sell after the
sale for $100,000 to a foreign private.
2029, a beautifully executed 1695 ink
landscape of trees and rocky outcrops
by Wang Yuanqi (1642-1715,) was
estimated at $250/$350,000. With
buyers now spending large sums on
paintings, they are also requiring
higher thresholds of quality and
since the composition was restricted
to the bottom half of the scroll rather
than filling the entire space, many
may have felt the estimate was just a
bit too strong. The other weak area,
also detected a bit at Sotheby’s, was
in the area of late Qing and 20th
century paintings, with certain, bigname exceptions. This is particularly
true with majority of late 20th
century artists, many of whose works
appear in excess in the market,
especially in auctions within China.
Two of the big-name exceptions are
Zhang Daqian and Qi Baishi, both
of whom were included in the sale,
and whose works sold extremely well.
With this lesson learned, one can
look forward to a more focused sale
at Bonhams in March 2013.
Christie’s.
South Asian
Modern and
Contemporary Art.
($7,060,625 w/BP.) $5,794,300. (14 %
below the high.) 122 lots, 90 sold (74%).
Average lot value $64,381.
This time around, the sale
performed very well, even with the
once-fashionable art funds now
apparently out of the market; they had
been sniffing around and apparently
were not able to understand it enough
to plot their investment growth
graphs. Even though the national
demographics are basically the same
as in earlier sales, there is more
aggressive participation by Indian US
expats and US privates.
The sale was relatively well-balanced
and intelligently estimated, but over the
last several sales, there has been a
tendency to insert profusely illustrated,
artsy essays while Sotheby’s tends to
restrict itself to essays about a particular
collection being offered. Throughout
the sale, works by the Progressives
performed very well. The areas of
weakness in the sale were few and were
centred
on
the
works
of
T. V. Santhosh, two rather mediocre
works by Raza, some of the Francis
Bacon-esque works by Souza, moderate
works in the sub-$15,000 range and
the Gupta photorealist image of pots,
red this time instead of steel.
Strength continued unabated with
the works by Husain (very well
represented in this sale), Raza, Jamani
Roy and Dodiya. The works of
Gaitonde are getting stronger and
more interest is being paid for lesserknown, newer artists, both Indian and
Pakistani, all of which bodes well for
future sales.
Continued on page 18
november 2012 asian art
18 Auctions
Bonhams.
JAPANESE WORKS OF ART.
($966,687 w/BP). $773,950. (30% below
the low.) 379 lots, 199 sold (53%). Average
lot value $3,889.
THE DEMOGRAPHICS of
consignors were telling: private
consignments sold very well and
dealers’ consignments just barely. 70%
of the consigned property came from
privates and 80% of it sold while 30%
came from dealers and only 10% sold.
The buyers broke down into US
privates 20%, US dealers 30%, UK
and European dealers and some
privates 40%, China 5% and Japan
5%. Of the most expensive lots, most
went to UK dealers.
The vast majority of classical prints
were sold well. The most expensive
was Hokusai’s Great Wave, despite
being toned, soiled, creased and
patched. Estimated at $4/$5000, it
sold to a European dealer for $35,000.
The Yoshidas performed moderately
well with 24 of the 43 lots selling. The
12 lots of paintings were mudded,
being drawn down by the failure of
Shinsui and other like artists to sell.
The screens were generally a
disappointment, but there was one
historically very interesting lot, no.
3107, a pair of so-called ‘MacArthur’
screens, dated 1947 and 1948.
Executed in rakuju rakugai style, they
depicted scenes from the American
Occupation. Estimated at $5/$7000,
they sold to an American institution
for $10,625. The subject matter would
not appeal to traditional-minded
American museums and the only one
I can think of with the imagination to
go after them is Boston.
Netsuke and sagemono were, once
again, very mixed and at prices far
below the hot days of the 1970s. Of
the 118 lots, only 54 sold. Inro were
also mixed and few buyers wanted the
pipe cases where only 10 of the 29
sold. Life seems to be returning to the
Meiji market, here and at Christie’s,
with Satsuma selling rather briskly. Of
the 42 lots, 33 sold.
KOREAN. This section of 11 lots
came from one collection. The four
traditional screens failed to sell and
the remaining lots were two ceramics
and six paintings, all 20th century. The
ceramics were unsold and three of the
paintings sold, the best being a
‘waterdrops’ work by Kim TschangYeul that sold to a European private at
its high estimate, $25,000.
Christie’s.
Indian/Southeast
Asian Works of Art.
($7,670,750 w/BP). $6,384,000. (26%
below the low). 125 lots, 90 sold (72%).
Average lot value $70,933.
For the last several sales, these
V. O. (various owners) sales have
almost always failed to reach their low
estimates, possibly because the success
or failure seems to have been based on
whether the very expensive lots (on
which a healthy percentage of the total
value was based) sold or not.
Unfortunately, several sales have been
torpedoed when these few lots did not.
The Gandharan section of 34 lots
performed well with 24 of them
selling (76%.) Those that did not were
either uninteresting frieze sections, or
simply unattractive, such as the large
image of Hariti. The best of the large
standing figures was lot 512 from the
Manheim Collection that sold to an
American private at $700,000, over its
$600,000 high estimate. The most
interesting lot iconographically was
lot 522, a partly gilded and
polychromed figure of the teaching
Buddha. From a private California
collection, it was beautifully composed
and was in surprisingly good state.
asian art november 2012
This was the first lot in which the
Chinese began to show interest before
it was hammered down to an
anonymous buyer for $1,250,000
(high estimate $600,000.) It was sold
to the telephone, but a Chinese buyer
in the room went up to $580,000
before dropping out. He was not to be
deterred because he came roaring
back a few lots later for lot 537, a truly
handsome 14th-century Nepalese gilt
bronze Padmapani from a Swiss
collection. With elegant tribhanga and
delicate jewellery, it was sold to the
determined Chinese bidder over its
$300,000 high estimate for $480,000,
against the telephone.
Most of the early ‘dark’ bronzes
elicited little interest, but several
Chinese bidders in the room stepped
in for the 17th/18th-century gilt
Buddhist images, all eight of which
sold at or over their estimates, with
multiples of those estimates for the
four Tantric images. 16 of the 17
thangka sold with the top two being
13/14th images that originally
belonged to Dr. Eugenio Ghersi who
served as a photographer for Dr.
Giuseppe Tucci. Both thangka were of
a ‘red’ type and had condition
problems. Nevertheless, they were
both sold to a European private
against all competition. The first, a
Green Tara, carried a high estimate of
$600,0000, but sold for $1,500,000,
while the second, an Amitabha, sold
for $870,000, over its $600,000 high,
with the buyer of the Nepalese
Padmapani as the underbidder and
who also managed to snatch up the
following two lots. He was determined
to buy the best and went head-tohead against the telephone for lot 568,
an 18th-century thangka of Milarepa,
and for which the telephone paid
$110,000, over its $30,000 high
estimate.
Six of the 10 Indian stones sold,
with the best, lot 579 a Pala stele of
Vishnu, from a German collection
selling for $110,000 (high estimate
$80,000) to our Chinese bidder who
won the Padmapani, but lost out on
the Milarepa. 62% of the 28 Indian
paintings sold, with the three most
academically interesting, lots 610, 611
and 612 doubling or trebling their
high estimates and selling at $32,500,
$12,500 and $23,750, because as circa
1600 Deccan black and gold folios,
they were exceedingly rare.
The small (7 lots) Southeast Asian
section was not a happy one – with a
black Mon Dvaravati head selling
exceptionally well, but with none of
the Khmer sculptures and neither of
the Ü Thong and Ayutthaya bronze
heads selling.
Sotheby’s.
Fine Classical
Chinese Paintings.
($16,527,314 w/BP). $13,784,800 (17%
above the high). 150 lots, 116 sold (77%).
Average lot value $118.834.
The outcome of this sale was
outstanding because it was the result
of the ideal combination of high
quality and intelligent estimates. For
percentage of lots sold, China
accounted for 43%, the US 27%,
Hong Kong 18.5% and Taiwan 7.5%,
but by value, China accounted for
67%, the US 15%, Hong Kong 5%
and Taiwan 13%, indicating that
China bought the most expensive lots
per buyer, followed by Taiwan, then
Hong Kong and then the US.
As in Iris Miao’s previous, highly
successful sales, plus the one at
Bonhams in September, the salesroom
was a contest between Chinese and
American private collectors. English
and European collectors, sometime
underbidders, were basically absent.
This sale realised about half the dollar
Cabbage, Mushrooms, and Raddish,
1961 by Zhang Daqian (1899-1983),
ink and colour on paper, framed,
inscribed and dated xinchou (1961),
signed Zhang Daqian Yuan,
101 x 49 cm, est $50-70,000,
sold for $80,000 at Bonhams
value as the March sale with a similar
number of lots, but one cannot expect
a comet of great fortune in the skies at
every sale; March had spectacular
material, much of which cannot be
repeated. This sale was very accurately
estimated and performed as such and
revealed a bit more information on the
state of the market than the March
sale which just showed that there was
a burgeoning and potentially explosive
market afoot.
