This is your biweekly members-only newsletter providing mission-critical analysis, insights, and exclusive intelligence on developments in Asia's art markets, with a focus on business opportunities and challenges. (If you were forwarded this email, you can subscribe here.) |
This is your biweekly members-only newsletter providing mission-critical analysis, insights, and exclusive intelligence on developments in Asia's art markets, with a focus on business opportunities and challenges. (If you were forwarded this email, you can subscribe here.) |
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Cathy Fan Editor-in-Chief for Artnet News China |
| Vivienne Chow London Correspondent |
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This week in The Asia Pivot: A preview of this year’s treasure-filled Asia Week New York, Tokyo dealer Jeffrey Rosen on alternative models, Mark Yang’s irresistibly mysterious paintings, and more—all in a 10-minute read (2,829 words). |
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Cathy Fan
Editor-in-Chief for Artnet News China |
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Vivienne Chow London Correspondent |
| This week in The Asia Pivot: A preview of this year’s treasure-filled Asia Week New York, Tokyo dealer Jeffrey Rosen on alternative models, Mark Yang’s irresistibly mysterious paintings, and more—all in a 10-minute read (2,829 words).
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The Big Picture
An Asian New Wave in New York |
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The Big Picture An Asian New Wave in New York |
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Before Hong Kong’s “March Madness” kicks in, there is Asia Week New York, the first major Asian-art event of the lunar year. Founded in 2009, it is set to run this year from March 14 through 22, with 26 international galleries, six auction houses (who spearheaded the creation of the event), and 16 museums and cultural institutions presenting (and selling) exceptional examples of Asian art. The material ranges from porcelain and textiles to bronzes and prints that date from the second millennium BCE to today.
For collectors, especially those who lust after antiquities, Asia Week New York offers the chance to acquire trophies. This time, Sotheby’s is showcasing two early Ming Imperial bronze masterpieces from the Bodhimanda Foundation, estimated at over $7 million, while Christie’s highlights include Katsushika Hokusai’s 1830–33 Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, estimated between $3 million and $5 million. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, meanwhile, has entrusted Bonhams with 174 lots deaccessioned from its collection, including a significant Qianlong/Jiaqing period vase, estimated at $80,000–$120,000.
During its 15 years in existence, Asia Week has seen shifts in its gallery lineup, with contemporary art entering the fold. Ink art, embodying traditional Chinese literati essence, is also notably gaining momentum in New York. This year, a newcomer, Alisan Fine Arts, is introducing a leading figure in that area, Lui Shou-Kwan, with his signature Zen painting series. Galleries including Fu Qiumeng Fine Art and Ink Studio are also showcasing the millennial generation’s reinterpretation and innovation of this classic form.
Beyond Asia Week, a notable shift has been taking place in New York’s art scene in recent years: an increasing number of galleries operated by Asians, especially Chinese, are gaining attention on the Lower East Side and in Brooklyn.
ATM Gallery’s co-founder, Will Leung, has opened his own gallery, Long Story Short, in Manhattan’s Two Bridges neighborhood and also has outposts in L.A. and Paris. Temple Gallery, founded in 2023 by Jianrui Li, is also located in the Two Bridges area. Nearby, in the bustling heart of Chinatown, Latitude, which is run by Shihui Zhou, has persevered through the pandemic, continuing its mission of showcasing cutting-edge works by emerging Asian-diaspora artists.
Then there’s Rain Lu’s newly opened Rainrain Gallery on Lafayette Street, as well as Taipei’s Nunu Fine Art, which inaugurated a 3,000-square-foot space at 381 Broome Street last year, becoming the first Taiwanese gallery to expand its program to New York. YveYang Gallery, which is from Boston, now occupies an enviously spacious street-level space in a historic sewing machine factory in SoHo. What’s driving this recent surge?
For one thing, a wave of immigration has introduced a young, affluent demographic from China and beyond to the U.S. The country’s well-established system of tax breaks for donations has encouraged some of these immigrants to collect art, and art-related activities have become a vehicle for them to assimilate into the local culture. The pandemic, despite its challenges, has also catalyzed change, leaving a lasting impact on New York’s art market. Social movements, including BLM and campaigns against anti-Asian hate, have encouraged the Asian community to carve out its own spaces, rather than wait to be given opportunities.
