Rubin Museum — “Project Himalayan Art”
Online and Various Locations
Project Himalayan Art is an interdisciplinary resource for learning about Himalayan, Tibetan, and Inner Asian art and cultures. This three part-initiative is designed to support the inclusion of these cultures into undergraduate teaching on Asia and presents Himalayan art to the general public. The project focuses on cross-cultural exchange with Tibet at the center and Buddhism as the thread that connects the diverse cultural regions. The Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art presents exhibitions, projects, and collaborative initiatives that deepen awareness of Himalayan art and cultures.
HKMoA — “Art of Gifting: The Fuyun Xuan Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles”
Hong Kong Museum of Art, 10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Epitomising the finest skills of Chinese artisans, small and delicate snuff bottles became popular among nobilities and high-ranking officials since emerging in the early Qing dynasty, and were often given as precious gifts in diplomatic, official and social settings. This exhibition showcases the whole of a set of 490 Chinese snuff bottles from the Fuyun Xuan Collection donated by Mr Christopher Sin and Mrs Josephine Sin, and with the theme of gifting, the audience is invited to step into the unique, kaleidoscopic world of these miniature yet precious gifts.
The Met — “The Three Perfections: Japanese Poetry, Calligraphy, and Painting from the Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection”
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, USA
This exhibition presents over 160 rare Japanese works that showcase the power and complexity of the traditional three forms of art. Examples include folding screens with poems brushed on sumptuous decorated papers, calligraphy by Zen monks of medieval Kyoto, hanging scrolls with paintings and inscriptions alluding to Chinese and Japanese literary classics, ceramics used for tea gatherings, and more. The majority of the works were donated or promised to The Met by Mary and Cheney Cowles, whose collection is one of the finest assemblages of Japanese art outside Japan.
Wereldmuseum Rotterdam — “Made In China”
Willemskade 25 3016 DM, Rotterdam, Netherlands
This exhibition takes China as a case study for a new perspective on the act of making, it showcases China’s culture of making, which is both ancient and vibrant, through a mix of objects, timelines, art, fashion, photographs, and videos. It also explores the diverse meanings of “making” through the lens of contemporary artists and designers such as Cao Fei, Susan Fang, Jing He, Ma Ke, Li Xiaofeng, and Yang Yongliang. They are makers, but they also reflect on different aspects of the making process in their work.
HK Palace Museum — “The Forbidden City and The Palace of Versailles: China-France Cultural Encounters in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries”
Hong Kong Palace Museum, 8 Museum Drive, Hong Kong
This exhibition presents nearly 150 treasures from the Palace Museum and the Palace of Versailles, illuminating the fascinating encounters and exchanges between China and France in science, artisanship, arts, culture, and philosophy during the 17th and 18th centuries. The objects tell stories of the special bonds forged between the two through mutual admiration and respect, which provided new incentives to expand skills and knowledge and create new art forms.
The Met — “Recasting the Past: The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100–1900″
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, USA
Chinese bronzes from the 12th–19th century are an important but often overlooked category. In ancient China, bronze vessels were emblems of ritual and power. A millennium later (1100–1900), such vessels were rediscovered as embodiments of a long-lost golden age, part of a widespread phenomenon across all the arts to reclaim the virtues of a classical tradition including the revival of bronze casting. From important bronzes to a complementary selection of other works, the exhibition aims to redress misunderstandings of later Chinese bronzes via pieces from The Met collection as well as loans from major international institutions to present the most comprehensive narrative of the ongoing importance of bronzes as an art medium throughout China’s history.
Asia Society — “Imperial Treasures: Chinese Ceramics of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties from the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection”
Asia Society New York, 725 Park Avenue New York, NY, USA
Known for exquisite porcelain production and expansive trade, the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) represents a period of Chinese imperial rule between the fall of the Mongol Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) and the rise of the Manchu Qing dynasty (1644–1911). The approximately 20 works selected for this exhibition demonstrate how early Ming ceramics inherited the rich and culturally diverse legacy of the Mongol rulers by adopting foreign influences through vibrant trade with the Islamic and Central Asian worlds and combining them with indigenous Chinese traditions.
National Museum of Asian Art — “Delighting Krishna: Paintings of the Child-God”
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 1050 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC, USA
Pushtimarg religious spaces feature monumental paintings of Krishna on cotton cloth known as pichwais. For the first time since the 1970s, these 14 pichwais from the National Museum of Asian Art’s collections are on view for the public. These paintings are literally larger than life, averaging about 8 by 8 feet in size. Pichwais are made to serve as backdrops for three-dimensional displays, typically paired with icons of Krishna, music, and scents. This collection of pichwais dates from the 18th to the 20th century, and most were painted in Nathdwara, Rajasthan, the global epicenter of the Pushtimarg community.
V&A — “Cartier”
V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Road, London, United Kingdom
Featuring more than 350 objects, the exhibition will chart the evolution of the house’s legacy of art, design and craftsmanship since the turn of the 20th century. The exhibition will include precious jewels and showstopping objects, historic gemstones, iconic watches and clocks from the V&A and Cartier Collection, as well as previously unseen drawings from the V&A and Cartier archives, together with works lent from the Royal Collection, major UK and international museums, and private collections. Highlights will include the Williamson Diamond brooch commissioned by Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 featuring the rare 23.6 carat pink Williamson diamond; the Scroll Tiara commissioned in 1902 and worn to the coronation of Elizabeth II, among others.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston — “Qi Baishi: Inspiration in Ink”
MFA Boston, 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Living in a time of civil and political turmoil, Qi Baishi (1864–1957) was renowned for his modernisation of Chinese ink painting. Conveying rural sentiments with bold landscapes, lifelike animals and plants, and lively and amusing figures, his paintings of everyday life broke social and cultural barriers, and he is credited with transforming the traditional brush art of China’s educated elite into an expressionistic and abstract form that speaks clearly to the modern era. The exhibition features nearly 40 works—almost all on loan from the Beijing Fine Art Academy—and offers a rare opportunity to examine the breadth of Qi’s artistic vision and inspiration.
HKMoA — “The Pride of Hong Kong: Three Preeminent Collections of Ancient Paintings and Calligraphies”
Hong Kong Museum of Art, 10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Political turmoil during the mid-20th century flooded Hong Kong with an influx of paintings, calligraphies and other artefacts. It was during this period that Low Chuck-tiew’s (1911–1993) Xubaizhai, Ho Iu-kwong’s (1907 – 2006) Chih Lo Lou and Lee Jung-sen’s (1915 – 2007) Bei Shan Tang were built out of either a passion for painting and calligraphy or a self-imposed mission to preserve and promote Chinese heritage by their masters. This exhibition brings together these three collections of Xubaizhai, Chih Lo Lou and Bei Shan Tang, featuring 93 sets of classics. The show explores the significant role that the city has played in the preservation of traditional Chinese art and salutes the altruism of the Hong Kong collectors who donated their prized possessions to public institutions.
UMAG, HKU — “Bamboo Baskets Chinese Origins, Japanese Innovations”
University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, 90 Bonham Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
This exhibition, comprising over 200 objects, offers an overview of the finest achievements of bamboo art in East Asia, reassessing the central role played by continental prototypes, or karamono (Chinese things), in the development of Japanese basketry over the past 150 years. The displays, with loans from both the Naej Collection (Germany) and the Muwen Tang Collection (Hong Kong), illustrate a wide range of weaving techniques, tracing the evolution of Ming and Qing dynasty vessels to their influence on Edo period artefacts and the innovative development of contemporary kogei, as well as the cultural context of the traditional tea ceremony and the related art of ikebana flower arrangement.