Crosscurrents: Masterpieces of East Asian Art from New York Private Collections

In recent years New York has tried to assert itself as a leader for Asian art sales, and this stylish, large-format book provides evidence of its possible preeminence in collecting as well. The catalog of the first exhibition organized under a new regime at the Japan Society Galleries, Crosscurrents carries a subtitle that says it all: Masterpieces of East Asian Art from New York Private Collections. This glimpse of what's usually hidden includes such famous works as a vivid landscape album by the Chinese scholar-painter Daoji and surprises like a Japanese celadon-green dish with a blue-and-white vignette. Generally excellent color reproductions show both the stunning and the subtle, whether a fantastic Daoist mountain with curious creatures or a peaceful Buddhist immortal. Most of the 71 artworks come from Japan or China, with a few from Korea.

The three organizing themes--sacred and ritual arts, literati arts and tea connoisseurship, nature and artifice--are more convenient catchalls than cogent supports of the expressed goal of placing Japanese art in the context of its continental neighbors. There is an excellent discussion of a group of tea utensils from all three countries, and while some of the other object commentaries may be fine miniatures, they too often describe relationships not visible in the works at hand, however wonderful. Essays by Chinese painting historian Richard Barnhart and Japanese specialist Christine Guth are thought-provoking, but the heart of this volume lies in its pictures of the "inspired, marvelous, and competent." Happily, the first two predominate. --Alex Lawrence