There were noticeable trends in this
sale that appeared in March, such as a
marked increase in the interest/
demand for fine calligraphy, but with
more discrimination this time. Less or
none was paid for the decent
calligraphy and more paid for the best,
such as lots 609 (Wang Shu,) 625
(Zhu Yunming) and the first five lots
in the sale (Qian Feng, Wang Shihong,
Jiang Chaobin, Jin Nong and Song
Cao,) all of whom sailed over their
high estimates. There were some few
weaknesses here and there, mainly in
almost-great landscapes, ‘pretty’ early
20th-century fans and fans of
moderately good, but not great, quality.
There appears to be greater
discernment among the determined,
successful bidders and a willingness to
spend more for the best than in March
for works that are guaranteed to
disappear from the market, with lot
645, a handscroll by Hongren, being a
prime example. Estimated at
$600/$800,000, it sold for $3,218,500
to a Chinese private buyer, possibly
the same buyer who landed the great
Cahill landscape by Hongren in the
last sale for $1,750,000, a bargain
price in comparison to this handscroll.
Christie’s.
Fine Chinese Ceramics
and Works of Art.
($19,596,275 w/BP). $15,958,500
(11% above the high). 581 lots, 430 sold
(74%). Average lot value $37,112.
Essentially the whole sale was
rather well balanced and heavier in
jades and archaic bronzes than the
Sotheby’s sale. Part I opened with
jades – 114 lots – including some
major pieces from the old great Heber
Bishop Collection (all of which sold,)
80% of the total of which wound up
being bought by Chinese and 20% by
UK and US buyers. The first three
V.O. lots were archaic jades; the first, a
bi and a pendant, did not sell. Of the
remaining 118 lots of jade, 86 sold
(75%.) There appears to be greater
discernment in this sale than in the
last with slightly less interest being
paid to carvings with brown ‘skin’ and
less interest in ‘off ’ colours, particularly
with the late Ming carvings and any
new pieces as well, such as lots 1051
and 1118. The ex-Heber Bishop
spinach green jade Qianlong bitong,
lot 1035, sold, but did so below its
$500,000 low estimate to a Chinese
buyer at $400,000. Qing carved vessels
of uncommon shape, greenish-white
jade in this case, attracted the most
aggressive bidding with lots 1032 and
1088 being examples. The first was a
Qianlong greenish-white ‘champion’
vase, again Heber Bishop, that was
estimated at $50/$70,000, but sold for
$380,000; it was bought by Richard
Littleton, the only non-Chinese buyer
among the Top Ten. The second vase
was a greenish-white Qing rhyton
from the Sabet Family Collection that
sold over its $100,000 high estimate
for $140,000.
The demographics of snuff bottle
buyers have changed drastically over
the last few years and the numbers
have changed from mainly AngloAmerican to mainly Chinese (65%),
followed by the US (20%) and Europe
(15%). The 42 lots of snuff bottles in
the sale appeared to have all come
from private American consignors
and of the two most expensive sold,
one being Qianlong and one, oddly
enough, being mid-20th century.
1152 was an Imperial Qianlong
(mark/period) caramel-coloured glass
bottle that was delicately enamelled
with flowers that sold at its $30,000
high estimate, while 1143 was an
inside-painted agate bottle by Wang
Xisan, dated prior to 1970, that sold
over its $8000 high estimate for
$30,000.
Following this were small and
generally uninteresting groups of
Song/Yuan and early Ming ceramics
that did not cause much stir in the
room and the composition of buyers
from the first part of the sale had
changed. In the Qing section, prices
continued to be strong for doucai and
for any top monochrome, such as lot
1183, a rare marked Qianlong
celadon-glazed pomegranate vase that
doubled its $60,000 high estimate.
Over the last year or so, supposed
good taste has been tossed to the
winds with skyrocketing prices being
paid for Xici and Republican period
porcelains.
Part II opened with 38 lots of
archaic bronzes dating from early
Shang (Erligang) to Han, of which 32
sold (82%,) with the Chinese
accounting for 80%, the US 10%, the
UK 5%, Europe 5% and Japan 5%.
Those that did not sell were either
plain and uninteresting, simply ugly
(like lot 1250,) a clumsy and very
unattractive Eastern Han bronze
figure, or simply overestimated, like lot
1234, a late Shang jue at
$100/$150,000. Unlike at Sotheby’s,
not many appear to have come from
Japan. Prices for jue continued to be
strong when not overestimated and
provenance is important for these
bronzes in some cases, sometimes a
guarantee in Chinese eyes of an
outstanding price. Lot 1226 was a very
handsome Late Shang/early Western
Zhou zun with a fine Japanese
provenance dating to the late 19th/
early 20th century. Very conservatively
estimated at $200/$300,000, it
rocketed to $1,2000,000 to an Asian
dealer. Gilt bronze images continued
to hold their strength, especially with
the 18th-century Tantric bronzes,
with the exception of dark-skinned
figures. Ming and later ‘dark’ bronze
vessels and objects received only slight
attention, however.
Lacquer, mainly carved cinnabar,
performed relatively well and most
sold between estimates. Cloisonné was
lacklustre and good painted enamels,
of which there were three, sold nicely.
Robes and rank badges have bounced
back strongly since last year’s slump
and lot 1316 was such an example. It
was a dark-blue silk Guangxu woman’s
surcoat with five-claw dragon roundels
over waves, it was cautiously estimated
at $6/$8000, but realized $45,000.
This was followed by four lots of
paintings from the collection of Sha
Huaishi and 16 from various, mainly
American, collections. The lot that
received the most attention was 1326,
a Scenic Suzhou fan by Wen
Chongchang (1593-1617) that sailed
over its $15,000 high estimate to
$55,000, rather like other early fans at
Sotheby’s, indications of a specific
trend. Very strong prices continued
into the 20th century, especially with
works by Zhang Daqian – nothing
new here – Zhang Shanzi, Pu Ru and
Pan Tianshou.
The Friday afternoon session began
with a general change in the Chinese
bidders from those who attended the
morning session. There were nine
good lots of Han and Tang pottery
sculpture, all of which sold. These were
followed by 23 lots of Song ceramics
and overall, they performed very well
with 15 selling. Purity of form and
colour, the benchmarks of Song,
tended to dictate prices. Lot 1401 was
such an example: a finely moulded
Ding bowl estimated at $10/$15,000,
but sold for $40,000. The Ming
ceramics, both blue and white and
wucai, sold well and extended into the
large group of Kangxi blue and white
porcelains from the collection of
Myron Falk, Sr. and the remaining 48
lots of 18th- and 19th-century
porcelains in the second session. These
included lot 1459, a Ming style
Qianlong meiping that sold at
$130,000 against its $30,000 high
estimate, and lot 1461, a pair of
unmarked Qianlong/Jiaqing dragondesign ganlanping that sold for 10
times their $30,000 high estimate, a
price that could not possibly be
anticipated. The remaining part of the
session comprised about 75 lots of
18th- and 19th-century porcelains
(with a few pieces of Republican ‘tat’
at the very end.)
In essence, there was ongoing
support for doucai, ofttimes at very
strong prices, and almost none to
speak of for the thick, turquoise
monochrome glazes. One very specific
display of Chinese taste appeared in
the forms, of lots 1545 and 1546, two
almost identical, ex- Havemeyer,
Yongzheng-marked
‘peachbloom’
meiping, estimated at $70/$90,000
and $60/$80,000 respectively. The
only difference between the two was
that the latter had a large greyish
celadon area on one side of the body.
The first sold to an order bidder for
$100,000 while the second sold for
$290,000. Confirming that the desire
for this colour aberration was not a
fluke, the preceding lot, no. 1544,
clinched it. It was a pair of Kangximarked ‘peachbloom’ bowls with a
large greyish celadon area on one side
of each. With a high estimate of
$80,000, the pair sold for $150,000.
Christie’s.
IN PURSUIT OF
KNOWLEDGE: ASIAN ART
REFERENCE BOOKS
INCLUDING SELECTIONS
FORM THE COLLECTION OF
C.T. LOO. ($1,290,825 w/BP).
$1,033,700 (270% above the high).
129 lots, 129 sold (100%). Average lot
value $8,014.
THERE IS not much to say other
than the fact that all the buyers have
been as of late hungry for Chinese art
reference books which are not really
available inside China.
Martin Barnes Lorber
Exhibitions 19
The Arts of the Bedchamber
Japanese Shunga
Lovers in Boudoir by
Hishikawa Moronobu
(1631-1694),
from an untitled
portfolio, Edo period
(1615-1868),
ca. 1682,
woodblock print;
colour and ink on
paper.
Gift of James A.
Michener, 1991
Three Lovers by Sugimura Jihei (fl. ca. 1681-1703), Edo period (1615-1868), mid-1680s, woodblock
print, ink on paper with hand-colouring. Gift of James A. Michener, 1972
ARTS OF KOREA
Histories, Challenges
and Perspectives
expressed and discussed during
the Edo period must first
withhold our judgment, set
aside our personal values, and
strive to appreciate the
artworks presented here on
their own terms. This is the
goal of this exhibition: to
present shunga as it was
understood at the time it was
made, to explore its intimate
interconnection with other
types of ukiyo-e, and to gain an
understanding of the culture in
which it was produced and
widely enjoyed.
As the first of three annual
shows that highlight the
Honolulu Museum of Art’s
extensive collection of Japanese
erotic art, developed over
decades by the renowned
Japanese art scholars James A.
