Pages

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Marathon Art Sale Raises Record $94.8 Million, Triple Estimate - Businessweek

Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) -- A marathon of competitive bidding by collectors of Chinese artworks pushed a Hong Kong auction to more than three times its estimate.By Frederik Balfour

Sotheby’s biggest Chinese fine-painting sale ended last night after almost 12 hours and 364 lots. Its total of HK$738.3 million ($94.8 million) including fees was the highest for the New York-based auction house in that art category. The presale estimate was HK$200 million at hammer prices.

Wealthy Chinese are keen to buy works by the nation’s top artists. Bidding was brisk for 36 pieces by 20th-century master Zhang Daqian. Other highly sought lots by Lin Fengmian and Qi Baishi sold at several times estimates. A second sale raised $HK2.1 million for the University of Oxford’s China Center.

“I said to them to raise money is great,” Kevin Ching, Sotheby’s Asia chief executive officer, commented on the Oxford sale in an interview. “You will need to do many more auctions.” More Chinese mainland parents are sending their children to England for education, he said.

Yesterday’s top-selling lot was Zhang’s 1961 color picture “Self Portrait in the Yellow Mountains.” The ink-and-water work fetched HK$46.6 million, nearly four times its high estimate of HK$12 million.

Enthusiastic bidding in the main saleroom -- where 16 lots sold for more than HK$10 million -- wasn’t repeated in the second salon for the charity event aiding the new HK$250 million center in Oxford, England. Just 15 lots sold of 37 offered, including porcelain, scrolls and embroidered robes.

Estimate Target

Excluding the Oxford sale, Sotheby’s has raised HK$1.6 billion in four days, including contemporary and 20th-century Asian art and wine. It is on its way to exceeding its HK$2.7 billion estimate for six days of sales.

The highlight of today’s auctions include rare Qing dynasty porcelains from the Meiyintang collection and a ring featuring a 9.27 carat pink diamond known as the Golconda Pink that carries a high estimate of $19 million. Watches and jewelry from the estate of Hong Kong singer and actress Anita Mui are also on sale today, with the final sale of watches tomorrow.

Buyer’s premium, the commission added to the hammer price of works sold, is 25 percent for the first HK$400,000, 20 percent for lots fetching as much as HK$8 million, and 12 percent above that. The wine premium is a flat 21 percent. Estimates reflect the hammer price, before premium.

Potential buyers who aren’t represented at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre sale can bid via Sotheby’s online bidding system.

--Editors: Mark Beech, Richard Vines.

To contact the reporter on this story: Frederik Balfour in Hong Kong at fbalfour@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net
Posted by at

Marathon Art Sale Raises Record $94.8 Million, Triple Estimate - Businessweek

Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) -- A marathon of competitive bidding by collectors of Chinese artworks pushed a Hong Kong auction to more than three times its estimate.By Frederik Balfour

Sotheby’s biggest Chinese fine-painting sale ended last night after almost 12 hours and 364 lots. Its total of HK$738.3 million ($94.8 million) including fees was the highest for the New York-based auction house in that art category. The presale estimate was HK$200 million at hammer prices.

Wealthy Chinese are keen to buy works by the nation’s top artists. Bidding was brisk for 36 pieces by 20th-century master Zhang Daqian. Other highly sought lots by Lin Fengmian and Qi Baishi sold at several times estimates. A second sale raised $HK2.1 million for the University of Oxford’s China Center.

“I said to them to raise money is great,” Kevin Ching, Sotheby’s Asia chief executive officer, commented on the Oxford sale in an interview. “You will need to do many more auctions.” More Chinese mainland parents are sending their children to England for education, he said.

Yesterday’s top-selling lot was Zhang’s 1961 color picture “Self Portrait in the Yellow Mountains.” The ink-and-water work fetched HK$46.6 million, nearly four times its high estimate of HK$12 million.

Enthusiastic bidding in the main saleroom -- where 16 lots sold for more than HK$10 million -- wasn’t repeated in the second salon for the charity event aiding the new HK$250 million center in Oxford, England. Just 15 lots sold of 37 offered, including porcelain, scrolls and embroidered robes.

Estimate Target

Excluding the Oxford sale, Sotheby’s has raised HK$1.6 billion in four days, including contemporary and 20th-century Asian art and wine. It is on its way to exceeding its HK$2.7 billion estimate for six days of sales.

