New York's Asian Art Week

New York Times art critic Holland Carter finds the annual Asian Art Fair a disappointment today, but singles out some (mostly ancient) artifacts for praise.

"The sad news is that this year’s fair, which opens today, is a ghost of what it once was. * * * To its credit, the Asian fair struggles impressively. Its signature suaveness is intact, and it still has some memorable art moments."

The difficulty, Cotter rather coyly remarks, is that "problems developed."

"Top-shelf material to sell became harder to find. For various reasons, the fair’s starriest exhibitors dropped out, often to put on Asia-week shows on their own. When the fair added the phrase “also featuring the arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas” to its title last year, the distress signal was loud and clear."

In compensation, he says, dozens of private dealers "have set up shop for the week... in quite spectacular fashion" on East 57th Street. But for the long term, Cotter sensibly suggests, it may be time to focus on "contemporary Asian art."

"There’s a ton of it being pumped out, of which New Yorkers see but a fraction, nowhere near enough to give an idea of what’s really going on, which is the only way to separate gold from dreck. As a result, almost everything we see exists without a context, and looks odd and marooned. Maybe the Asian Fair could give it a context. I mean, if the fair really sees contemporary art as its future, why not go for it? A pan-Asian Modern and contemporary fair would be a valuable addition to the city. Done right, with savvy heads in charge ... it could be an event, make news."

Huzzah to that! Somewhere, sometime, a city that aspires to be the cultural center of the world will have to come to grips with contemporary Asian art, if for no other reason than as a consumer protection measure for its citizens. Better New York than Paris, Shanghai or, Minerva forbid, Dubai.

As Cotter quite rightly points out, a great deal of "dreck"is masquerading as contemporary Asian art these days. In China alone, dozens if not hundreds of alleged "art schools" dragoon thousands of aspiring young people every year into becoming mere copyists. Their assembly line 'work' is quickly shipped off to the West where it competes with genuine art instead of hanging above the headboard of some Motel 6 room where it belongs.