Michener (1907-1997) and
Richard D. Lane (1926-2002),
this exhibition focuses on the
early formation of shunga
during the 17th and early 18th
SEESTRASSE 341 - 8038 ZURICH - SWITZERLAND
T +41 43 399 70 10 - F +41 43 399 70 11
since 1984
ASIAN ART SALE:
11th DECEMBER 2012
November 30 - December 2, 2012
The symposium will
bring together experts
from Asia, Europe and
North America to present
papers on the Arts of
Korea, such as collection
histories, scholarship and
emerging developments
in the field. Purposely
wide in scope, the
symposium encourages
critical reviews of
Korean art history and
its art historical canons.
The proceedings will
be published by the
University Press of
Florida as part of the
David A. Cofrin Asian
Art Manuscript Series.
Hokusai (1760-1849), from the series Hyakunin isshû ubaga etoki,
Fujiwara no Michinobu, Yoko Ôban
This symposium is made
possible through the,
generous support of the
Korea Foundation.
www.harn.ufl.edu
Plate, Vietnam, Lê Dynastie, Stoneware
painted, enamel, gilt, D 34, H 7,5 cm
Utamaro (1753-1806), Surimono, with poem, 21,5 x 17,5 cm
Over 200 lots of ukiyo-e and surimono from
the Willy Boller Collection.
Jang Seung'eop, Scholar in a Garden
Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910)
Late 19th century
Gift of General James A. Van Fleet
Viewing: 1st - 4th December 2012
Online catalogue: www.schulerauktionen.ch
Enquiries: Ayumi Frei-Kagitani
[email protected]
SEESTRASSE 341 – 8038 ZURICH – SWITZERLAND
T +41 43 399 70 10 – www.schulerauktionen.ch
less direct ways. In doing so, it
seeks to address three pressing
questions about the erotic
culture of Edo Japan that have
not yet received sufficient
scholarly attention. Who was
the intended audience of
Japanese erotica, and what was
the artwork’s intended purpose?
How was gender defined in
pre-modern and early modern
Japan? How did the sex
industry of Edo Japan function,
and to what extent does
mainstream Japanese art
validate that industry? We hope
that you find the answers
offered by this exhibition to be
compelling and thought
provoking.
SHAWN EICHMAN and
STEPHEN SALEL
From 23 November to 17 March,
2013 at the Honolulu Museum of
Art, 900 South Beretania Street,
Honolulu, HI 96814,
www.honolulumuseum.org
PROVA_HONG_KONG_8.0_Layout 1 12/10/12 12:48 Pagina 1
AUCTION
28 NOVEMBER 2012
FINE ASIAN ART
art-historical oddity. When its
importance within the genre of
ukiyo-e is clearly recognised,
however, shunga offers us
remarkable insights into Edo
culture. Perhaps the most
challenging of those insights is
the realisation of how
profoundly the ideas about
sexuality prevalent in early
modern Japanese society differ
from our own. Consequently,
those of us who hope to
understand how sexuality was
centuries. The artists featured
here include the most
renowned figures in the history
of ukiyo-e printmaking:
Hishikawa Moronobu
(1618-1694), Sugimura Jihei
(fl. c. 1681-1703), Okumura
Masanobu (1686-1764),
Suzuki Harunobu (1725?1770), and Kitagawa Utamaro
(c. 1753-1806). The prestigious
stature of these artists strongly
suggests not only that ukiyo-e
was largely devoted to erotic
themes but also that the people
of Edo Japan, including these
artists, approached the topic of
sexuality with a surprisingly
nonchalant attitude.
This exhibition, organised by
Shawn Eichman, Curator of
Asian Art, and Stephen Salel,
Robert F. Lange Foundation
Research Associate for
Japanese Art, presents artwork
that is clearly erotic in nature
side-by-side with texts and
images that discuss sexuality in
www.crea.ge.it
Sex. Few topics are as
universally understood and as
instrumental in forming our
identities as adult human
beings. Sexuality has
consistently surfaced as a topic
of visual art throughout the
history of various cultures. It
particularly pervades the genre
of ukiyo-e, ‘pictures of the
floating world’, which for most
contemporary viewers has
come to characterize Japanese
art of the Edo period
(1615-1868).
No two individuals, however,
perceive the subject of sexuality
in the same way; our personal
experiences, moral beliefs, and
culturally defined attitudes
about sex stirs within each of
us albeit entirely different yet
with equally intense emotional
reactions. Accordingly,
collectors and art historians
who focus upon ukiyo-e have
generally presented a censored,
distorted vision of the genre,
not only conveniently
overlooking the artworks’
historical, economic and
sociological contexts but also
obscuring the genre’s
underlying theme of sexuality.
In particular, the sub-genre
of shunga (literally ‘spring
pictures’, referring to sexually
explicit images) has long been
banished from polite
discussions of ukiyo-e or at
best marginalised as an
VIEWING
22-23-24-25-26
NOVEMBER
Pair of "Famille Rose" bowls
Guangxu (1875 - 1908)
Mark and of the period
diam. cm 23,5
Estimate € 3.500 - 5.000
[email protected] |
wannenesgroup.com | +39 010 253.00.97
november 2012 asian art
Sixth Page.indd 1
15/10/12 10:30:07
20 Exhibitions
Divine Depictions
Korean Buddhist Paintings
THE KOREAN collection at
the MFA is considered one of
the top three in the world and
this new installation is
overdue, with the purpose of
finally giving the brilliant arts
of Korea their just due.
Reinforced with the early
bequest of Charles Bain Hoyt,
the Bigelow Collection and
others, Boston is a lush
repository of Korean ceramics,
paintings and works of art,
including some of the finest
12th- and 13th-century
sang’gam (three-colour inlay)
Koryo celadons from the
Kangjin kilns near Pusan to
be found anywhere. The
brilliantly engraved silver and
silver gilt 12th-century wine
ewer and basin, for example,
cannot be matched outside
Korea, nor can some of their
gilt bronze Silla dynasty
Buddhist images, as well as
Punch’ong and Yi painted
wares and the elegant blue
and white, 18th- and
19th-century porcelains of the
Punwôn kilns on the Han
River. The installation will
additionally include Boston’s
important 14th-century
Koryo silver-gilt Buddhist
reliquary, as well as a superb
18th-century trompe l’oeil
bookshelf screen (chaek’kori),
on loan from a local private
collection. The works of art
on view will also include
newly acquired contemporary
ceramics and paintings, both
Buddhist and secular. The
installation, with the support
of the Korea Foundation and
under the direction of the
departmental chair, Jane
Portal, will be carefully
arranged in a way that the
impressive objects themselves
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva with Water and Moon, late 17th/18th
century, colours on silk. Francis Gardner Curtis Fund.
Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
will be easily viewable and,
with good catalogue cards
accompanying them, easily
understood.
Divine Depictions: Korean
Buddhist Paintings comprises
10 rare Korean Buddhist
paintings from Boston’s
collection, many of which
have not been on view for
many years. Korean Buddhist
paintings are known mainly
for their brilliant, jewel-like
depictions of the Water
Moon Avalokitesvara from
the late Koryo dynasty. There
will be Koryo paintings on
view in the adjacent Asian
Paintings Gallery, but this
exhibition will be restricted
to those paintings of the Yi
dynasty. Most of these
Maebyeong, early 13th century, glazed stoneware with inlaid
decoration. Bequest of Charles Bain Hoyt – Charles Bain Hoyt
Collection. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
asian art november 2012
Yi paintings were bought in
Japan over 100 years ago by
Bostonians, who brought
them back with them after
having spotted them in
scattered Japanese temples,
some of which having been
stolen by Hideyoshi and his
forces in the late 1590s.
After the fall of Koryo in
1392, the Neo-Confucionist
Yi dynasty embarked on a
wholesale suppression of
Buddhism and its temples in
reaction to what it considered
to be the outrageous
decadence of the Koryo
dynasty and it was not until
the Regency (1535-1565) of
Queen Munjong that
Buddhism in Korea began to
see a bit of a reprieve. The
queen was an ardent Buddhist.
Besides redistributing many
lands of the aristocracy to
peasants, she ruled as a good
administrator and, most
important for us, lifted the
official ban of Buddhist
worship. As a token of her
devotion to her faith, she
commissioned sets of 100
paintings of each of the Four
Triads.
The creation of Buddhist
paintings, often in a direct
Chinese style, began anew and
culminated in the plateau of
the 17th and 18th centuries.
After the early 19th century,
they tended to take on the
garish colours and folk art
styles that are seen mostly
today. This exhibition avoids
these. Those in the exhibition
include three portraits of
priests, 17th to early 19th
century, two Kings of Hell,
early 19th century, and five
paintings of Buddhas and
bodhisattvas.
The new Arts of Korea Gallery,
and an accompanying exhibition,
opens 16 November. The
exhibition runs until 23 June
2013 at Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston, Avenue of the Arts,
465 Huntington Avenue, Boston,
MA 02115, www.mfa.org
Martin BarnEs Lorber
LOST IN PARADISE
Jewels of Aptor II by Shezad Dawood, 2010, Neon and taxidermied bird
LOST IN PARADISE is one
of a kind in several groundbreaking ways – firstly, it
stands virtually alone in
directly addressing the theme
of spirituality through the
work of five contemporary
artists. Secondly, it is brave
enough to have chosen the
artists from very different
cultural, social as well as
religious backgrounds. One is
Iranian, another Indonesian, a
third Israeli, and two of them
were born in Britain, one of
whom has a rainbow of roots
– Pakistani, Indian, Irish and
English. To further spice up
the menu, these artists are
Muslim, Christian, mystic,
humanist and there is even an
art historian writing in the
catalogue who is a rabbi.