The highlight of today’s auctions include rare Qing dynasty porcelains from the Meiyintang collection and a ring featuring a 9.27 carat pink diamond known as the Golconda Pink that carries a high estimate of $19 million. Watches and jewelry from the estate of Hong Kong singer and actress Anita Mui are also on sale today, with the final sale of watches tomorrow.

Buyer’s premium, the commission added to the hammer price of works sold, is 25 percent for the first HK$400,000, 20 percent for lots fetching as much as HK$8 million, and 12 percent above that. The wine premium is a flat 21 percent. Estimates reflect the hammer price, before premium.

Potential buyers who aren’t represented at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre sale can bid via Sotheby’s online bidding system.

--Editors: Mark Beech, Richard Vines.

To contact the reporter on this story: Frederik Balfour in Hong Kong at fbalfour@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net
Posted by at

China Rich Skip Lafite for First Time in 17 Sotheby's Sales

China Rich Skip Lafite for First Time in 17 Sotheby's Sales

Frederik Balfour, ©2011 Bloomberg News

PrintComments (0)Font | Size:
0

(Adds Zao Wou-ki record in 12th paragraph.)


Oct. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Sotheby's failed to sell all of the wine in a Hong Kong auction for the first time in 17 sales as China's wealthy collectors passed on oversized bottles of Chateau Lafite Rothschild yesterday in Hong Kong.

The weekend sales came after the Standard & Poor's 500 Index had its worst quarter since the end of 2008. Top lot in the two days of wine purchases, worth a total of HK$99.1 million ($12.7 million), was the sale of a 12-bottle case of 1988 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Burgundy for HK$907,500.

"There weren't so many buyers," said Liu Dan, a Beijing- based collector who picked up six cases of Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1996 vintage for ,400 each. "Prices were cheap."

Sotheby's raised HK$231.5 million during the first two days of its Hong Kong Autumn sales that included the wine and an evening offering of contemporary Chinese art. The auctions were part of six days of sales including 3,400 lots of porcelain, art and jewels that New York-based Sotheby's forecasts will raise more than HK$2.7 billion.

Sunday's sale suggests that the steady climb in first growth Bordeaux is finally leveling out. "Before prices were getting pretty insane," said Serena Sutcliff, head of International Wine for Sotheby's. "Today there was some good value."

Bidding for Chinese paintings remained robust as new buyers entered the market, said European collector Rainer Moegling.

"There are still so many people in China who are starting to see art as an alternative investment," said Shanghai-based Moegling, who bought three paintings at Sunday's evening sale. "Most things are selling and prices aren't going down."


Zeng's Art


On Sunday evening, the top lot of the contemporary Chinese art sale was a painting by Zeng Fanzhi, which sold for .3 million, compared with a high estimate of HK$20 million that doesn't include the buyer's premium.

The sale of 90 works amassed by Guy Ullens, founder of Beijing's largest private art museum, raised HK$132.4 million with 93 percent of the lots sold.

Sotheby's autumn sale series has 200 fewer lots than its April auction in the city, which took a record HK$3.49 billion, compared with an estimate of HK$2.7 billion, the auction house said. The star lot in the spring sale, an 18th-century Chinese vase worth more than $23 million, failed to find a buyer.

In today's auction, an oil by Zhang Xiaogang from his Bloodline series has a high estimate of $8.3 million, according to the catalog. At Sotheby's April sale in the city, Zhang's triptych "Forever Lasting Love" fetched HK$79 million with fees, more than double the HK$30 million top estimate.


Zao Abstract


In today's sale of 20th-century Chinese Art, an abstract landscape oil painted by Zao Wou-ki in 1968 sold for an artist record HK$68.98 million, compared with a high estimate of HK$35 million, Sotheby's said. Sotheby's is also offering 36 works by Zhang Daqian.

Buyer's premium, the commission added to the hammer price of works sold, is 25 percent for the first HK$400,000, 20 percent for lots fetching as much as HK$8 million, and 12 percent above that. The wine premium is a flat 21 percent. Estimates reflect the hammer price, before premium.

Potential buyers who aren't represented at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre sale can bid via Sotheby's online bidding system.




--Editors: Adam Majendie, Teo Chian Wei



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/10/03/bloomberg_articlesLSHHCX0UQVI9.DTL#ixzz1a1JN2YZm
Posted by at

Princeton exhibit focuses on group art-making in 18th-century Japan

The "Multiple Hands" exhibit at the Princeton Art Museum explores collective art-making from centuries ago.
The "Multiple Hands" exhibit at the Princeton Art Museum explores collective art-making from centuries ago.
Written by
Ralph J. Bellantoni | For NJ Press Media

  • FILED UNDER
The "Multiple Hands" exhibit at the Princeton Art Museum explores collective art-making from centuries ago.
ZOOM
The "Multiple Hands" exhibit at the Princeton Art Museum explores collective art-making from centuries ago.

