Contemporary Art

The humble beginnings and rise to fame of a young Japanese ceramic genius.

Asian artists embark on a road trip, each equipped with one special suitcase.

‘China’s not a Superpower,’ and ‘Can India be Great?’ are some of the topics that have been stirring up some good reader debate for us recently. But when it comes to art, it seems that each ‘pending’ world power is standing its ground-for now. I’ve a

What is Missing? According to artist Maya Lin’s latest monument bearing this title, a lot of things-like all of the living species on earth that have or will become extinct within our lifetimes due to our rapid destruction of their natural habitats.&

Is there a Japanese Andy Warhol? Perhaps, some say, contemporary artist Takashi Murakami fits the bill. His likeness to the late art icon is attributed to his similar ability to transform pop culture to appeal to ‘high-brow’ audiences. And, while his

‘A lot of the contemporary art I’ve seen from the Middle Eastern region has been too much about punching you in the face with politics and not enough about celebrating other stories, other histories and the sophisticated culture of these places, whic

The word ‘miniature’ conjures up kitschy images in my mind. In my Canadian hometown for instance, there’s a museum called Miniature World, which features a series of, in my opinion, melodramatic shrunken dioramas including a ‘World of Dickens’ and ‘E

A few months ago, I touched on the topic of art in North Korea and more recently also got in touch with Gabriella Coslovich at The Age, who reported (‘North Korean artists not welcome, their ‘propaganda’ is’) on the subject after attending the <a hr

6th Triennial visitors take in the work of Japanese sculptor Kohei Nawa.Highlighting the work of over 100 artists from 25 countries to ‘reflect the diversity of practices across Asia, the Pacific and Australia,’ the 6th Asia Pacific Triennial of Cont

Yesterday I talked about the graffiti movement in Kazakhstan (‘Culture on a Wall’) and its connection to other aspects of the country’s society, including national identity, mainstream pop culture and even art anthropology. So I was pleased to hear t

Although I still can’t figure out the reasoning behind the name, ‘Twist and Shout’ is a neat collection of contemporary art from Japan, now at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre in Thailand through January.  The Japan Foundation has collaborated

Right now, ‘Pakistan’ is flooding my news feeds and making headlines across the internet, though in doing so it is sadly reinforcing the tendency these days to associate the country with unrest and violence. Today it is a bombing at a spy agency that