The words Lost in Paradise
of the title vie surrealistically
with its subtitle: The Spiritual
in Art Today, the latter
implying that the artists have
actually found or at least are in
the act of exploring spiritual
concepts that make their art
universally transcendent. In
Indonesian born Ariandhitya
Pramuhendra’s hyper-realistic
See No Evil, he portrays
himself blindfolded in the
ecclesiastical robes of his
Christian faith, very much a
minority religion in Muslim
dominated Indonesia. Has he
chosen to be wilfully blind?
Interestingly he calls his work
‘a symphony of science’. He
comments, ‘I ask whether
science is “right”? I ask
whether religion is ”right”.
The progress of science and
technology try to lay bare the
existence of the universe and
its contents. Medical science is
a symbol of the progress of
human knowledge. (But) the
church uses every effort to
maintain the doctrine that it
has held for centuries’.
The curator of Lost in
Paradise, Ariane Levine,
describes the process of
bringing together the diverse
and provocative
accomplishments of these
artists. ‘We have chosen to
work with people who address
in their unique and personal
ways issues surrounding
spirituality and religion. Upon
close examination tensions
clearly exist between the
different artists’ practices.
Some have chosen to use
religious icononography as a
way of expressing deep-rooted
emotional responses to the
failures of contemporary
society, while others prefer to
explore a spiritual journey.
They therefore revert to more
abstract and symbolic imagery
in a desire to transcend
religious beliefs. Each work
also creates its own friction
between aesthetic sensibilities
and harrowing subject matter’.
Reza Aramesh, from Iran,
creates work that is crosscultural and politicised. His
highly stylised sculpture
portrays modern war victims
sometimes as medieval
Christian martyrs. He says: ‘In
considering the iconography
of the Renaissance and the
Spanish Baroque, I am
examining and questioning
the ideas of martyrdom and
spirituality within our systems
of belief. I want the viewer to
look at the mechanism of war,
the relationships between
violence and civilisation, the
sacred and the secular’.
Aramesh draws inspiration
from media coverage of
international conflicts from
the 1960s to today. But no
direct signs of war remain in
Action 96. An Algerian prisoner is guarded by a French soldier in an old pigsty
within the military camp in Ain Terzine by Reza Aramesh, 1961
Exhibitions 21
his highly staged photographs,
in which, for example, in
Algerian Prisoners of War
isolated actors are carefully
arranged, disconsolately
draped or hunched around
grand chambers like those
of the Louvre.
Levene continues, ‘The
power of the works in the
exhibition is amplified
through points of tension
between the failures of society
and the spiritual journey’.
Nonetheless what links each
artist is their shared
achievement in making art
that raises difficult questions
about the human condition
without negating the
importance of form and
aesthetic engagement. What
also links them is, as Jean de
Loisy, President of the Palais
de Tokyo, points out, is that
they are ‘artists from societies
that have retained a strong
cultural link to the religious…
Despite the desire of many of
them to turn away from their
inherited religious
backgrounds, they have
consciously or subconsciously,
drawn on those inherited
images. Harnessing symbols
with cognitive power, they
attempt to access the spiritual’.
Born in Birmingham, Idris
Khan appears to be the most
apparently Islamic of the five
artists. Certainly he adapts
immediately recognisable
Muslim imagery, projecting
familiar traditional icons into
arenas of contemporary
significance. He uses digital
photography to transform and
combine existing texts, such as
those of the Qur’an, in order,
as he puts it, to ‘call into
question modes of
appropriation, religion,
authorship and abstraction
that blur the rigid cultural
boundaries between the
secular and the spiritual…
Having gone through a
religious education as a child,
learning the Qur’an and Salaat
by rote, but having no deeper
understanding of the ancient
Arabic, by hand-stamping my
own thoughts and wishes my
art offers a secular approach to
the spiritual practice of
meditation’. He also overlays
written scores of music or
pages from books like Milton’s
Paradise Lost, fascinated by
artists tormented by spiritual
doubt and despair.
Also British born, Shezad
Dawood’s mixed Pakistani,
Indian and Irish background is
the origin of his rich melange
of style and catalyst. The Jewels
of Aptor, a taxidermised parrot
surrounded by fluorescent
neon hoops, refers directly to
the 12th-century poem The
Conference of the Birds by Farid
Al-Din Attar, as well as J.G.
Ballard’s novel, The Unlimited
Dream Company. In Ballard’s
book, says Dawood, ‘the
shadow of death falls over a
small suburban English town,
causing a cacophony of exotic
birds… Similarly, this idea of
one thing representing and
containing another is the key
to understanding The
Conference of the Birds. The
use of light, and in particular
neon, is a way to carve out my
own iconography of light.
It plays to readings of
illumination, of initiation and
transcendence, and the more
earthy use of neon in the
after-dark netherworld of the
urban Karachi of my
childhood. Like Rumi,
although Muslim, I see these
truths as being over and above
any particular culture or
viewpoint’.
The only woman artist
among the group is Israeli
Michal Rovner. Multi-tasking,
she is involved in photography,
printmaking, painting and
sculpture. Asked whether art
can fill a spiritual void, she
replies: ‘It is not that art has a
duty, it is a very powerful
wavelength of communication.
The artist, who uses this
language, is the one who has
this responsibility’. Her work
appears overtly political, but
she said it is ‘not about a
political situation, but about
the human situation, though
everything I do is saturated in
some way with politics’.
Author and broadcaster Rabbi
Jeremy Rosen comments: ‘She
focuses on our common
humanity by getting us to
consider the artefacts and
history of culture, a perfect
example of how one can free
oneself from the constraints of
established religion, politics
and prejudice, in pursuit of the
universal and the humane’.
Rosen continues: ‘Religious
cultures exercise a subtle, and
not so subtle influence on us
through our cultural
backgrounds. The artist finds
himself or herself fighting a
battle from without as well as
from within. Yet for all their
inherited differences, they
share their common desire for
change and to engage the
onlooker in the struggle’.
Juliet highet
From 14 to 25 November at
Loft Sévigné, 46 rue de Sévigné,
75003 Paris.
SoftPower
AlAan Artspace
opened 3 October in Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia, with the
inaugural exhibition SoftPower.
The show will run through 10
December, including a lecture
series with noted art figures in
the MENA region, a rotating
showcase of upcoming artists
called Project Wall, and an
event to launch its ArabicEnglish art newspaper,
Hamzat Al-Wasel. An
additional publication,
Masahati, is also in the works.
Alāan is a multi-platform
space, and the first of its kind
in the capital city of Saudi
Arabia. Alāan means ‘now’ in
Arabic, which aptly indicates
the sense of excited urgency as
the opening expands upon art,
education, and concurrent
reflection. The space houses a
child-friendly multilingual
library, a French-fusion
restaurant, and a Majlis, or
Arabic coffeehouse salon.
While Alāan Artspace seeks to
first and foremost
communicate within Saudi
Arabia, as there are few outlets
in the local community, the
team is also dedicated to
expressing innovation across
the Middle East and North
Africa with an ever-growing
globalised vision of quotidian
gender and identity.
SoftPower’s programme was
devised, chaired, and curated
by Alāan Artspace’s head of
curatorial programmes and
education, Sara Raza. Press
contact Katrina Ashour
explains that the title of the
exhibition stems from the
subtle strength of the artists’
styles, as the use of the
mutable everyday takes on
greater force.
Artwork is showcased by
three Saudi Arabian women:
Sarah Abu Abdallah, Sarah
Mohanna Al-Abdali, and
established artist Manal Al
Dowayan. Alāan Artspace
commissioned Abu Abdallah’s
Recommence (2012), a
painted-pink car found in a
Riyadh junkyard, and Sarah
Mohanna Al-Abdali’s untitled
mixed media drawing of one
veiled woman at once
multiplying and fading into
the distance. Manal Al
Dowayan loaned her
installation Esmi (2012). The
large-scale work features wood
and rope prayer beads, signed
in workshops by women
otherwise unknown.
In Recommence, the bright
pink car as a found object
addresses a feeling of absent
identity. There is no present
owner, but the artist has added
hints to an identity using
clothing, photocopied
identification, and a broken
sewing machine. The sense of
ominously obscured, yet
almost cartoonish female
identity invoked by clothing,
pink, and motherhood in a
damaged, broken vehicle,
comments on the idea of loss
in identity of woman. Like
Al Dowayan’s named yet
anonymous beads in Esmi, the
car in Recommence tells a
story of a faceless person.
In an art historical context,
Recommence employs an
Installation by Manal Al Dowayan Esmi, 2012, coated maple wood
with natural wool for rope and Sadu weave. Courtesy of the Artist,
Cuadro Gallery and Alaan Artspace
atypical use of the ready-made.
Richard Prince often used cars
to represent as symbols of
commercialism in the West,
and last spring Phillips de
Pury auctioned a deliberately
destroyed luxury car for
charity. Instead of flash and
money, this car is biographical,
comparable more to
biographical elements of
Tracey Emin’s unmade beds.
Sarah Abu Abdullah continues
the theme of displaced
womanhood with her photo
series Misfit, which sets Saudi
women amidst incongruous
landscapes.
Sarah Mohanna Al-Abdali’s
untitled work is more
aesthetically figurative,
featuring a veiled woman’s
walking silhouette multiplying
until she fades away into the
distance, expressing anonymity
with at once many and no one
at all. A second work, Four
Wives, stencils graffiti onto
pre-made drawings to depict
marriage rituals. The women
are hand-drawn, and the
decorative elements use
seasonal motifs, flowering over
the figure.