Multiple Hands: Collective Creativity in Eighteenth-Century Japanese Painting

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursdays;
1 to 5 p.m. Sundays, Oct. 8-Jan. 22
WHERE: The Princeton University Art Museum, on the University campus near Nassau Street in Princeton
ADMISSION: Free
INFORMATION: 609-258-3788;http://artmuseum.princeton.edu

More

Related Links
ADS BY PULSE 360
AdChoices
New York:Mom Makes Botox Doctors Furious
Mom Reveals Clever $4 Wrinkle Therapy That Makes BOTOX Doctors Furious
TheHigherLifestyle.com
ONYX - Today's Hot Stock to Buy
Breaking News: ONYX wins Approval for $84 Million Solar Project. Get Investment Information Today!
www.OnyxSolarEnergy.com
Mortgage Rates Hit 2.75% (3.1% APR)
If you owe under $729k you probably qualify for the Govt Refi Program.
www.MortgageRatesExperts.com

The Princeton Art Museum opens a show Saturday (Oct. 8) that explores Japanese collective art-making in the 1700s. “Multiple Hands: Collective Creativity in Eighteenth-Century Japanese Painting” focuses on two types of cooperative composition – collaborative and workshop.

The workshop system revolves around a master artist who composes a work, then delegates assistants who execute details and apply colors. Only the master signs the work, and the imprint of multiple hands often goes unrecognized. The exhibit illustrates how workshop painting production was widely practiced in early modern Japan.

Xiaojin Wu, the museum’s associate curator of Asian art, arranged the display. The show includes a large pair of hanging scrolls titled “Four Accomplishments,” representative of the prodigious and influential Kano school workshop, run by generations of the Kano clan from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Only master Kano Tsunenobu (1636-1713) signed the work, but varied brushwork styles can be discovered in different sections of the silk paintings.

“The various painting styles,” said Wu, “indicate the involvement of multiple workshop members in producing ‘Four Accomplishments’ – two scrolls that present the four accomplishments of man: chess, music, reading and painting.”

Collaborative paintings, on the other hand, explicitly acknowledge the touch of all artists involved through their individual seals or signatures. Eighteenth-century Japanese artists often worked together on compositions.

Leading painters Maruyama Okyo (1733-1795) and Tani Buncho (1763-1841) participated in gatherings where they and their friends engaged in spontaneous creative enterprises. The large scroll, “Miscellaneous Paintings and Calligraphy for the Third Year of the Bunsei Era,” from 1820, exemplifies the mass collaborative approach.

“This work is signed by three major painters – Tani Buncho, Watanabe Kazan and Sakai Hoitsu – and the signatures of 66 additional artists are also recorded on the painting,” said Wu. “This open acknowledgment of the participation of many artists in creating these paintings invites viewers to search for and compare numerous individual styles within a single work of art.”

In conjunction with the exhibit, the museum will host “An Evening of Japanese Art and Culture” from 6:30-9 p.m. Nov. 3. The free event includes Japanese food, art and entertainment.
Posted by at

Asia Sentinel - Pakistan's Stolen Cultural Heritage

Pakistan's Stolen Cultural HeritagePDFPrintE-mail
Written by Syed Mohammad Ali
WEDNESDAY, 05 OCTOBER 2011

Image
Pakistani fasting Buddha (photo credit: Christie's)

Christie’s halts a planned auction of a rare Pakistani artifact

At the behest of UNESCO, the fine arts auction house Christie’s has halted a planned auction this month of a fasting Buddha, a nearly 2,000-year-old statue from the Gandhara civilisation, which was believed to have been stolen from Pakistan and sold to a private collector in Germany in the 1980s.

The grey schist figure of the emaciated Siddhartha, or ‘Fasting Buddha’, was called the most fascinating 3rd or 4th century Gandhara piece in Christie’s entire collection. Islamabad’s Department of Archaeology and Museums was spurred to look deeper for Pakistan-origin artifacts that might have reached the auctioneer surreptitiously for sale. The search revealed that Christie’s was in possession of 60 more Gandhara-period relics with price tags ranging from $2,000 to $200,000.

Pakistani authorities must prove their claim that the sale was illegal if they are to recover the Buddha. What will become of it remains to be seen, yet this news evokes realization of the country’s cultural heritage despite its increasingly tarnished image as a hub of myopia and intolerance.