There also has been a general rise in the number of Asian students enrolling in BFA and MFA programs in the U.S., as well as art management programs, in recent decades. This aligns with the growth of China’s art market and the burgeoning influence of South Korea’s creative industries since the beginning of the 2010s. (The School of Visual Arts exemplifies this, with the enrollment of Chinese students doubling each year from 2010 to 2019.) Despite a pandemic-induced decline, the 2010s yielded a new generation of graduates ready to make their mark on the gallery scene.
This trend isn’t just in New York. It’s occurring on the West Coast, in London, and in Paris, too. It’s an ongoing shift, and one that The Asia Pivot will be following closely. Stay tuned. —Cathy Fan |
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Before Hong Kong’s “March Madness” kicks in, there is Asia Week New York, the first major Asian-art event of the lunar year. Founded in 2009, it is set to run this year from March 14 through 22, with 26 international galleries, six auction houses (who spearheaded the creation of the event), and 16 museums and cultural institutions presenting (and selling) exceptional examples of Asian art. The material ranges from porcelain and textiles to bronzes and prints that date from the second millennium BCE to today.
For collectors, especially those who lust after antiquities, Asia Week New York offers the chance to acquire trophies. This time, Sotheby’s is showcasing two early Ming Imperial bronze masterpieces from the Bodhimanda Foundation, estimated at over $7 million, while Christie’s highlights include Katsushika Hokusai’s 1830–33 Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, estimated between $3 million and $5 million. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, meanwhile, has entrusted Bonhams with 174 lots deaccessioned from its collection, including a significant Qianlong/Jiaqing period vase, estimated at $80,000–$120,000.
During its 15 years in existence, Asia Week has seen shifts in its gallery lineup, with contemporary art entering the fold. Ink art, embodying traditional Chinese literati essence, is also notably gaining momentum in New York. This year, a newcomer, Alisan Fine Arts, is introducing a leading figure in that area, Lui Shou-Kwan, with his signature Zen painting series. Galleries including Fu Qiumeng Fine Art and Ink Studio are also showcasing the millennial generation’s reinterpretation and innovation of this classic form.
Beyond Asia Week, a notable shift has been taking place in New York’s art scene in recent years: an increasing number of galleries operated by Asians, especially Chinese, are gaining attention on the Lower East Side and in Brooklyn.
ATM Gallery’s co-founder, Will Leung, has opened his own gallery, Long Story Short, in Manhattan’s Two Bridges neighborhood and also has outposts in L.A. and Paris. Temple Gallery, founded in 2023 by Jianrui Li, is also located in the Two Bridges area. Nearby, in the bustling heart of Chinatown, Latitude, which is run by Shihui Zhou, has persevered through the pandemic, continuing its mission of showcasing cutting-edge works by emerging Asian-diaspora artists.
Then there’s Rain Lu’s newly opened Rainrain Gallery on Lafayette Street, as well as Taipei’s Nunu Fine Art, which inaugurated a 3,000-square-foot space at 381 Broome Street last year, becoming the first Taiwanese gallery to expand its program to New York. YveYang Gallery, which is from Boston, now occupies an enviously spacious street-level space in a historic sewing machine factory in SoHo. What’s driving this recent surge?
For one thing, a wave of immigration has introduced a young, affluent demographic from China and beyond to the U.S. The country’s well-established system of tax breaks for donations has encouraged some of these immigrants to collect art, and art-related activities have become a vehicle for them to assimilate into the local culture. The pandemic, despite its challenges, has also catalyzed change, leaving a lasting impact on New York’s art market. Social movements, including BLM and campaigns against anti-Asian hate, have encouraged the Asian community to carve out its own spaces, rather than wait to be given opportunities.
There also has been a general rise in the number of Asian students enrolling in BFA and MFA programs in the U.S., as well as art management programs, in recent decades. This aligns with the growth of China’s art market and the burgeoning influence of South Korea’s creative industries since the beginning of the 2010s. (The School of Visual Arts exemplifies this, with the enrollment of Chinese students doubling each year from 2010 to 2019.) Despite a pandemic-induced decline, the 2010s yielded a new generation of graduates ready to make their mark on the gallery scene.