Both works complement
and conceptually contrast to
the works of both Sarah Abdul
Abdhalla and Manal Al
Dowayan’s Esmi, which uses
minimalism and absent faces
to communicate engendered
complexity. Instead of
minimalism, ornamentation in
Sarah Mohanna Al-Abdali’s
work expresses the same
unclear identity.
While the subject of gender
features heavily in the artwork
and the identities of all the
artists, Katrina Ashour insists
that it was just one aspect of
everyday expression. ‘Yes, the
artists are all women,’ she
commented via email,
‘However, more than anything,
they were chosen for the
power of their work and the
interesting conversations that
arise from pairing them
together…We seek to turn the
narrative on its head.’
Despite a sense of
womanpower in the
burgeoning Saudi Arabian art
world, an oppressive
countermovement has received
prevalent media attention.
On 1 October, Foreign Policy
magazine addressed that the
furniture company Ikea
airbrushed all women from
their Saudi Arabian catalogue,
despite clearance in
38 additional countries to
include them. In August, plans
were announced via various
publications for a ‘women-only
city’, so that Saudi Arabian
women could go to work
without distracting men. The
clichés reviewed in Alāan
Artspace’s SoftPower do
approach subjects of
subversion and oppression,
however they conflict in clear
presentation of a cohesive and
articulate voice.
Showcased artists Sarah
Abu Abdallah and Sarah
Mohanna Al-Abdali were
born a year apart, in 1990 and
1989 respectively. They were
both educated in the UAE,
with Abu Abdullah at College
of Fine Arts in painting and
Mohanna Al-Abdali at Dar Al
Hemka College in graphic
design. In terms of their
emerging artistic careers, they
co-exhibited in a group show
this past January, We Need to
Talk, at the gallery Edge of
Arabia in Jeddah, where
approximately one third of the
exhibitors were women.
Edge of Arabia differs as a
venue from the new Alāan
Artspace. Founded in 2003, the
art gallery rather than art space
is run by men, Ahmed Mater,
Stephen Stapleton, and
Abdulnasser Gharem, and is
predominately now
headquartered in London.
Although it merges with the
ideals of Alāan Artspace in its
propensity for open dialogue,
the contemporary movement
and in the all-female leadership
of ‘now’ in Riyadh is unique.
Manal Al Dowayan
exhibited at Edge of Arabia
London in 2008. She has
studied throughout the Middle
East and London, notably
exhibiting at the 49th United
Nations Commission on the
Status of Women in New York
(2005), attending the Venice
Biennale with Edge of Arabia
in 2009, and again in Venice
with The Future of a Promise in
2011. Her work is in the
permanent collection of the
British Museum, the Abu
Dhabi Authority for Culture
and heritage, and the Jordan
National Museum of Fine Art
among others. She is currently
represented by Cuadro Fine
Art Gallery in Dubai, and a
participant in the British
Council International Cultural
Leaders Programme.
Like Manal Al Dowayan,
artist Sarah Mohanna AlAbdali and curator Sara Raza
have major ties to London.
Sarah Mohanna Al-Abdali
exhibited at the British
Museum this year, and is
currently pursuing a
postgraduate degree in London.
Sara Raza is a former Tate
Modern curator among other
institutions, and is now
pursuing a PhD at the Royal
College of Art, London, an
editor at ArtAsiaPacific, and a
visiting lecturer at Sotheby’s
Institute of Art London. She
received a B.A. and an M.A.
from Goldsmiths College,
where she also studied English
Literature and History of Art.
Alexandra Bregman
Alaan Artspace is located at 280
Ourouba Road, Riyadh, Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia, and open
Saturday through Thursday,
10am to 11pm, and on Fridays
1pm to 11pm.
Recommence by Sarah Abu Abdallah, 2012, video still 7
november 2012 asian art
22 Listings
North America
Chapel Ackland Art Museum, Chapel
Hill, N. C. Pictures of Vanity: The Traditional
Japanese Print, to 6 Jan.; Modern
Japanese Ceramics from the Ackland Art
Museum Collection, to 6 Jan.; Elegance
and Extravagance: Japanese Posters from
the Merrill C. Berman Collection, to 6 Jan.;
Pop Goes Japan: Short Films by Tadamori
Yokoo and Keiichi Tanaami, to 6 Jan.
Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin,
Ohio , Beyond the Surface: Text and Image
in Islamic Art, to 30 Jun.
Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, AB
Edo: Arts of Japan’s Last Shogun Age, 3
Nov.–10 Feb.
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria,
B. C. Capturing the Inner Essence: Chinese
and Japanese Portraiture, to 20 Jan.
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Ill. --Material Translations: Japanese Fashion
from the School of the AIC, 3 Nov.–7 Apr.;
The Formation of the Japanese Print
Collection at the Art Institute: Frank Lloyd
Wright and the Prairie School, to 4 Nov.
Asia Society Museum, New York City
-Bound Unbound: Lin Tianmiao, to 20 Jan.
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, Calif.
Batik: Spectacular Textiles of Java, 2 Nov.–5
May; Out of Character: Decoding Chinese
Calligraphy, to 5 Jan.; In a New Light: the
Asian Art Museum Collection, ongoing.
Asian Arts & Culture Center, Towson, Md.
Aggregation: Paper Sculpture by Kwang
Young Chun, to 8 Dec.
Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley, Calif.
Himalayan Pilgrimage: Liberation Through
Sight, to 25 Nov.
Binghamton University Art Museum,
Binghamton, N. Y. Chinese Snuff Bottles, to
15 Dec.; The Faces of Buddhism, ongoing.
Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, Tex. Into
the Sacred City: Tibetan Buddhist Deities
from Theos Bernard Collection, to 13 Jan.
Brigham Young University Museum of
Art, Provo, Utah ,Think Flat: The Art of
Andy Warhol and Takashi Murakami, to
18 Feb.
Bowdoin College Museum of Art,
Brunswick, Maine --- Fantastic Stories:
The Supernatural in Nineteenth-century
Japanese Prints, 14 Nov.–5 Mar.
Bowers Museum, Santa Ana, Calif.
Ancient Arts of China: A 5000 Year Legacy,
ongoing; Masters of Adornment: The Miao
People of China, ongoing.
China Institute Gallery, New York City
New “China”: Porcelain Art from
Jingdezhen, 1910--2012, to 8 Dec.
Chinese Culture Center, San Francisco,
Calif. Women, to 30 Nov.
Clark Center for Japanese Art and Culture,
Hanford, Calif. Near and Far: Landscapes
by Japanese Artists (rotation 1), to 22 Dec.
Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston,
Tex., Perspectives 180 Unfinished Country:
New Video from China, 2 Nov.–17 Feb.
Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, Calif.
Celestial Realms: The Art of Nepal from
California Collections, to 10 Feb.
Crow Collection of Asian Art, Dallas,
Tex.On the Silk Road and the High
Seas: Chinese Ceramics, Culture and
Commerce, to 27 Jan.; Noble Change:
Tantric Art of the High Himalaya, to 10
Feb.; Qualities of Jade, ongoing.
Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colo. All That
Glistens: A Century of Japanese Lacquer,
opens 18 Nov.; Texture & Tradition:
Japanese Woven Bamboo, to 28 Jul.
East-West Center Gallery, Honolulu,
Dancing the Spirit: Korean Masks, Music &
Social Concerns, to 6 Jan.
Field Art Museum, Chicago, Ill.
Maharaja: The Splendor of India’s Royal
Courts, to 3 Feb.
Fowler Museum, UCLA, Los Angeles, Calif.
-Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives,
Freer / Sackler Galleries, Washington, D.C.
[Freer] Enlightened Beings: Buddhism
in Chinese Painting, to 24 Feb.; Ongoing:
Arts of the Indian Subcontinent and the
Himalayas; Silk Road Luxuries from China;
Chinese Ceramics: 10th--13th C; Cranes
and Clouds: The Korean Art of Ceramic
Inlay; Arts of the Islamic World; Ancient
Chinese Jades and Bronzes; The Religious
Art of Japan. [Sackler] Roads of Arabia:
Archaeology and History of the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia, 17 Nov.–24 Feb.; Shadows
Sites: Recent Work by Jananne Al-Ani, to
10 Feb.; Perspectives: Ai Weiwei, to 7 Apr:
Feast Your Eyes: Ancient Iranian Ceramics,
through 2012; Nomads and Networks:
The Ancient Art and Culture of Kazakhstan,
to 12 Nov.; Reinventing the Wheel:
Japanese Ceramics 1930--2000, ongoing;
Arts of China, ongoing; Sculpture of South
Asia and the Himalayas, ongoing.
Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida,
Gainesville, Souvenirs of Modern Asia:
The Prints of Paul Jacoulet, to 3 Feb.;
Wit and Wonder of Kogo Incense Boxes:
The Sandra G. Saltzman Collection,
ongoing; Jades: Imperial Material, ongoing;
Ceramics: Avenues of Exchange, ongoing;
Korean Art: Collecting Treasures, ongoing;
Sculptures: Religion in the Round, ongoing;
Traditions and Modernities: China, India
and Japan, ongoing.
Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge,
Mass., Cultivating Virtue: Botanical Motifs
and Symbols in East Asian Art, to 1 Jun.;
Beyond the Surface: Scientific Approaches
to Islamic Metalwork, to 1 Jun.