Located at the crossroads of South Asia, Central Asia, Western Asia and the Arab Gulf region, Pakistan’s heritage is in fact both diverse and unique. Its historical sites range from the ancient urban settlements of Mohenjo-daro from the Indus Valley civilization of Sindh and the rich Buddhist Ghandara civilization, to Mughal monuments, shrines of Muslim mystics, Sikh and Hindu temples and colonial period architecture, as well as numerous natural wonders.

However, at present the cultural diversity of Pakistan and its invaluable natural landscapes receive little attention in comparison to the gigantic political, social and economic problems confronting the country. It is also unfortunate that the present international image of Pakistan obscures the cultural heritage of the country, leading to its increased international isolation. In order to reverse such disturbing trends, it is vital to draw attention to its unique cultural heritage and harnesses its potential to promote a more balanced picture of the country.

In order to do so, it is necessary for relevant government institutions to make greater efforts to protect and promote the aspirations of the diverse range of ethnic and linguistic groups which reside in Pakistan. Instead of devising top-down bureaucratic interventions, efforts must be made to encourage increased participation of marginalized local communities, including women, in conservation and management of varied national cultural assets, including historical buildings, local literature, folklore and even music. After all, this heritage is a testament to the rich diversity of cultures and religions in this land for centuries.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Culture acknowledges the need to recognize and promote its cultural diversity, including appreciation and respect for the multitude of cultures that have been a part of Pakistan’s history.

However, its low priority and the lack of sufficient resource allocation to realize this goal has resulted in rather ad hoc attempts to promote cultural heritage, mostly in the form of renovation or preservation of a very limited number of historical sites, such as the 17th century Shalimar Gardens built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan or the 16th century Lahore Fort built by the Mughal emperor Akbar. There is an absence of practical measures for protection, conservation and maintenance of numerous other heritage sites strewn across Pakistan.

Last year, a Quaid-i-Azam University survey documented 450 heritage sites in Islamabad and Rawalpindi alone which are in desperate need of protection and preservation. These sites included Buddhist settlements, ancient caves, rock shelters and temples. Preservation and promotion of traditional skills and crafts, music and literature is under similar threat due to lack of suitable conservation policies and financial support.

Pakistan’s natural heritage is similarly being subjected to the onslaught of population pressures and commercial exploitation. While the government has taken some steps to protect the environment by creating Environmental Protection Agencies at the federal and provincial levels, these entities continue to struggle with a host of resource and capacity deficiencies due to which they remain ineffective in halting the threat of encroachment, deforestation and pollution of Pakistan’s irreplaceable natural heritage.

Cultural tourism perhaps offers the best means to promote cultural assets, while at the same time deriving economic benefits out of them. There are ample international examples from Southeast Asia, and parts of Africa and South America indicating how cultural and ecological sites can be preserved through adoption of sustainable tourism plans. Although there is huge dormant potential for tourism in Pakistan, growing insecurity in the country must be tackled first.

(Syed Mohammad Ali is a freelance columnist and consultant. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service.)
Posted by at

The Hindu : Arts / History & Culture : Relics of the Lost City

“I want the rose-red city of Petra,” replied Cleopatra when Caesar asked the Egyptian Pharaoh what she wanted as her birthday gift.

Though the Roman Emperor never baulked at the idea, Petra's fame as the earth's most pompous and wealthy city of the time, continued to soar and over time earned it a place into the realms of the wonders, alongside Taj Mahal in India and the Great Wall in China. Presently located in southern Jordan, 220 km out of capital Amman, Petra was built in the 3rd century BC by the Nabataean Kings, who originally came from old Arabia and established a settlement in a deep valley between the harsh mountains, in the middle of the exotic trade route between the Persian Gulf and Damascus. They became immensely prosperous by trading frankincense and myrrh and by imposing tax from foreign merchants, wanting a safe passage through the terrain. The wealth generated was not wasted, but utilised to carve out of the soft sandstone mountain rocks, a plethora of mausoleums, temples and monasteries. The opulence of the stunning architecture dazzled human imagination and made contemporary cities like Alexandria and Rome envious.

However around 8th century AD, the site — just as Machu Pichu and Angkor Wat — was mysteriously abandoned and remained shielded from the outside world, until 1812, when Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt stumbled on it and unveiled to the world, the relics of the lost empire.

