Collecting and appreciating rocks has a long history in China. During the Song dynasty (960-1249), the literati and elite classes collected and traded rocks with the same passion as they did for fine art. Treatises were written on the desirable… Continue reading
According to common belief, Islam has an absolute ban on images and is hostile to pictorial representations, quite in contrast to Christianity. But is this actually true? Are images categorically forbidden in Islam? And what about Christianity: does not Moses’s… Continue reading
Misty landscapes at twilight in gentle colours of purple, violet, lavender, grey, blue and gold, characterise the paintings of Hàm Nghi, former emperor of Vietnam. L’Art en Exil, an exhibition at the Musée Des Arts Asiatiques in Nice, focuses on… Continue reading
In the 1960s, practitioners of Pop Art looked toward everyday commodities and commercial images for inspiration. Such an artistic spirit that challenged the rigid concept between high- and low-brow arts in fact had long existed in Korean art, flourishing in… Continue reading
An exhibition that explores 1,000 years of the island nation of Sri Lanka’s history is currently on show in Arizona. Sri Lanka is located off the southeastern coast of India in the Bay of Bengal and has a deep history… Continue reading
The Royal Collection in Britain contains one of the finest holdings of Japanese works of art in the Western world, significant for both the unique provenance and quality of the objects. Highlights of these Japanese treasures are now on show… Continue reading
The Noh performance commences with the sound of flutes, un-melodic and unearthly, the whole purpose of which is to underscore a departure from the day-to-day, and an entry into the world of spirits. Throughout the play, supporters on the stage… Continue reading
Tate St Ives started the year with Thai contemporary artist Thao Nguyen Phan’s first UK museum exhibition, which opened in February 2022. It includes new and recent videos, paintings and mixed media works which reflect the artist’s ongoing research into… Continue reading
Lying along the trade routes between India and China, the islands of Southeast Asia have been a crossroads for merchants, pilgrims, and travellers from many parts of the world. Weaving Stories, brings together more than 40 examples of Southeast Asian… Continue reading
In mid-August 2021, two weeks after the Taliban swept through Kabul cementing its grip on power throughout Afghanistan, a Sunni Pashtun driver made his way undetected from Quetta in Pakistan, to Kandahar in Afghanistan. Having made the journey several times… Continue reading