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture
Garden, Washington, D. C. Ai Weiwei:
According to What, to 24 Feb.; Ai Weiwei:
Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads, to 24 Feb.
Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu,
Hawaii, The Arts of the Bedchamber:
Japanese Shunga, 23 Nov.–17 Mar.; Birds,
Bats and Butterflies of Chinese Textiles,
to 20 Jan.; In Memoriam: Maqbool Fida
Husain, to 14 Apr.; Mayumi Oda: A Prayer
for the New Birth of Japan, to 13 Jan.;
The Legacy of Sharaku: Expressionistic
Portraiture in Japanese Theater, to 16 Dec.;
Comforts for the Soul:
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis,
Ind.. Beauty and Belief: Crossing Bridges
with the Arts of Islamic Culture, 2 Nov.–13
Jan.; Musha-e (Warrior Prints), to 2 Dec.
Institute for the Study of the Ancient
World, New York City, Echoes of the
Past: The Buddhist Cave Temples of
Xiangtangshan, to 6 Jan.
Japan Society, New York City
Silver Wind: The Arts of Sakai Hoitsu (1761-1828), to 6 Jan.
Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca, N.Y.
Illuminated: The Art of Sacred Books, to
23 Dec.
asian arT NOVEMBER 2012
don’t miss
V&A, London
Light From the Middle East,
13 Nov to 7 April 2013
Krannert Art Museum, University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Rising
Dragon: Contemporary Chinese
Photography, to 30 Dec.; Fashioning
Traditions in Japan, to 30 Dec.
Korea Society, NYC, Traces of Life: Seen
Through Korean Eyes, to 7 Dec.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art,
Los Angeles, Calif. Unveiling Femininity
in Indian Painting and Photography, to
28 Jul.; Pictorial Relationships in Tibetan
Thangka Painting and Furniture (Part I):
Flowers, to 19 May; Tibetan Silver from
the Collection of Julian Sands, to 19
May; Tibetan Korean Art Galleries, .
Lowe Art Museum, Coral Gables,
Fla., Adapting and Adopting: Waves
of Change as East Encounters West,
Modern and Contemporary Japanese
Art, to 21 Apr.
McClung Museum, University of
Tennessee, Knoxville, Zen Buddhism
and the Arts of Japan, to 31 Dec.
Mead Art Museum, Amherst, Mass.
Re-Inventing Tokyo: Japan’s Largest City
in the Artistic Imagination, to 30 Dec.
Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester,
N.Y. Framing Edo: Masterworks from
Hiroshige’s One Hundred Views, to
13 Jan.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New
York City, Turkmen Jewelry from the
Collection of Marshall and Marilyn R.
Wolf, to 24 Feb.; Buddhism along the
Silk Road: 5th--8th Century, to 10 Feb.;
Designing Nature: The Rinpa Aesthetic
in Japanese Art, to 13 Jan.; Chinese
Gardens: Pavilions, Studios, Retreats, to
6 Jan.; Colors of the Universe: Chinese
Hardstone Carving, to 6 Jan.
Miami University Art Museum, Oxford,
look out for
National Museum of China, Beijing
Passion for Porcelain: Masterpieces from
the British Museum and V&A, to 6 Jan
Ohio , Grass Routes: Pathways to Eurasian
Cultures, to 8 Dec.
Middlebury College Museum of Art,
Middlebury, Vt., China Modern: Designing
Popular Culture 1910--1970, to 9 Dec.;
Shapes in Time: Contemporary Chinese
Calligraphy, ongoing; Robert F. Reiff Gallery
of Asian Art, ongoing.
Mingei International Museum, San Diego,
Calif. Nature, Tradition and Innovation:
Contemporary Japanese Ceramics from
the Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer, to 6
Jan.; Folk Festivals and Traditional Crafts:
Japanese Prints from the Collection of
Maurice Kawashima, to 6 Jan.
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minn.
Edo’s Fashionistas, Japanese woodblock
prints, 3 Nov.–24 Feb.; China’s Terracotta
Warriors: The First Emperor’s Legacy, to
20 Jan.
Morikami Museum, Delray Beach, Fla.
Entertaining the Gods and Man: Japanese
Dolls and the Theater, to 27 Jan.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Mass.
Divine Depictions: Korean Buddhist
Paintings, 13 Nov.–23 Jun.; Chinese
Lacquer 1200–1800, 16 Nov.–8 Sep.; Cats
to Crickets: Pets in Japan’s Floating World,
to 18 Feb.; The Allure of Japan, to 31 Dec.
Museum of Modern Art, N.Y.C. --- Tokyo
1955–1970 A New Avant-Garde, 18
Nov.–25 Feb.
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas
City, Mo. Subodh Gupta Egg, to 31 Dec.;
Faces from China’s Past: Paintings for
Entertainment & Remembrance, to 9 Dec.
Newark Museum, Newark, N. J. `
Ongoing: Re-Activating Chinese Antiquities:
Honoring the Archaic in Art, 200 BC-2012; Tiaras to Toerings: Asian Ornaments;
China’s China: Porcelain, Earthenware,
Stoneware & Glazes; Buddhism, Taoism,
Confucius and Cult of Mao: China’s
Religious Arts; Pots of Silver and Gold; Red
Luster: Lacquer & Leatherworks of Asia;
From Meiji to Modern: Japanese Art Goes
Global, 1868 to 2008; Tibetan Collection;
Influences of the Indic World: India and
Nepal; Southeast Asia: Art of a Cultural
Crossroads; Gods, Guides and Sacred
Symbols of India
Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach,
Fla. Clear Water and Blue Hills: Stories in
Chinese Art, to 27 Jan.
Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, Calif.
Marking Transitions: Ceremonial Art in
Indonesia, 2 Nov.–24 Mar.; Kimono in the
20th Century, to 10 Mar.; The Arts of Korea,
Palmer Museum of Art, Pennsylvania State
University, University Park Floating Between
Worlds: New Research on Japanese Prints
in the Permanent Collection, to 9 Dec.
Peabody-Essex Museum, Salem, Mass.
FreePort [No. 005]: Michael Lin, to 27 May;
Auspicious Wishes and Natural Beauty
in Korean Art, to 31 Jan.; Of Gods and
Mortals: Traditional Art from India, to 31
Jan.; Perfect Imbalance: Exploring Chinese
Aesthetics, to 31 Jan.; Fish, Silk, Tea,
Bamboo: Cultivating an Image of China, to
31 Jan.; Yin Yu Tang, permanent
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia,
Penn. Mountains and Rivers: Japanese
Landscapes, ongoing; Portable Garden:
Carpets from Iran and South Asia, ongoing;
A Taste for Tea in Japan, ongoing; Heavenly
Bliss: Korean Art for the Afterlife, ongoing.
Portland Art Museum, Portland, Ore.
Cornerstones of a Great Civilization:
Masterworks of Ancient Chinese Art, to
11 Nov.
Rhode Island School of Design, Museum
of Art, Providence, R. I. The Making of a
Japanese Print, ongoing.
Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Fla.
From the Vaults: John Ringling’s Asian
and Cypriot Art, 19 Nov.–14 Oct.; Mythic
Creatures of China, to 14 Jul.
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Small
Skills, Special Effects: Unusual Chinese
Works of Art, to 3 Feb.
Rubin Museum of Art, New York City
Modernist Art from India: Radical Terrain,
9 Nov.–29 Apr.; The Place of Provenance:
Regional Styles in Tibetan Painting, to 5 Mar.;
Casting the Divine: Sculptures of the Nyingjei
Lam Collection, to 11 Feb.; Candid: The
Lens and Life of Homai Vyarawalla, to 14
Jan.; Masterworks: Jewels of the Collection,
to 7 Jan.; Gateway to Himalayan Art
Saint Louis Art Museum, Mo.
Plants and Flowers in Chinese Paintings
and Ceramics, to 31 Dec.
Samek Art Gallery, Lewisburg, Pa.
Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung: The Travelogue of
Dr. Brain Damages, to 21 Dec. (Downtown
Art Gallery).
San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio,
Tex., Love in Three Capitals (prints by
Okumura Masanobu), to 11 Nov.
San Diego Museum of Art, Calif.
Temple, Palace, Mosque: Southern Asian
and Persian Art, to 31 Dec.
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Calif.
The Artful Recluse: Painting, Poetry, and
Politics in 17th-Century China, to 20 Jan.
Schnitzer Museum of Art, Eugene, Ore.
Traditional & Contemporary Korean Art
from the Mattielli & JSMA Collections, to 30
Dec.; Enduring Bonds: Recent Japanese
Acquisitions in Memory of Yoko McClain,
Seattle Asian Art Museum, Seattle, Wash.
Buddha of the Western Paradise, to 21 Jul.;
Shirin Neshat: Tooba, to 2 Dec.; Women’s
Paintings from the Land of Sita, to 2 Dec.;
Many Arrows from Rama’s Bows: Paintings
of the Ramayana, to 2 Dec.; Where have
they been? Two overlooked Chinese female
artists, to 30 Dec.; Artful Reproductions,
Smart Museum of Art, Chicago, Ill. -Awash
in Color: French and Japanese Prints, to
20 Jan.; Renewal and Revision: Japanese
Prints of the 1950s and 60s, to 9 Dec.