A world wonder

This incredible site, particularly after being voted in 2007 as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is swarmed everyday with visitors like me, who believe no matter how much you have read or seen images before, nothing beats the first hand experience. The thrill begins the moment you enter the valley through one of Petra's most awe inspiring natural feature, a km-long deep canyon, called the Siq, which was formed by the tectonic forces splitting the mountain.

You can get horses or horse driven carts to cover the distance, but I walk with my guide Akram through the narrow and winding stone-pathway, to make it truly walking in the footsteps of history; the sensuous colouring of the sandstone and extraordinary artwork on the edging walls coming as a bonus. When wondering where this gorge will end, a narrow bend appears and then unexpectedly a highly ornamental edifice, whose rose red colour is shimmering in bright daylight, becomes visible through a slim split in the gorge. The dramatic visual assault hypnotizes me for a while; later Akram confirms it as a usual reaction of first-time visitors.

Regaining senses, I step out with gusto into the open air and stand rapt in front of Petra's signature monument, the Treasury, which was built by the Nabataeans, a century before Christ, to impress every visitor who stepped into their land. Surely the appealing effect still remains undiminished. Two millennia of heat and dust, wind and rain have blemished some grandeur off the structure, but oddly enough the monument's fresh appearance surprises me, the same way, it startled 19{+t}{+h} century poet Dean John William Burgon who aptly characterised the ruins as the “rose-red city half as old as time”.

Like most structures in Petra, the 40m high and 30m wide Treasury building is not a freestanding edifice, but a classical façade, chiseled out of the sides of sheer sandstone cliffs. It derives its name from a popular belief that a Nabatean King hid all his treasures in the massive urn of the façade, far from the reach of humans. So for many years the locals spent countless hours firing ammunition at it, hoping jewels will shower from there; instead they received chunks of stones.

Petra is far more than a rock carving or two — it is an entire ghost town of many acres. A sandy pathway from the plaza in front of the Treasury, called Outer Siq leads on to the main colonnaded street of the ruined city that still boasts of several imposing Royal tombs, some as high as 50m, an ancient Roman style theatre that was meticulously cut into a hillside, magnificent temples, a mountain top monastery which can be only reached by a hour's strenuous climb, storage rooms and myriad stone cut constructions whose unknown purpose adds to the mystery that has always shrouded the capital of the Nabateans. Not finding any signs of domestic dwelling I interestingly learn from Akram that people then used to live in tents. “The structures discovered so far, mostly represent tombs and religious sites, so in one sense what you are exploring today is nothing but a decorative graveyard, like the Pyramids of Egypt,” he quotes.

Glowing colours

I clamber up to a raised plateau from where the vista of the surrounding landscape below appears breathtaking. The glowing colours of the different fascias, described by most as “rose red”, though novelist Agatha Christie saw it “blood red” and few even compared it with the colours of raw beef, pink salmon, ham or chocolates, are a feast for the eyes. This kaleidoscope of colours, which changes as the sun moves from east to west, is a fascinating feature of Petra, which scores more than the actual architectural marvels. As the sun dips behind the mountains, I enter the Siq once again, sadly leaving behind the lost city to snooze alone in silent darkness, until awakened by the light of newly risen sun.
Posted by at

Japanese Traditions of Flower Symbolism and Arrangement Topic of U.Va. Art Museum's Weedon Asian Arts Lecture Oct. 6

Japanese Traditions of Flower Symbolism and Arrangement Topic of U.Va. Art Museum's Weedon Asian Arts Lecture Oct. 6

September 22, 2011 — The University of Virginia Art Museum will host Robert Mintz for an Ellen Bayard Weedon Lecture in the Arts of Asia on Oct. 6. His lecture, "KadÅ�: Japan's Way with Flowers," will be held at 5:30 p.m. in Campbell Hall, room 153.

Mintz's talk will examine Japanese traditions of flower symbolism and flower arrangement by sketching a developmental historical framework to support the rich tapestry of Japanese flower imagery encountered today. The earliest Japanese references to flowers and to their arrangement as a cultural practice date back to the 7th century. Originally compiled for presentation on Buddhist altars, flowers and the symbolic potential of their arrangement grew over many centuries to become one of Japan's most recognizable cultural practices. Emerging from the practice of offering flowers in the context of religious ritual, paintings and literature for secular audiences transformed flowers into potent, culturally symbolic forms. These cultural symbols live on today in the diverse practices of "ikebana" studied and taught throughout Japan and across the globe.