This trend isn’t just in New York. It’s occurring on the West Coast, in London, and in Paris, too. It’s an ongoing shift, and one that The Asia Pivot will be following closely. Stay tuned. —Cathy Fan |
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The View From... Jeffrey Rosen |
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After 17 years in business, Tokyo dealer Jeffrey Rosen says that he feels “a small spark” in Japan’s slow-burn art market. And while the art industry may be known for cutthroat competition, he argues that, for mid-tier galleries to thrive, cooperation is key.
It is, indeed, true that April’s Onsen Confidential, which I co-organize, is going to be its second and final run. We are very happy with this edition of our gallery swap and hot-spring retreat initiative, particularly the fact that it includes galleries from different parts of Asia. Our gallery is 17 years old, and this is what we’ve been waiting for: a generation of galleries with whom we are comfortable, both in terms of business practice and aesthetics.
There are basically two ways you can run a gallery. One is rooted in empathy and mutual support, and the other is a version of business which is self-serving, profit-driven. Only a few people are talented at running a business the latter way. The rest of us would do better to work together, simply because there’s absolutely no way for so-called mid-tier galleries to survive the commercial art world that we are a part of right now.
A strong-enough cooperative art world can serve as a counterbalance to a profit-driven gallery system, which is comprised of, like, four galleries. This cooperative art world should also include an artist-run gallery system, where artists know how things work in the commercial art world, running side-by-side with the mid-tier galleries. Collaborative initiatives such as Condo and Friend of a Friend were born out of this necessity to work together. This is why we are supportive of this type of initiative.
In the case of Onsen Confidential, one of our goals is to introduce colleagues from other parts of the world to each other, and to engage them with what’s happening internationally, especially galleries that are based in places that are not in the so-called center, such as Kim? Contemporary Art Centre in Riga, Latvia or the Green Gallery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We bring all these people to one place in Tokyo, which has a very curious audience. Our colleagues in Tokyo are very enthusiastic about this, too, especially when we are doing this on our home turf. The comfortable environment makes it easier to interact with people.
We are seeing a small spark in Japan’s art market. It’s not that there’s never been a moment when it seemed like we might have a burgeoning market in Tokyo over the past 22 years I’ve been living here. There has been a shadow market, or a strong market that has developed outside the confines of the mainstream contemporary art world. But this time, there are some clear signs. It’s small and relatively nascent. It could be because of the market of street culture–related art, or it could be a consequence of the partially speculative, partially real market traction happening within Asia. Covid caused collectors in Japan we don’t necessarily see, or who wouldn’t be our clients, to buy locally, to be inward-looking, as a result of not being able to travel. They did not lose their appetite during that time.
But when you see foreign galleries opening branches in Tokyo, that suggests that there may be enough collectors from Japan buying from galleries from abroad that it makes sense for them to have an outpost here. There are also more Japanese collectors buying at art fairs. More galleries internationally have also started working with Japanese artists, a pool of talent that’s largely untapped.
We have seen more market initiatives these past three years, in addition to the existing fairs such as this week’s Art Fair Tokyo and local auctions. While Art Collaboration Kyoto and Art Week Tokyo explore alternative models that better meet the needs of the current state of Japan’s art market, are we ready for a standard art fair, like Tokyo Gendai, which debuted last year? Is this going to be a mutually beneficial situation where the presence of something helps to grow what’s necessary for it to survive? It’s a chicken-and-egg situation.
—as told to Vivienne Chow.
Jeffrey Rosen is the co-director of the Tokyo gallery Misako & Rosen and a co-organizer of the gallery share and hot-spring retreat Onsen Confidential, with his wife and business partner, Misako, and the artist Cobra, who runs the space XYZ Collective in the Japanese capital. Rosen is also the co-president of the New Art Dealers Alliance and sits on the board of Contemporary Art Library. |
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The View From... Jeffrey Rosen |
After 17 years in business, Tokyo dealer Jeffrey Rosen says that he feels “a small spark” in Japan’s slow-burn art market. And while the art industry may be known for cutthroat competition, he argues that, for mid-tier galleries to thrive, cooperation is key. |
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It is, indeed, true that April’s Onsen Confidential, which I co-organize, is going to be its second and final run. We are very happy with this edition of our gallery swap and hot-spring retreat initiative, particularly the fact that it includes galleries from different parts of Asia. Our gallery is 17 years old, and this is what we’ve been waiting for: a generation of galleries with whom we are comfortable, both in terms of business practice and aesthetics.
