Next Month - May 2025

In the May issue we cover the life, work, and legacy of Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858), one of Japan’s most popular and prolific artists. Hiroshige’s thoughtful and engaging way of depicting landscape, nature and daily life in Japan captivated viewers in his own day, and he continues to influence and inspire. The Japanese focus continues with an exploration of the variety of Japanese tea utensils and the art of tea in Japan.

We also explore the traditions of building Japanese temple, look at the world of Korean furniture, and furniture styles from the Dutch Colonial period..

May sees our annual guide to the gallery shows, auctions, museum exhibitions and events during Printemps Asiatique in Paris in June, as well as a look at exhibitions in France over the summer.

Elsewhere in the issue we look at the sculpture of Assam and the exhibition Monstrous Beauty: A Feminist Revision of Chinoiserie at The Met, which radically reimagines the story of European porcelain through a feminist lens. When porcelain arrived in early modern Europe from China, it led to the rise of chinoiserie, a decorative style that encompassed Europe’s pervasive fantasies of both the East and the exotic along with new ideas about women, sexuality, and race. And there’s also the latest Terracotta Warriors exhibition at the Bowers Museum in California.