Asian Art
Kano Sansetsu: Old Plum, four sliding-door panels (fusuma); ink, color, gold, and gold leaf on paper, 68 3/4 x 191 1/8 in. (174.6 x 485.5 cm), 1646, Japan (New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Embroidered medallion, silk, 1368–1644, China (New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art)
There are many ways to define the geographical region of Asia. For the purpose of this subject guide, it encompasses China, Japan, Korea and Mongolia; South Asia, which includes the Indian subcontinent; Central Asia which includes Tibet; and Southeast Asia encompassing Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The art and culture of East Asia are unified by powerful philosophical schools of thought and linguistic systems such as Confucianism, Neo-Confucianism, the classical Chinese language (including the traditional Chinese script), Mahayana Buddhism, Zen/Chan Buddhism, Daoism, Shintoism (mainly in Japan) and Shamanism. The traditional arts of the Indian subcontinent were made mostly to serve its indigenous religions, notably Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Tibet and its art—largely based on Vajrayana Buddhism—are becoming increasingly better known as Tibetan Buddhism. Southeast Asia has diverse artistic traditions influenced by Animism, Theravada Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and Hinduism.
Suh Do-Ho: Paratrooper – 1, installation at Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York, linen, polyester thread, cast stainless steel, cast concrete and plastic beads, 3.1×3.9×6.1 m, 2003 (private collection); photo courtesy of Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York and the artist
Asian art is diverse and rich, spanning thousands of years and dozens of countries. It is known for its ritual bronzes, beautiful ceramics, jades, textiles, poetic painted landscapes, garden design, elaborate goldwork, extraordinary temples, shrines, pagodas and stupas, woodblock prints, shadow puppets and the highest art form in East Asian art—calligraphy. Enduring Asian treasures include works such as Fan Kuan’s Travellers among Mountains and Streams, Katsushika Hokusai’s Fugaku sanjurokkei (‘Thirty-six views of Mt Fuji’) series, and Basawan’s Akbar Restraining the Enraged Elephant Hawa’i. Today the impact of Asia on contemporary art is immense. Since the 1990s, Asian contemporary art has grown exponentially due to a mushrooming of regional biennials and triennials, new contemporary art museums, and the international recognition of artists such as Chinese-born Cai Guo-Qiang, Japanese-born Miwa Yanagi, Korean artist Suh Do-Ho, and the Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija.
Geographic articles
Master of the Jaunpur Kalpasutra: Devananda's Fourteen Auspicious Dreams Foretelling the Birth of Mahavira (Folio from a Kalpasutra Manuscript), opaque watercolor on paper, 4 5/8 x 11 1/2 in. (11.8 x 29.2 cm), c. 1465, India (New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Topical essays
Tapestry with Dragons and Flowers, silk tapestry, 21 x 13 in. (53.3 x 33 cm), 11th–12th century, Eastern Central Asia (New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art)
- Alternative spaces in Asia
- Art fairs and biennials in Asia
- Asian contemporary art and internationalism
- Asian contemporary women artists
- Asian modern and contemporary art
- Buddhism
- Confucianism
- Daoism
- Exhibitions of Asian contemporary art in the West
- Gardens: East Asia, Indian subcontinent, South-east Asia
- Great Wall of China
- Hinduism
- Jainism
- Market for Asian art
- Military architecture and fortification: Central Asia, East Asia, Indian Subcontinent, South-east Asia
- Mt. Fuji
- Ornament and pattern: East Asia, South-east Asia
- Shinto
- Sikhism
- Temple: Central Asia, East Asia, Indian subcontinent, South-east Asia
- Women and art history: East Asia
Wang Hui and assistants: The Kangxi Emperor's Southern Inspection Tour, Scroll Three: Ji'nan to Mount Tai, handscroll (ink and color on silk), 26 3/4 in. x 45 ft. 8 3/4 in. (67.9 x 1393.8 cm), 1698, China (New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Select Biographies
- Ai Weiwei: Chinese conceptual artist, curator and architect
- Amrita Sher-Gil: Hungarian-Indian painter
- Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy: Anglo-Sinhalese writer and curator
- Andō Hiroshige: Japanese painter and printmaker
- An-My Lê: Vietnamese-American photographer
- Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook: Thai printmaker, installation artist, teacher and writer
- Basawan: Indian miniature painter.
- Bhupen Khakhar: Indian painter
- Chen Hongshou: Chinese painter, calligrapher and designer of woodblock-prints
- Dinh Q. Lê: Vietnamese conceptual artist
- Dong Qichang: Chinese painter, calligrapher, connoisseur, theoretician, collector and high official
- Fu Baoshi: Chinese painter and art historian
- Fujiwara family: Japanese family of Courtiers, regents (sesshō, kanpaku) and artists
- Govardhan: Indian miniature painter
- Guo Xi: Chinese painter and theorist
- Han Gan: Chinese painter
- Hon’ami family: Japanese family of artists
- Imran Qureshi: Pakistani painter
- Jōchō: Japanese sculptor
- Kanō family: Japanese family of painters
- Katsukawa: Name used by members of a school of Japanese woodblock print designers
- Katsushika Hokusai: Japanese painter, draughtsman and printmaker
- Lee Bul: Korean mixed media and performance artist
- Lida Abdul: Afghan video and performance artist and photographer
- Lucille Tenazas: Filipino graphic designer and art educator
- Maqbool Fida Husain: Indian painter, printmaker, photographer and film maker
- Nam June Paik: South Korean video artist, performance artist, musician, sculptor, film maker, writer, and teacher
- Navin Rawanchaikul: Thai installation artist
- Ogata family: Japanese family of artists
- On Kawara: Japanese painter, draughtsman, and conceptual artist
- Pushpamala N.: Indian photographer and performance artist
- Qi Baishi: Chinese painter
- Qian Xuan: Chinese painter
- Sadequain: Pakistani painter
- Sen no Rikyū: Japanese master of the tea ceremony
- Shen Zhou: Chinese painter, calligrapher and poet
- Shitao (Daoji): Chinese painter and calligrapher
- Sumet Jumsai: Thai architect, theoretician and writer
- Sutee Kunavichayanont: Thai sculptor, installation artist, teacher and curator
- Tagore family: Indian family of intellectuals and artists
- Tawaraya Sōtatsu: Japanese painter
- Torii : Name used by members of a school of Japanese woodblock print designers and book illustrators
- Tōyō Sesshū: Japanese Zen monk and painter
- Tsugouharu Foujita: Japanese-French painter
- Utagawa: Name used by members of a school of Japanese painters, woodblock print designers and book illustrators
- Vasan Sitthiket: Thai performance artist, printmaker, anti-war activist, musician, writer and poet
- Wen Zhengming: Chinese painter and calligrapher
- Xu Beihong: Chinese painter and art educator
- Yayoi Kusama: Japanese painter, sculptor, poet, writer, printmaker, installation, and performance artist
- Zao Wou-Ki: Chinese-French painter, draughtsman, and printmaker
- Zhang Daqian: Chinese painter, calligrapher, collector and forger
- Zhao family: Chinese family of artists
Browse all Grove Art articles related to Asian art and architecture.