There are basically two ways you can run a gallery. One is rooted in empathy and mutual support, and the other is a version of business which is self-serving, profit-driven. Only a few people are talented at running a business the latter way. The rest of us would do better to work together, simply because there’s absolutely no way for so-called mid-tier galleries to survive the commercial art world that we are a part of right now.
A strong-enough cooperative art world can serve as a counterbalance to a profit-driven gallery system, which is comprised of, like, four galleries. This cooperative art world should also include an artist-run gallery system, where artists know how things work in the commercial art world, running side-by-side with the mid-tier galleries. Collaborative initiatives such as Condo and Friend of a Friend were born out of this necessity to work together. This is why we are supportive of this type of initiative.
In the case of Onsen Confidential, one of our goals is to introduce colleagues from other parts of the world to each other, and to engage them with what’s happening internationally, especially galleries that are based in places that are not in the so-called center, such as Kim? Contemporary Art Centre in Riga, Latvia or the Green Gallery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We bring all these people to one place in Tokyo, which has a very curious audience. Our colleagues in Tokyo are very enthusiastic about this, too, especially when we are doing this on our home turf. The comfortable environment makes it easier to interact with people.
We are seeing a small spark in Japan’s art market. It’s not that there’s never been a moment when it seemed like we might have a burgeoning market in Tokyo over the past 22 years I’ve been living here. There has been a shadow market, or a strong market that has developed outside the confines of the mainstream contemporary art world. But this time, there are some clear signs. It’s small and relatively nascent. It could be because of the market of street culture–related art, or it could be a consequence of the partially speculative, partially real market traction happening within Asia. Covid caused collectors in Japan we don’t necessarily see, or who wouldn’t be our clients, to buy locally, to be inward-looking, as a result of not being able to travel. They did not lose their appetite during that time.
But when you see foreign galleries opening branches in Tokyo, that suggests that there may be enough collectors from Japan buying from galleries from abroad that it makes sense for them to have an outpost here. There are also more Japanese collectors buying at art fairs. More galleries internationally have also started working with Japanese artists, a pool of talent that’s largely untapped.
We have seen more market initiatives these past three years, in addition to the existing fairs such as this week’s Art Fair Tokyo and local auctions. While Art Collaboration Kyoto and Art Week Tokyo explore alternative models that better meet the needs of the current state of Japan’s art market, are we ready for a standard art fair, like Tokyo Gendai, which debuted last year? Is this going to be a mutually beneficial situation where the presence of something helps to grow what’s necessary for it to survive? It’s a chicken-and-egg situation.
—as told to Vivienne Chow.
Jeffrey Rosen is the co-director of the Tokyo gallery Misako & Rosen and a co-organizer of the gallery share and hot-spring retreat Onsen Confidential, with his wife and business partner, Misako, and the artist Cobra, who runs the space XYZ Collective in the Japanese capital. Rosen is also the co-president of the New Art Dealers Alliance and sits on the board of Contemporary Art Library. |
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State of Play
The gateway to the pulse of the Asian market |
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Art Fairs
– Hong Kong’s Art Central fair unveiled details of its public programs, which are being curated by Enoch Cheng. Highlights include a sculptural installation by Hong Kong artist Ho Sin Tung and a five-day durational performance by Japanese artist Norico Sunayama. The fair will return to Central Harbourfront from March 27 to 31, with the first day set as the VIP preview. This year’s fair has backing from the Hong Kong government’s Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund. (Press release)
– Artists and dealers from Asia and its diaspora were in the spotlight at Frieze Los Angeles, which closed this past weekend. While Asian Americans have a longtime presence on the West Coast of the U.S., they have historically been underrepresented in the region’s art market. (New York Times, The Back Room)
Galleries
– Hong Kong will welcome a new contemporary art gallery, Podium, on March 23, coinciding with Hong Kong Arts Month. Founded by Charlotte Lin and Cusson Cheng, Podium aims to be a dynamic platform for underrepresented emerging and mid-career artists. The 2,500 square-foot gallery space is in the E Tat Factory Building in the rapidly developing Wong Chuk Hang neighborhood. (Press release)
