20 New York Exhibitions


SACRED PAPER Korean Ritual Arts


While Christianity and Buddhism appear to be the dominant religions in Korea, the deeper current shaping everyday Korean life may in fact be shamanism, sustained by the simple yet urgent desire for safety, good fortune, and good health. Troughout a modern


history marked by upheaval, war, loss, and rapid change, the quiet wish for the well-being of one’s family has remained constant. Embedded in shamanic ritual, this exhibition presents a view of an enduring pulse beneath Korean daily life, where the spiritual and the practical intersect and intertwine. Tracing this pulse through


two regional traditions of Korean ritual paper art, the exhibition reveals how such fragile materials carry the weight of human hopes and wishes. From Chungcheong Province to the East Sea coast, paper art becomes a vessel for devotion, an architecture of protection, and a record of how communities imagine their place between the visible and invisible worlds. In Chungcheongnam-do,


the Seolwi Seolgyeong tradition creates intricate cut-paper structures that define and organise


BUDDHA AND SHIVA, LOTUS AND DRAGON


Above: Korean Shamanic Funerary Ritual from Chungcheongbuk-do, Korea Below: Seolwi Seolgyeong (2025) by Park Jongseung, spirit-invoking ritual paper banner, 64 × 95 cm


ceremonial space. Te artist Jongseung Park creates intricately cut paper forms to construct a sacred shrine originating in Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea, demonstrating how mulberry paper can be transformed into structures that shelter, guard, and channel spiritual presence. Along the East Sea coast,


ritual practice extends this spiritual intent in a different direction – the artist Dr Heera Shin presents


KAWAI KANJIRO House to House


Tis solo exhibition celebrates the remarkable life and career of folk potter, poet, and artist Kawai Kanjiro (1890-1966) for the first time in the US. Kawai is best known for his influential role in the mingei (folk art) movement in Japan, which he founded in the mid-1920s with his friends, the philosopher Yanagi Soetsu (1889-1961) and the potter Hamada Shoji (1894-1978). Showcasing representative works from


Kawai’s personal collection that are rarely seen outside his former home (now a museum known as the Kawai Kanjiro House), the exhibition traces the evolution from the artist’s early functional ceramic ware to his late-career modernist wood sculptures. After the war, Kawai


launched a prolific wood carving practice, creating dynamic sculptures and stylised masks inspired by contemporaneous artistic,


Kawai Kanjiro (1890-1966)


mechanical, and scientific imagery. He continued to produce ceramics, experimenting with sculptural forms, new glazes, and decorative techniques. He also designed household wares, published articles, and brushed calligraphy imbued with his


folded paper flowers, lanterns, and ornaments that serve as vivid articulations of blessings offered to the deceased in this area.


• 9 March to 24 May, Charles B Wang Centre, Stony Brook University, New York, stonybrook.edu


• LECTURE Mon 9 March


at 4pm, ‘Paper and Things Otherwise Unseen: A Journey Through Korean Shaman Rituals’ by Dr Laurel Kendal


philosophies. Yet his mingei beliefs persisted: in 1956, the Japanese government extended him the official honour of Living National Treasure for his achievements in ceramics, but he refused, preferring to work as an anonymous craftsman. Kawai passed away in 1966,


leaving behind a rich legacy in multiple fields of modern art. His former residence opened as a museum, known as the Kawai Kanjiro House, in 1973.


• 10 March to 10 May, Japan Society Gallery,


New York, japansociety.org


THE DANCING GODDESS Mei Lanfang


WATCH Mei Lanfang and


Twentieth Century Peking Opera


Tis spring, the China Institute is exploring the life and work of Peking Opera performer Mei Lanfang (1894-1961). His 1930 North American tour, organised by the newly established China Institute of America, launched Peking opera onto the world stage and made a significant impact on modern theatre. With his original fusion of song, dance, and dramatic acting, Mei captivated American audiences and inspired artists from Broadway to Berlin. Tis exhibition revisits a


Mei Lanfang performing in the opera Farewell My Concubine, performed in the US © Chinese National Academy of Arts jPjfjfjfjf


ASIAN ART | MARCH 2026 | #AsianArtPaper |


milestone of cultural exchange and features a


asianartnewspaper |


comprehensive array of Mei’s innovative stage costumes from his own collection, which were designed to allow dance movements that revitalised Peking opera, along with rare photographs, performance videos, original production props, and artwork. Most of the objects in the exhibition are on public view in the US for the first time, on loan from the Chinese National Academy of Arts in Beijing, the world’s foremost archive of Mei Lanfang memorabilia.


• 12 March to 19 July, China Institute Gallery,


New York, chinainstitute.org asianartnewspaper | Asian Art Newspaper


Stem cup, North China. Tang dynasty, circa late 7th/early 8th century, silver with embossing, chasing, engraving, and microscopic traces of gilding, 4.8 x 6.4 cm


Storage jar, Korea, Joseon dynasty, circa mid-18th century, porcelain painted with underglaze cobalt blue, 44.5 x 34.9 cm


In celebration of Asia Society’s 70th anniversary, Asia Society Museum is showing Buddha and Shiva, Lotus and Dragon: Celebrating 70 Years of Asia Society and the Rockefeller Legacy. Buddhist and Hindu sculptures are on display alongside Chinese, Korean, and Japanese ceramics to showcases the diverse range of bronzes, ceramics, and metalwork assembled between the 1950s and the 1970s by John D Rockefeller 3rd (1906-78) and his wife Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller (1909-92). John D Rockefeller 3rd founded Asia Society in 1956 with the mission to promote greater knowledge of Asia in the US. Te bequest of the collection to Asia Society in 1979 underscores the Rockefellers’


The Buddha Shakyamuni in Abhaya-mudra, India, probably Bihar, Gupta period, 6th century, bronze, 68.6 x 27.3 x 17.8 cm, Asia Society, New York. All images: Mr and Mrs John D Rockefeller 3rd Collection. Photo: Synthescape, digital image © Asia Society


conviction that aesthetic encounters with great works of art promotes deep cross-cultural understanding. Te exhibition comprises


Tea Leaf Jar, Nonomura Seiemon (Ninsei), circa 1574 to 1660-66, Japan, Kyoto Prefecture Edo period, mid-17th century, Kyoto ware, stoneware painted with overglaze enamels and silver, 30.5 x 24.1 cm


70 objects drawn from Asia Society’s permanent collection assembled between the 1950s and 1970s. Te first section explores Buddhist sculptures, tracing the transmission of Buddhism across Asia over two millennia. Te exhibition continues with Hindu sculptures from South and Southeast Asia – largely from the 10th to 14th centuries – which form another strength of the collection. Te last and largest section of the exhibition showcases metalwork and ceramics from China, Korea, and Japan.


• 18 March to 3 January 2027, Asia Society, New York,


asiasoc.org


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