Spencer Museum of Art, University of
Kansas at Lawrence , Eccentric Vistas:
Mountain Views in East Asia, ongoing; Mt.
Fuji in Japanese Woodblock Prints, ongoing.
Stanford University, Cantor Arts Center,
Stanford, Calif. Ink Performances,
contemporary Chinese and Japanese art,
to 13 Jan.; Divided Visions: Reportage from
the Sino-Japanese Wars, to 13 Jan.
Sweet Briar College Pannell Center Gallery,
Sweet Briar, Va. ASIA: Selections from the
Permanent Collection, to 14 Dec.
Textile Museum, Washington, D. C.
The Sultan’s Garden: The Blossoming of
Ottoman Art, to 10 Mar.; Dragons, Nagas,
and Creatures of the Deep, to 6 Jan.; Out of
Southeast Asia: Art that Sustains, Oct.
University of Michigan Museum of Art,
Ann Arbor, Mich. Young-Hae Chang Heavy
Industries, to 30 Dec.
University of Virginia, Fralin Museum of
Art, Charlottesville, Va. Ancient Masters in
Modern Styles: Chinese Ink Paintings from
the 16th--21st Centuries, to 16 Dec.
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond,
Va. Indian Silver for the Raj, to 3 Feb.
Worcester Art Museum, Mass. Spotlight
on Maki Haku (1924--2000), to Jan.;
Pilgrimage to Hokusai’s Waterfalls, to Nov.
Europe
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Threads Of Silk and Gold: Ornamental
Textiles From Meiji Japan,9 Nov to 27
Jan; Contemporary Chinese Art From The
Sullivan Collection, to 27 Jan ; Lady Impey’s
Indian Bird Paintings, to 17 Feb
Brunei Gallery, SOAS, London
The British in Palestine, 1917-1948, to
15 Dec; Sacred Ink: The Tattoo Master:
Thailand’s spiritual Yantra tradition,to 15 Dec
Baur Collection, Geneva
Jewellery from the Roof of the World :
From China to the Caucasus.The Ghysels
Collection, to 3 March 2013
The British Library, London
Mughal India: Art, Culture and Empire,
9 Nov to 2 April 2013
The British Museum, London
Ritual and Revelry: the Art of Drinking in
Asia, to 6 Jan; Flame and Water Pots:
Prehistoric Ceramic Art from Japan, to
20 Jan; Contemporary Chinese Seals by
Li Lanqing, 1 Nov to 15 Jan; Sir Perceval
David Collection
Chester Beatty Library, Dublin
Chester Beatty: the Panings, to 24 March
2013. Islamic and Indian collections
Cernuschi Museum, Paris
From the Red River to the Mekong: Visions
of Vietnam, to 27 Jan 2013
Daiwa Foundation, London
Primal Memory, to 13 Dec
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
The Search for Immortality: Tomb
Treasures of Han China, to 11 Nov
Guimet Museum, Paris
Tea at the Guimet, to 7 Jan 2013
The Hayward Gallery, London
Art of Change: New Directions from China,
to 9 Dec
Louvre, Paris
New Islamic Galleries opened 22 Sept;
Asian Collections, ongoing
Maison de la Culture du Japon, Paris
Warai: Humour in Japanese Art, to 15 Dec
Musée du Quai Branly, Paris
Asian and tribal collections, ongoing
Museu do Oriente, Lisbon
Ongoing: Presence in Asia; Gods of Asia
Museum der Kulturen, Basil
Indigo: Lustre and Pleats, to 20 Jan 2013;
Museum of Asian Art, Berlin
China and Prussia. Porcelain and Tea,
to 31 Dec; Following in the Footsteps of
Grunwedel, to 31 Dec
Museum of East Asian Art, Bath
Present-Perfect Tense: Sculptures by Jiao
Xingtao to 15 Jan 2013; People of Beijing:
Photos by Ramon Bujanda, to 15 Jan
Museum of East Asian Art, Cologne
Splendour of the emperors of China: art
and life in the Forbidden City, to 20 Jan
Museum of East Asian Art, Stockholm,
New Korean gallery open; permanent
Asian collections
Parasol Unit, London
Bharti Kher, to 11 Nov
Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford
Made for Trade, to 27 Jan 2013
Rietberg Museum, Zurich
The Beauty of the Moment, Women
in Japanese Woodcuts, to 14 Oct.;
Streetparade of the Gods, to 11 Nov; Hindu
Mythys (at Park Villa Rieter), to 2 Dec
Royal Academy, London
Bronze, to 9 Dec
Sakip Sabanci Museum, Istanbul
Ottoman Calligraphy reopened
Victoria & Albert Museum, London
The Silent Traveller: Chiang Yee in Britain,
1933-1955, to 9 Nov; Light from the
Middle East: New Photography, 13 Nov to
7 Apr 2013; Jain manuscripts, to 31 Dec
Asia
Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore,
Islamic Arts from Southeast Asia, to 20
Jan 2013
Asia Society HK Centre, HK
When Gold Blossoms: Indian Jewellery
from the Susan L Beningson Collection, to
6 Jan 2013
Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Japan
Beyond Printed Words, to 25 Dec;
Burmese Contemporary Art, 13 Dec to 19
March 2013
Heritage Museum, Hong Kong,
HK Photography Series 3: Beyond
the Portrait, to 26 Nov; Paintings and
Calligraphy by Au Ho-nien, to 17 June
Hong Kong Museum of Art, HK
Chinese Painting and Calligraphy of Song,
Yuan and Ming Dynasties from the Osaka
City Museum of Fine Arts, 30 Nov to 9 Jan
Hong Kong Museum of History
The Eternal Realm of China’s First Emperor,
to 26 Nov
Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo
The Art of Rinpa II, to 16 Dec
Kyoto National Museum, Japan
Ultimate Beauty, The Calligraphy of
Japanese Emperors, to 25 Nov; Collections
Hall closed - reopens in 2014
Miho Museum, Shigaraki Prefecture
Dogu: Ancient Clay Figures, to 9 Dec
Mori Art Museum, Tokyo
Aida Makoto: Monument to Nothing,
17 Nov to 31 March 2013
National Museum of China, Beijing
Passion for Porcelain: Masterpieces from
the British Museum and V&A, to 6 Jan
National Museum of Korea, Seoul
The Celadons of Korea, 16 Oct to 16 Dec
Nezu Museum, Tokyo
Shibata Zeshin, 1 Nov to 16 Dec
Shanghai Museum, Shanhai
Masterpieces of Song and Yuan Paintings
from American Collections, 3 Nov to 3 Jan
Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
Panorama: Recent Art from Contemporary
Asia, to 25 Dec
Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo
China: Grandeur of Dynasties, to 24 Dec;
Treasures from Sacred Izumo, to 25 Nov
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Divine Worlds: Indian Paintings, to 11 Nov
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Permanent Asian art collection
Events
Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill, N. C.
Japanese Screens: History and Function in
the Edo Period, lecture by Wei-Cheng Lin, 7
Nov., 12–1 pm; Democracy’s Poster Girls:
Beauty Queens and Fashion Models in
Postwar Japan, lecture by Jan Bardsley, 14
Nov., 2 pm.
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Ill.
Hokusai: Paintings and Deluxe Prints for
Special Clients, lecture by John T.
Carpenter, 15 Nov., 6–7:30 pm.
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, Calif.
Toward a United State: Late Six
Dynasties¬Sui Dynasty, lecture by Amy
McNair, 9 Nov., 10:30 am; Balancing Acts:
Art of the Early to High Tang Period, lecture
by De-nin Lee, 16 Nov., 10:30 am; The Silk
Road: China’s International Impact in the
Late Seventh and Eighth Centuries, lecture
by Valerie Hansen, 30 Nov., 10:30
Bowdoin College Museum of Art,
Brunswick, Maine , From Abject Horror to
Witty Play: The Oscillating Modes of the
Supernatural in Nineteenth Century Japan,
lecture by Daniel McKee, 15 Nov., 4:30.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
City , Designing Nature: The Rinpa
Aesthetic in Japanese Art, member lecture
by John Carpenter, 10 and 11 Nov., 11
am; A New Peony Pavilion in an Old
Context, a conversation with Tan Dun,
joined by Maxwell K. Hearn, 29 Nov., 6 pm;
Peony Pavilion, live HD transmission from
performance in the Astor Court, dir. Tan
Dun, 30 Nov., 7 pm.
Miami University Art Museum, Oxford,
Ohio, History of Oral Tradition in Inner Asia:
Analyzing History, Myth, and Folklore,
lecture by Daniel Prior, 13 Nov., 6:30 pm;
The Steppes: Crucible of Asia, symposium,
30 Nov.–1 Dec.
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minn., A
Tyrant’s Amazing Legacy, lecture by
Edmund Capon, 8 Nov., 11 am.
Museum of Modern Art, N.Y.C. Postwar
Japanese Art in Context, course with Reiko
Tomii and Midori Yoshimoto, Wednesdays,
beginning 7 Nov., 6–7:50 pm.
Portland Art Museum, Portland, Ore.
Emperor Huizong: Daoist, Artist, Patron,
Captive, lecture by Patricia Ebrey, 8 Nov.,
6:30 pm.
San Diego Museum of Art, Calif. The Body
Adorned: To the Divine Through Beauty,
lecture by Vidya Dehejia, 3 Nov., 3:30–5.00
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Calif.
