CSDA/CCAD Sundays: Expert Series presents  Tea, Art, and Culture - The Design Evolution of Japanese Tea Ceramics of the Late Edo Period  Sunday, May 5, 2024, 3 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. (EST) The tea ceremony was the central cultural sphere of Japan’s Edo period (1615–1868), in which social, political, and artistic ties were formed. The collection of ceramics, utensils, and decorative arts created for the tea ceremony is one of the most significant categories in Japan’s artistic canon. Early Edo workshops, such as Raku and Oribe, are well-known for austere and rustic designs that em ..read more

I hope everyone is looking for the Christmas holidays! I just got back from a long trip to East Asia where I was in Hong Kong for 8 days. On my way back to Toronto I stopped in Tokyo for 7 more days. While in Hong Kong I visited the numerous actions that took place at the end of November. This included the big sales at Christie's and Bonhams, and a smaller online sale at Sotheby's. I also managed to visit a couple of museums including the blockbuster 'Gazing at Sanxingdui: New Archaeological Discoveries in Sichuan' at the Hong Kong Palace Museum. For this trip, the most important auction too ..read more

I just got back home from another round of Asian Art in London! London is definitely one of my favourite places to visit and it gets even better when there's so many Asian artworks to view around the city! As usual, I took off from my home base in Toronto after upon completion of my latest October Heffel Asian art online (you can read about it here). This year's Asian Art in London events featured many exciting exhibitions at the dealer galleries. There were also a great selection of Buddhist sculptures and porcelain pieces from the larger auction houses like Sotheby's, Christie's and Bonham ..read more

I can't believe I just completed my 6th Asian art online sale at Heffel! I'm now approaching my third year anniversary collaborating with Canada's national (and largest) auction house, and the humble Asian art department we developed has grown substantially. As many of you know, Heffel has been Canada's auction leader in Canadian art for over the past twenty years, with a focus on paintings by the Group of Seven, Emily Carr and the Automatistes. In 2022 alone, the total sales for artwork sold was approximately CAD 52 million. Heffel also features some of the most expensive Canadian artworks ..read more

And that's a wrap for this Fall edition of Asia Week New York! The September Asia Week tends be smaller scaled than the March Asia Week events, but there were still numerous exciting previews at the international and regional auction houses. I was in Asia Week for six days to check out the auctions at Sotheby's, Christie's and Bonhams. Over twenty Asian art themed auctions were featured! Even though the focus is still primarily Chinese art, there were many other sales showcasing objects from India, the Himalayan region, Japan and Korea. And despite the global economic situation, there were st ..read more

I hope everyone is having a terrific summer! I recently finished a long work trip to Vancouver where I sourced artworks for the upcoming Heffel Asian art online auction. Hopefully I will remain in Toronto for the next couple of weeks. My next trip will be a one week stop to Ottawa and Montreal in the beginning of September followed immediately by a flight to Asia Week New York for the Asian art previews and auctions. It's going to be busy! Last August, I put together a blog on my Japanese woodblock print collection featuring a couple of shin hanga (new wave prints) by the legendary Kawase Hasu ..read more

I'm back from Paris now! This was a such a wonderful trip to one of the world's most famous cities. I haven't visited Paris since 2016 and it was such an incredible feeling to wander the streets and view all of the city's Asian art offerings. The food, wine and coffee were also exceptional! I was in Paris for approximately eight days for Printemps Asiatique Paris (aka Asia Week Paris) which ran from June 7th-16th 2023. In addition to the Asian art auctions taking place at Bonhams, Christie's and Sotheby's, there were plenty of Asian art sales at the regional houses and a dealer fair at the leg ..read more

I had a wonderful visit to Minneapolis and Chicago back in early May! It was my first time visiting Minneapolis and here I was joined by a few Asian art colleagues where we were granted a private tour by esteemed Chair of Asian art and curator of Chinese art Dr. Liu Yang of the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Dr. Yang guided us through his blockbuster exhibition 'Eternal Offerings: Chinese Ritual Bronzes'. These were a reimagining of the Pillsbury bronzes, part of the foundations of the museum's permanent Asian art collection, and one the most important collections of Chinese archaic bronzes in ..read more

And a big THANK YOU for everyone who participated in my April Asian art auction at Heffel, Canada's National auction house! This was the fifth Asian art sale I collaborated with Heffel, and the total sale realized an incredible CAD 820,000! Nearly 150 Asian art objects were offered over three sessions, with the majority of the items originating from China, Japan and the Himalayan region. This sale ran from April 6th to 27th across three of Heffel's galleries in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. Despite the current economic climate, the sale fared much better than expected. The Asian art items t ..read more

This past Asia Week in New York saw strong prices across the board for Chinese works of art including Chinese porcelain and ceramics, jade carvings and furniture. There was also a resurgent interest for gilt-copper alloy (aka gilt bronze) sculptures from the Himalayan region. Initially many Asian art insiders feared that the market would slow down because of the global economic situation with its rising interest rates, but the Asian art market has shown its resilience and has proved to be a stable alternative to stocks and real estate. As many of you know, Asia Week New York takes place every ..read more