– Esther Schipper announced its representation of South Korean artist Hyunsun Jeon, whose visual language draws on a distinctly Korean palette of colors and textures. Born in Incheon, in 1989, Jeon is based in Seoul and holds a BFA and an MFA from the city’s Ewha Womans University. (Press release)
– Leng Lin, Pace’s partner and vice president in Hong Kong, is leaving the mega gallery after 16 years to focus on his personal endeavors and the operation of Beijing Commune, the gallery he founded in 2004. Youngjoo Lee, the gallery’s vice president in Seoul, will temporarily oversee the gallery’s operations in Hong Kong and Beijing in addition to Seoul. Sylvie Tiao, the gallery’s vice president in Hong Kong, will manage the team on the ground during this transitional period. (Artnet News)
Exhibitions
– König Seoul is presenting “Melting,” a new solo exhibition by Beijing-based artist Zhang Yingnan. The show—his second in South Korea, and his first there in a decade—features 11 paintings created within the last year that involve his trademark photorealistic explorations of interior architecture, which are notably absent of human figures. (Artnet News)
– The high-power advisory Art Intelligence Global will showcase a dozen works from Jeff Koons’s early series, including the “Inflatables,” “Equilibrium,” and “Made in Heaven,” at its Hong Kong gallery space. Opening on March 23, during the week of Art Basel Hong Kong, it will mostly feature works that have not been shown before in Asia. (Artnet News)
– London’s Sadie Coles HQ will present a solo show of work by the late Hong Kong artist Luis Chan (1905–95). Titled “Fantasy Landscape,” it will open at its Bury Street Space on March 19. (Press release) – Zhang Enli's latest exhibition at Xavier Hufkens's St-Georges space, “A Traveller,” introduces a fresh series of gestural abstract portraits, showcasing the development of his work since 2019. (Press release)
Market
– China’s art market and contemporary art scene saw an extraordinary boom in the 2000s, but history is not likely to repeat itself, as the economic and cultural situation in China is no longer so straightforward. We explored this dynamic in-depth in our recent Y2K series. (Artnet News)
– The West’s demand for Chinese art, from antiquities to contemporary art, has dwindled amid the worsening political and ideological tensions between China and the West, according to industry insiders. (South China Morning Post) Institutions and Biennials
– The West Kowloon Cultural District, which operates M+ and the Hong Kong Palace Museum, is in deep financial trouble, with its cash reserve expected to run out in mid-2025, according to Henry Tang, the chairman of the district’s authority. Tang said the district has advised the Hong Kong government of the situation but has yet to hear back. (Sing Tao Daily News)
– A new building for the Korean Cultural Center New York will be inaugurated this week, with the opening of a retrospective of the artist John Pai in its gallery space. Titled “Eternal Moment,” the show runs through April 18 and will highlight the artist’s oeuvre, which spans over six decades. (Press release)
– Celebrated Taiwanese American artist Lee Mingwei is getting his first major U.S. survey exhibition at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. This exhibition, which runs through July 7, 2024, showcases seven interactive projects, and invites visitors to engage in acts of generosity and care, reflecting on themes of loss, resilience, and the role of art in fostering social bonds and healing. On March 23, Lee will engage with his work Guernica in Sand, reinterpreting Picasso’s iconic painting through the lens of Tibetan Buddhist mandala traditions. (Press release)
– The Liu Shiming Art Foundation announced that its Liu Shiming Art Gallery will open on March 12 in New York with the show “From the Beginning,” running through August 15. Curated by Fran Kaufman, this inaugural exhibition celebrates the legacy of sculptor Liu Shiming (1926–2010), spotlighting his portrayals of daily life and communal spirit among various societal groups. (Press release) – The Brooklyn Experimental Art Foundation recently launched, inaugurating an artist-residency program with Sen Takahashi. This program is supported by a grant from a foundation chaired by Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa. (Press release) People
– Russell Storer has been named senior curator and head of curatorial affairs of M+ in Hong Kong. Storer was previously head curator of international art at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra and curatorial and exhibitions director at the National Gallery Singapore. (Press release)
– Adeline Ooi, the former director Asia of Art Basel, has been appointed a board member of Asia Art Archive in Hong Kong. (Instagram)
– Shu Lea Cheang is the 2024 LG Guggenheim Award recipient, celebrated for her pioneering work in net art and technology over 30 years. The award is a key component of the LG Guggenheim Art and Technology Initiative, a multifaceted five-year collaboration set up to research, honor, and promote artists working at the intersection of art and technology. (Press release) |