Establishing Authenticity in Traditional
Chinese Painting, lecture by Stephen Little,
18 Nov., 2:30 pm.
Seattle Asian Art Museum, Seattle, Wash.
Artist Introductions: Wu Mali and Navjot, 14
Nov., 7 pm.
Smart Museum of Art, Chicago, Ill. Yasuko
Yokoshi: Bell, a work in progress,
dance-theater performance, 16 Nov., 7
Tang Center for East Asian Art, Princeton,
N.J.,Lecture by Yomi Braester, tba, 14 Nov.,
Global Convergences: Japanese, Indian,
and Mexican Art since 1876, lecture by
Bert Winther-Tamaki, 15 Nov., 4:30 pm
Textile Museum, Washington, D. C. In the
Sultan’s Palace: Islamic Art at the Ottoman
Imperial Museum, lecture by Aysin
Yoltar-Yildirim, 1 Nov., 6 pm; In the Sultan’s
Gardens: Ottoman Gardens and the
Decorative Arts, lecture by Nurhan Atasoy,
28 Nov., 6 pm.
Last Chance
Australia
Art Gallery of New South Wales,
Dadang Christanto, to 17 March 2013
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
The Perfect Finish, to 10 Feb 2013
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
The Search for Immportality: Tomb
Treasures from Han China to 11 Nov
23
september 2011 asian art
IslamicArtsDiary
Islamic Art 23
By Lucien De Guise
Evergreen Art
Turkey has been reasserting itself in
recent years, with its interest in
joining the EU at the same time as
pushing for a larger role in the
Middle East in general and Syria in
particular. Going back just over a
century, much of Europe was under
Turkish rule, along with most of the
Middle East. Politically and
economically, Turkey is a powerful
force. Culturally, it is a long way from
exerting the influence it once had.
Contemporary Turkish art has
created a market in its own country
and has been sold in London and the
Persian Gulf, but it is certainly not an
immediate rival to the magnificence
of the Ottoman legacy.
For a look at how pervasive the
force used to be, a vivid picture is
painted at the latest exhibition at the
Textile Museum in Washington.
The Sultan’s Garden is not about any
particular sultan. It covers six
centuries of Ottoman artistry in the
medium for which these rulers were
most renowned – apart from
ceramics, which are also included on
a small scale. The influence went far
beyond the borders of their empire in
three continents. ‘Turkey rugs’ are
visible in paintings of the Tudor era
in England, which was a distant
frontier of civilisation at the time.
More than this, the designs were
distinctive enough to be copied and
admired wherever they were seen.
Unlike so many works from the
Islamic world, the Ottoman output
forms a consistent iconography that
is visible in different media and is
unique to its creators. The expression
‘Ottoman branding’ is used in the
exhibition to describe a phenomenon
that symbolises the power of its
rulers as readily as the tughra
signature does.
The exhibition puts considerable
effort into exploring the origins of
these designs and how they
developed. It is an area in which
strong opinions have been expressed
over the past few decades. The
curators, Walter B. Denny and
Sumru Belger Krody, have little time
for the New Age and feminist
theories that view certain motifs as
being derived from prehistoric
mother goddess and other figures.
Theirs is a more practical approach,
in which what looks like a flower is a
probably a flower and not a female
power icon with hands on hips.
Throughout the exhibition there is
a liveliness and immediacy that does
not often accompany textile shows.
This extends to the catalogue, which
is as colourful and detailed as one
could hope for, without getting too
technical about weaving techniques.
Curiously, some of the most
interesting moments are
monochrome. In particular, two
block-printed textile fragments make
an unexpectedly refreshing change
from the profusion of colour that
greets the viewer throughout the
exhibition. These scraps are from the
16th century make up for their lack
of size with a freshness and
spontaneity that is hard to imagine in
a colour scheme of grey on cream
cotton and linen. Unfamiliar though
the general appearance is, each piece
has readily identifiable motifs of their
Ottoman origins: tulips, carnations
and cintamani. Their place of
Prayer rug with qibla-shaped central
sections, the Textile Museum
manufacture is thought to be either
Cairo or Istanbul, supported by their
evident sophistication.
It is a lack of sophistication that
many collectors of Turkey’s tribal
rugs seek out. Kilims, with their lack
of precision in depicting curvilinear
forms, tend to be magnificent
canvases for geometry and other
pared-down art forms. Village
weavings are often at their most
moving when flowers are reduced to
their essence, and there are many
examples of these in the exhibition.
Always popular are kilims in the
prayer-rug format with qibla-shaped
central sections. For those who have
wondered why prayer rugs would
have been made in such an
unyielding material, the answer
appears to have been that they were
used more for wall decoration than
for kneeling and other forms of
prostration.
A less Islamic approach is taken
with a number of items in the
exhibition, especially from Ottoman
locations that were non-Muslim,
such as Crete. A delightful 17thcentury skirt border combines
elements such as mermaids with a
variety of exotic birds and a dog that
sprouts flowers out of its mouth.
Textiles that ended up being used by
Russian Orthodox clergy include an
Skirt border (detail), Crete, 17th century, private collection, the Textile Museum
amalgam of Ottoman floral motifs
framing an image of the Virgin and
Child. Christian priests throughout
Europe appear to have been
fascinated by Ottoman fabrics.
There were many complex
relationships going on between the
great powers of the time, and trying
to work these out is part of the
exhibition’s purpose. Among the
strange phenomena are 18th-century
Persian carpets that were found at
the Topkapi Palace in the late 20th
century in pristine condition. These
were probably diplomatic gifts that
had been stored and never used,
either because their appearance didn’t
appeal to the recipients or the
occasional Shi’ite inscriptions were
unappreciated by the Sunni
Ottomans.
Perhaps the most intriguing
exhibit on view is a velvet cushion
with Ottoman floral designs. This
16th-17th century item was
originally thought to be a domestic
product but recent research shows
that it was made in Italy for the
Ottoman market in exactly the taste
that the market at the eastern end of
the Mediterranean required. The
complex crosscurrents of Ottoman
trade extended north as well as west.
In the exhibition are three silk sashes
made in Poland. Originally inspired
by Persian sashes, the Polish nobility
started to make these part of their
wardrobe in the 18th century.
Ottoman versions were later
imported, and after this began a
domestic industry that often used
Ottoman motifs. To complicate the
picture further, French factories later
copied the Polish copies for export
to Poland.
Wherever the visitor looks in this
exhibition there are links with other
lands. The Ottomans were as much
straddling different worlds centuries
ago as their modern counterparts are
now. The main difference is that
Turkey had the ability to impress
constantly with appearances then.
The 16th-century commentator,
Ogier de Busbecq, was world weary
with most sights, but when presented
with a royal Ottoman ceremony his
enthusiasm was conspicuous: ‘Now
come with me and cast your eye over
the immense crowd of turbaned
heads, wrapped in countless folds of
the whitest silk, and bright raiment
of every kind and hue… A more
beautiful spectacle was never
presented to my gaze’.
The Sultan’s Garden: The Blossoming of
Ottoman Art at the Textile Museum,
Washington DC, ends 10 March 2013
Horse cover, Istanbul, second half 16th to early 17th century, acquired by
George Hewitt Myers in 1931, the Textile Museum, Washington DC
A Bridge Too Far
Bags Of Style
Whilst the beginnings of
Orientalism are evident in de
Busbecq’s writing, its more recent
flowering is represented in an
auction of the collection of Patrick
Guerrand-Hermes. The Hermès
director is one of the many jetsetters who owns a home in
Marrakesh, and like Malcolm
Forbes and others before him, the
villa’s traditional simplicity was
overrun with paintings of the
Orientalist school. It is a formula
that must work well in the
surroundings, as exemplars of good
taste such as the late Yves Saint
Laurent took exactly the same route,
right down to combining the
sometimes rather unlikely Western
interpretations of the Mysterious
Orient with a prodigious collection
of weapons.
Guns, swords and daggers of the
Islamic world have held even the
gentlest souls in thrall. Saint
Laurent, who was surely one of the
20th-century’s most pacific souls,
revelled in weaponry as long as it
was from North Africa or the
Middle East. Guerrand-Hermès
had the same fascination, as can be
seen at the auction that took place
at Sotheby’s, Paris, in early October.
Regional furniture has always
been another firm favourite of those
with homes in that part of the
world, and it has to be said that
prices can be temptingly low. Many
chairs and other useful items were
estimated well below 1000 euros.
The only items that were not visible
at all were leather goods.
The art of Morocco came together
with France in another, and very
short-lived, episode. This is one
that nobody will be viewing as it
caused a near-riot in Tolouse and
has since been withdrawn. Mounir
Fatmi’s video of Islamic
calligraphy was accidentally
projected onto a bridge in the
southern French city at a time of
day when pedestrians were using
it. Almost immediately, young
local Muslims rushed to the scene
of the outrage to ensure that
nobody ‘walked’ on the images
that had been projected. Defiling
of the holy words was mostly
prevented, although one
unknowing woman walked across
and was slapped. The projector was
then switched off. The artist was so
alarmed by the violent reaction, he
removed his exhibit from the
month-long Printemps de
Septembre festival.
[email protected]
november 2012 asian art
A Sino-Tibetan thangka of Buddha Shakyamuni. Qianlong period (1736-1795). Colours and gold leaf on cloth. 127 x 78.5 cm
ASIAN ART AUCTION
7-8 December 2012
China, Tibet/Nepal, India, Southeast Asia, Korea, Japan
Catalogue upon request and online
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