The best amazing Asian Art

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)

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