Mintz is the Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Quincy Scott Curator of Asian Art at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Md. He has been a visiting professor of art history at Central Washington University, adjunct professor of Asian art history at Seattle University and visiting professor of Japanese art history at the University of Washington. He currently teaches courses in the history of Chinese and Japanese art on an adjunct basis for Towson University. Currently his research focuses on issues arising from the interrelationship of Chinese and Japanese works of art with an emphasis on products of the 18th and 19th centuries.The Weedon Lectures are made possible by support from the Ellen Bayard Weedon Foundation.

The lecture is free and open to the public. For information, call 434-243-2050 or emailmuseumoutreach@virginia.edu.
Posted by at

Asia Dominates New Season of Art Shows - NYTimes.com

Mosaics of the East From the Met to San Francisco

By
Published: September 15, 2011

THE big institutional news in New York City this fall is the reopening, after eight years of renovation and rethinking, of the Metropolitan Museum’s Islamic collection, in what are now being called the Galleries for the Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia and Later South Asia. The wrap-around suite of 15 spaces, which opens on Nov. 1, will hold some 1,200 works (out of a collection of 12,000) from dozens of cultures that have, during 13 centuries, shared Islam as a religious faith.

Enlarge This Image
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

A room from a private home in Damascus, 18th century.

Blog

ArtsBeat

The latest on the arts, coverage of live events, critical reviews, multimedia extravaganzas and much more.Join the discussion.

Enlarge This Image
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

An enameled bottle, from late-13th-century Egypt.

Wondrous things will be back on view, from chastely ornamented Koran leafs handwritten in 9th century Egypt and Iraq to a grand, intact, wood-paneled and marble-floored room from a private home in 18th-century Damascus. Along with ivory carvings, painted manuscripts and glass mosque lamps of unspeakable beauty we can also hope to see some of the museum’s magnificent carpets displayed to full, expansive advantage.

Most important, the new galleries will restore to prime visibility the art of age-old cultures whose histories have become since these galleries closed, ever more intimately entwined with our own, and about which we have everything to learn.

By way of quiet innovation the galleries will include a substantial helping of imperial Mughal art from India. Under territorial imperatives long operative at the Met, Mughal material falls within the purview of the Asian — as opposed to Islamic — department. But in these globalist days there’s a whole lot of sharing going on, which is why you’ll find Indian art in the Islamic wing, and Islamic art, and quite a lot of it, in a special exhibition called “ ‘Wonder of the Age’: Master Painters of India, 1100-1900,” which arrives at the Met from the Rietberg Museum in Zurich on Sept. 28.

With loans from the National Museum of India in New Delhi, the Udaipur City Palace Museum in Rajasthan and the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, there should be some sights glorious to behold. But the show is also shaped by scholarly purpose. In an effort to dispel the out-of-date idea that anonymity of authorship is an invariable characteristic of Indian art, the curators have identified by name all of the 40 painters whose work is gathered here.

Coincidentally a related concern underlies a third Met highlight, “Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures,” on view as of Sept. 21. In this case the figures acknowledged, however tentatively, by name are the subjects depicted in nearly a hundred Central and West African sculptures, among them a group of Hemba figures from Congo, each a portrait of a specific elder in an ancestral lineage. Hemba work was virtually unknown in the West until the 1960s and is still little studied. But it’s time has come: this is fabulous stuff.

Elsewhere, in shows of modern and contemporary art, names are right out front. Asia Society Museum has paintings and drawings by the famed Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore through Dec. 31. Several young Indian artists will be appearing in a California show called “The Matter Within: New Contemporary Art of India,” opening Oct. 15 at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.

From the sound of it the show should give a fair sense of what’s cooking in the extremely lively and diffuse South Asian and South-Asian-abroad scene. Although several established artists are included, others — Nikhil Chopra, Siddhartha Kararwal, Dhruv Malhotra, Sreshta Rit Premnath, Tejal Shah, the duo Jiten Thukral and Sumir Tagra, and the Otolith Group — are on their way to being international names.

Relatively few new artists from China have been singled out for solo attention by museums this fall, though a few old ones have. In “Chinese Art in an Age of Revolution: Fu Baoshi (1904-1965)” at the Cleveland Museum of Art beginning Oct. 16, one of that country’s pioneer modernists takes a turn in the spotlight, followed by another, Xu Beihong (1895-1953), at the Denver Art Museum starting Oct. 15. Both artists lived and worked through daunting political times, as did those, two centuries earlier, in “The Art of Dissent in 17th-Century China: Masterpieces of Ming Loyalist Art from the Chih Lo Lou Collection,” at the Met through Jan. 2.
Posted by at
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)