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State of Play The gateway to the pulse of the Asian market |
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Art Fairs
– Hong Kong’s Art Central fair unveiled details of its public programs, which are being curated by Enoch Cheng. Highlights include a sculptural installation by Hong Kong artist Ho Sin Tung and a five-day durational performance by Japanese artist Norico Sunayama. The fair will return to Central Harbourfront from March 27 to 31, with the first day set as the VIP preview. This year’s fair has backing from the Hong Kong government’s Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund. (Press release)
– Artists and dealers from Asia and its diaspora were in the spotlight at Frieze Los Angeles, which closed this past weekend. While Asian Americans have a longtime presence on the West Coast of the U.S., they have historically been underrepresented in the region’s art market. (New York Times, The Back Room)
Galleries
– Hong Kong will welcome a new contemporary art gallery, Podium, on March 23, coinciding with Hong Kong Arts Month. Founded by Charlotte Lin and Cusson Cheng, Podium aims to be a dynamic platform for underrepresented emerging and mid-career artists. The 2,500 square-foot gallery space is in the E Tat Factory Building in the rapidly developing Wong Chuk Hang neighborhood. (Press release)
– Esther Schipper announced its representation of South Korean artist Hyunsun Jeon, whose visual language draws on a distinctly Korean palette of colors and textures. Born in Incheon, in 1989, Jeon is based in Seoul and holds a BFA and an MFA from the city’s Ewha Womans University. (Press release)
– Leng Lin, Pace’s partner and vice president in Hong Kong, is leaving the mega gallery after 16 years to focus on his personal endeavors and the operation of Beijing Commune, the gallery he founded in 2004. Youngjoo Lee, the gallery’s vice president in Seoul, will temporarily oversee the gallery’s operations in Hong Kong and Beijing in addition to Seoul. Sylvie Tiao, the gallery’s vice president in Hong Kong, will manage the team on the ground during this transitional period. (Artnet News)
Exhibitions
– König Seoul is presenting “Melting,” a new solo exhibition by Beijing-based artist Zhang Yingnan. The show—his second in South Korea, and his first there in a decade—features 11 paintings created within the last year that involve his trademark photorealistic explorations of interior architecture, which are notably absent of human figures. (Artnet News)
– The high-power advisory Art Intelligence Global will showcase a dozen works from Jeff Koons’s early series, including the “Inflatables,” “Equilibrium,” and “Made in Heaven,” at its Hong Kong gallery space. Opening on March 23, during the week of Art Basel Hong Kong, it will mostly feature works that have not been shown before in Asia. (Artnet News)
– London’s Sadie Coles HQ will present a solo show of work by the late Hong Kong artist Luis Chan (1905–95). Titled “Fantasy Landscape,” it will open at its Bury Street Space on March 19. (Press release) – Zhang Enli's latest exhibition at Xavier Hufkens's St-Georges space, “A Traveller,” introduces a fresh series of gestural abstract portraits, showcasing the development of his work since 2019. (Press release)
Market
– China’s art market and contemporary art scene saw an extraordinary boom in the 2000s, but history is not likely to repeat itself, as the economic and cultural situation in China is no longer so straightforward. We explored this dynamic in-depth in our recent Y2K series. (Artnet News)
– The West’s demand for Chinese art, from antiquities to contemporary art, has dwindled amid the worsening political and ideological tensions between China and the West, according to industry insiders. (South China Morning Post) Institutions and Biennials
– The West Kowloon Cultural District, which operates M+ and the Hong Kong Palace Museum, is in deep financial trouble, with its cash reserve expected to run out in mid-2025, according to Henry Tang, the chairman of the district’s authority. Tang said the district has advised the Hong Kong government of the situation but has yet to hear back. (Sing Tao Daily News)
– A new building for the Korean Cultural Center New York will be inaugurated this week, with the opening of a retrospective of the artist John Pai in its gallery space. Titled “Eternal Moment,” the show runs through April 18 and will highlight the artist’s oeuvre, which spans over six decades. (Press release)
– Celebrated Taiwanese American artist Lee Mingwei is getting his first major U.S. survey exhibition at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. This exhibition, which runs through July 7, 2024, showcases seven interactive projects, and invites visitors to engage in acts of generosity and care, reflecting on themes of loss, resilience, and the role of art in fostering social bonds and healing. On March 23, Lee will engage with his work Guernica in Sand, reinterpreting Picasso’s iconic painting through the lens of Tibetan Buddhist mandala traditions. (Press release)
