Crosscurrents: Masterpieces of East Asian Art from New York Private Collections - Hardcover

Poster, Amy

9780810963863: Crosscurrents: Masterpieces of East Asian Art from New York Private Collections

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0810963868 ISBN 13: 9780810963863

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, 1999

This catalogue explores New York's superlative private collections of Japanese, Chinese and Korean art through a broad and diverse selection of paintings, calligraphy, sculpture, ceramics, and lacquerware that reflect the highest achievements of the classical traditions of East Asian culture. Leading authorities of Asian art discuss the objects within the dynamic context of East Asia as an enduring cultural sphere, offering an expanded view of the art of this region as it traversed national boundaries, transforming and being transformed in the process.

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Review:

In recent years New York has tried to assert itself as a leader for Asian art sales, and this stylish, large-format book provides evidence of its possible preeminence in collecting as well. The catalog of the first exhibition organized under a new regime at the Japan Society Galleries, Crosscurrents carries a subtitle that says it all: Masterpieces of East Asian Art from New York Private Collections. This glimpse of what's usually hidden includes such famous works as a vivid landscape album by the Chinese scholar-painter Daoji and surprises like a Japanese celadon-green dish with a blue-and-white vignette. Generally excellent color reproductions show both the stunning and the subtle, whether a fantastic Daoist mountain with curious creatures or a peaceful Buddhist immortal. Most of the 71 artworks come from Japan or China, with a few from Korea.

The three organizing themes--sacred and ritual arts, literati arts and tea connoisseurship, nature and artifice--are more convenient catchalls than cogent supports of the expressed goal of placing Japanese art in the context of its continental neighbors. There is an excellent discussion of a group of tea utensils from all three countries, and while some of the other object commentaries may be fine miniatures, they too often describe relationships not visible in the works at hand, however wonderful. Essays by Chinese painting historian Richard Barnhart and Japanese specialist Christine Guth are thought-provoking, but the heart of this volume lies in its pictures of the "inspired, marvelous, and competent." Happily, the first two predominate. --Alex Lawrence

From Library Journal:

This exhibition catalog explores the role of Japanese art in the crosscurrents of cultural exchange with China, Korea, and the West. Three leading authoritiesARichard M. Barnhart (art history, Yale), Poster (curator, Asian art, Brooklyn Museum), and Christine G.E. Guth (an independent scholar)Aprovide insight into Japan's cultural foreign relations, transcultural collecting, and standards of artistic excellence. Selected from private New York collections, the works include painting, calligraphy, sculpture, ceramics, and lacquerware; each is accompanied by a full-page description. The exhibition, presented this summer by the Japan Society (in association with the Brooklyn Museum) at the society's gallery in New York, was an important step in the Western world's appreciation of Japanese art. Recommended for both public and academic libraries with strong art collections.ALucia S. Chen, NYPL
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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