- Sep 23, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 8, 2025
On a sunny Saturday fall afternoon, the NYC Gallery Art Walk brought together art and culture lovers on a visual journey through innovative Asian art in lower Manhattan. Across four galleries with six artists of different cultural, technical, and generational backgrounds, guests enjoyed a deeply immersive experience spotlighting contemporary Asian art and artists.
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Attendees first arrived at Art Projects International and enjoyed an opening reception in the beautiful gallery, meeting new and old friends over refreshments from Sanzo!
To kick off the Art Walk, Andrea Louie, the Executive Director of the Serica Initiative, and Michelle Yun Mapplethorpe, Director and Curator of the Katonah Museum of Art, began with a few remarks to commemorate this partnership and the significance of spotlighting contemporary Asian artists.
Next, Andrew Sanders, the owner of Art Projects International, led attendees on a tour of the space. Sanders had opened Art Projects International over 34 years ago with his wife Jung Lee in SoHo, in a time where the New York art gallery space was very homogenous.
“At that time, the art being shown in galleries was mostly white. And men,” Sanders said. And in that space, Andrew and his wife Jung Lee, began Art Projects International, showcasing artists of diverse backgrounds, including hosting South Korean artist Il Lee’s first solo exhibition in 1997.
Attendees enjoyed Il Lee’s pioneering ballpoint pen works and a history of his process, first begun by the artist in black ink, and now in blue ink, as narrated by Sanders. In an exclusive tour of the back of the gallery, Il Lee’s large-scale works of acrylic and oil on canvas were displayed. These more recent works, while reminiscent of Il Lee’s renowned evocative line work, involve an innovative process of displacement of material, as Il Lee carves through paint, creating striking works that appear to emanate light.
After a warm welcome from Sanders, attendees began embarking on their next stop, Bortolami Gallery, enjoying a beautiful walk from Tribeca to Soho, Serica gift bags and Tea Drops in tow!
At the Bortolami Gallery, attendees enjoyed two sweeping floors of contemporary Asian art, including sculptures and paintings from Japanese American artist Naotaka Hiro and Chinese artist Xiyadie’s first exhibition in the United States.
On the first floor, attendees viewed Naotaka Hiro’s body-based performance and multimedia art, including canvases worn, bound, and painted on Hiro’s body to create an abstract language of movement and form.
Next, attendees headed to the second floor to view Xiyadie’s first New York solo exhibition. Xiyadie’s self-taught paper cutting art, a folk art form from his upbringing in rural China, was displayed on large-scale works and smaller prints, reflecting his identity as a semi-closeted gay man in China.
At the Andrew Kreps Gallery, attendees enjoyed paintings from Iranian American artist Hadi Falapishi and moving works of fiber art from Japanese American artist Kay Sekimachi.
Falapishi’s art, through both multimedia paintings and photographic work, explored the use of cartoonish and humorous motifs amidst tongue-in-cheek violence to imply tensions in familiar societal structures and themes of alienation and displacement.
Sekimachi’s pioneering fiber and weaving art, from three-dimensional monofilament hangings, to intricately woven bowls, baskets, and sculptures, shone in the late afternoon light. At Bortolami, these ethereal and dynamic works, synthesizing innovative techniques with traditional crafts central to Sekimachi’s cultural identity, included rare, early works from Sekimachi’s personal archive commemorating nearly 80 years of her career as the “weaver’s weaver,” an expert fiber artist.
Finally, at Ulterior Gallery, attendees enjoyed an introduction from gallerist Takako Tanabe to Gaku Tsutaja’s multimedia exhibit, viewing paintings, photos, and a video projected with images from the central sculpture in the room. Tsutaja herself made a surprise appearance to explain the thorough research process in her works, where she explores deeply traumatic events and histories to create symbolic forms and narratives in her art encouraging viewers to collectively confront recurring patterns of human history.
As the Art Walk wrapped to a close, guests enjoyed an intimate reception at Ulterior Gallery, surrounded by Tsutaja’s striking art, and accompanied with refreshments from Lunar Hard Seltzer and Kish Apéritif by Kristen Kish!
Many thanks to the generous and knowledgeable gallerists, artists, and our tour guide, Michelle Yun Mapplethorpe, for making the NYC Gallery Art Walk an unforgettable exploration of the incredible work being done by Asian and Asian American contemporary artists!
For more Asian art this fall, join The Serica Initiative, The Katonah Museum of Art, and The Pocantico Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund for an exclusive art and cultural exhibition: An Afternoon Journey with Shen Wei: STILL / MOVING.
A celebration of Shen Wei’s visionary career as a dancer, choreographer, visual artist, filmmaker, and global cultural ambassador, this excursion will offer rare access to the full scope of his trailblazing oeuvre across two venues and a live performance from Shen Wei himself!
Learn more about the exhibition and buy tickets at https://www.sericainitiative.org/shen-wei!
