by Elizabeth Gariti
| Old and new, paper and silk are on display at the C.G. Boerner Gallery as part of Asia Week 2007. The gallery, which usually brokers European grand masters, is hosting two very unusual exhibitions from the Tina Newton Gallery of Asian Art in Birmingham, AL. Either of these exhibitions is extraordinary in themselves, but when displayed together they compliment the other in subtle ways. | | The first exhibition features very important paintings from the Ming and Ching dynasties. These paintings are part of the renowned Richard Lane Collection, currently owned by The Honolulu Academy of Arts.This is the first time paintings from The Richard Lane Collection—these delicately luxurious paintings, mounted and restored on silk backings—will be offered for sale to the public. Prices range from 7,000.00 to 100,000.00 USD.Dr. Richard Lane, who died in Japan on December 1, 2002, was one of the world’s foremost scholars of Japanese art, particularly the Ukiyo-e arts of the Edo period (1615–1868). |  | The Lane Collection comprises an estimated 20,000 works, including paintings, woodblock prints, and woodblock–illustrated books. Also included in his collection are smaller groups of Chinese and Korean paintings.
In order to keep the Japanese and Korean holdings in tact, the Honolulu Academy of Arts is selling this group of Chinese paintings from the overall collection.
The second exhibition, Dream, Contemporary Asian Works on Paper, is a collection of work from contemporary Asian artists whose medium is paper. The pieces are by artists from Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea and are all traditional to the artists’ home countries. Ink and paper were very important in ancient Asian societies, because they were rare, and those who had them had the power of expression—either through writing or drawing. The pieces in Dream are grounded in the importance of preserving the use of time-honored materials while experimenting with contemporary motifs. The paper the artists use is hand-crafted according to their countries’ traditions, and they grind their own ink and use paint brushes indigenous to their native land. The work reflects the artists’ strong connection with their religious history, either Buddhism or Confucianism, and there is a direct connection between their spiritual beliefs and the contemporary paintings they produce. Their work can be viewed in important museum collections throughout Asia and are being shown as a group for the first time in the United States during this Asia Week exhibition. Prices range from 1,200.00 to 45,000.00 USD.
The six Richard Lane paintings on display are set on scrolls of rich silk, intricately depicting common scenes and themes from ancient Chinese life. They tell stories of spiritual journeys and daily existence. The paintings looked surprisingly new. When I commented on this, Tina Newton told me they’ve all been reset and conserved. There are only four people in the world with this kind of expertise, and the Honolulu Academy hired one, Ephraim Jose, for the collection.
Vastness represented through subtle use of negative space and simple patterns against clear, stark backgrounds embody the Dream collection. Most of the pieces have no color, just varying depths in the grayscale palette: white, cream, black, gray and charcoal. The paper is rich and chunky with a three-dimensional quality that makes you want run your hand across its bumps, lines and ridges.
Together, the two exhibitions presented a combination of intricacy and expansiveness revealing the spirituality behind the ink, silk, satin and paper.
Asia Week New York, begun in 1996, is a week-long gathering of exhibitors, dealers and galleries that specialize in Asian Art. Originally located in the Seventh Regiment Armory on Park Avenue, it has spread to galleries and museums throughout the city.
The Tina Newton Gallery opened in 2003 in Birmingham, AL and specializes in antique decorative arts and furniture as well as contemporary art from Japan and
Korea. It serves “the distinctly Eastern appetites of some of the area’s most ardent arts patrons”. This is the first time that 32-year-old Newton, who has a background in Eastern Religions and has traveled extensively throughout Asia, has exhibited in New York. She hopes to be back.
The exhibition will be on display until March 31, 2007 - 10-am-5pm |
| C. G. Boerner
23 E 73rd Street, 3rd Floor
(between 5th & Madison)
New York, NY 10021
212-288-1733 |
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