– The Liu Shiming Art Foundation announced that its Liu Shiming Art Gallery will open on March 12 in New York with the show “From the Beginning,” running through August 15. Curated by Fran Kaufman, this inaugural exhibition celebrates the legacy of sculptor Liu Shiming (1926–2010), spotlighting his portrayals of daily life and communal spirit among various societal groups. (Press release) – The Brooklyn Experimental Art Foundation recently launched, inaugurating an artist-residency program with Sen Takahashi. This program is supported by a grant from a foundation chaired by Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa. (Press release) People
– Russell Storer has been named senior curator and head of curatorial affairs of M+ in Hong Kong. Storer was previously head curator of international art at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra and curatorial and exhibitions director at the National Gallery Singapore. (Press release)
– Adeline Ooi, the former director Asia of Art Basel, has been appointed a board member of Asia Art Archive in Hong Kong. (Instagram)
– Shu Lea Cheang is the 2024 LG Guggenheim Award recipient, celebrated for her pioneering work in net art and technology over 30 years. The award is a key component of the LG Guggenheim Art and Technology Initiative, a multifaceted five-year collaboration set up to research, honor, and promote artists working at the intersection of art and technology. (Press release) |
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Mark Yang, Asleep, 2023, oil on canvas, 40 x 44 inches |
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Who: Mark Yang (b. 1994, Seoul, South Korea)
Based in: Tivoli, New York
Gallery: Various Small Fires
Why we care: Mark Yang’s paintings are characterized by colorful distortions and sculptural entanglements of human limbs. A 2020 graduate of Columbia University’s closely watched M.F.A. program, Yang employs various painting techniques to conjure these mysterious anatomical visions, which tend to elude explicit gender assignments. Prioritizing the body over identity, he explores shifting cultural conceptions of masculinity, and gender in general, in South Korea, where he was born, and the U.S., where he settled with his family in 2003. Yang’s work has not yet appeared at auction, but that seems like only a matter of time. Demand for his paintings is strong, and in 2023, he held solo exhibitions at Massimo De Carlo’s spaces in Beijing and Paris as well as the Dallas branch of Various Small Fires. His momentum continued into January of this year, with Kasmin presenting a solo exhibition, titled “Birth,” in New York.
– Cathy Fan |
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Mark Yang, Asleep, 2023, oil on canvas, 40 x 44 inches |
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Who: Mark Yang (b. 1994, Seoul, South Korea)
Based in: Tivoli, New York
Gallery: Various Small Fires
Why we care: Mark Yang’s paintings are characterized by colorful distortions and sculptural entanglements of human limbs. A 2020 graduate of Columbia University’s closely watched M.F.A. program, Yang employs various painting techniques to conjure these mysterious anatomical visions, which tend to elude explicit gender assignments. Prioritizing the body over identity, he explores shifting cultural conceptions of masculinity, and gender in general, in South Korea, where he was born, and the U.S., where he settled with his family in 2003. Yang’s work has not yet appeared at auction, but that seems like only a matter of time. Demand for his paintings is strong, and in 2023, he held solo exhibitions at Massimo De Carlo’s spaces in Beijing and Paris as well as the Dallas branch of Various Small Fires. His momentum continued into January of this year, with Kasmin presenting a solo exhibition, titled “Birth,” in New York.
– Cathy Fan |
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Thanks for joining us for The Asia Pivot See you next time |
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Header image: A reception at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to celebrate Asia Week New York in 2022. Credit: Annie Watt Photography. |
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Thank you for joining us for The Asia Pivot See you next time |
Header image: A reception at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to celebrate Asia Week New York in 2022. Credit: Annie Watt Photography. |
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This email was sent to cfan@artnet.com by Artnet Worldwide Corporation.
373 Park Avenue South, 5th Floor, New York, NY, 10016, USA |
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This email was sent to cfan@artnet.com by Artnet Worldwide Corporation.
373 Park Avenue South, 5th Floor, New York, NY, 10016, USA |
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