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Set of Three Chinese Qing Dynasty Jade Bangles
Located in Chicago, IL
Valued for its rarity and lustrous appearance, jade (yù) has long been a symbol of excellence, longevity and purity of virtue. Worn as jewelry or as a protective charm, the stone was believed to imbue a person with a clear mind and pure spirit, and to guard against evil spirits and illness. To this day, if a jade bangle is broken during use, it's thought that the jade protected the wearer by absorbing incoming negative energy or harm. For many, jade bangles are also cherished family heirlooms, worn from a young age to represent the enduring bonds to their ancestors and loved ones.
This jade bangles in this set of three date to the Qing dynasty (1644-1912) and display a lovely range of colors and forms. The group includes one bangle of pale celadon jade, one of black jade, and one of celadon jade. Each bracelet is slightly unique, the pale celadon and black jade examples carved with straight sides and the celadon example carved in relief with an archaistic dragon winding through clouds.
Additional Dimensions:
Celadon Dragon...
Category
Antique Early 19th Century Chinese Qing Antiquities
Materials
Jade
Chinese Round Leg Square Table, circa 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
This well-proportioned center table dates to the mid-19th century, crafted of elmwood (yumu) with mortise-and-tenon joinery with thick, round legs and an expansive floating-panel top...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Center Tables
Materials
Elm
Tibetan Flint Striker with Malachite Clasp
Located in Chicago, IL
In 19th-century Tibet, many men carried a fire striker to help ensure survival in the often-harsh climate of the Tibetan Plateau. Known as mechag, such strikers would hang from one's...
Category
20th Century Tibetan Tibetan Mounted Objects
Materials
Silver, Steel
Tobacco Brown Reclaimed Elm Stool
Located in Chicago, IL
Crafted of wood reclaimed from 18th-century Chinese buildings, this contemporary three-leg stool is the epitome of farmhouse modern. Embracing the notion of “wabi-sabi,” the large st...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Organic Modern Stools
Materials
Reclaimed Wood
Chinese Washing Stone Pedestal, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
Carved in the late 19th century in northern China, this limestone washing stone would have been used by a Qing-dynasty woman for washing clothes and textiles. Used by beating wet fab...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Minimalist Pedestals and Columns
Materials
Limestone
Speckled Pine Gobi Sideboard, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
Created in the style of Mongolian storage coffers, this early 20th-century herdsman's chest has a modern design of simple lines and rustic texture. Originally configured to open from...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Organic Modern Sideboards
Materials
Pine
Art Deco Mirrored Pedestal Table, c. 1930s
Located in Chicago, IL
This low mirrored accent table is a fabulous example of the streamlined forms and bold materials that defined Art Deco furniture design. Dated to...
Category
Vintage 1930s European Art Deco Side Tables
Materials
Mirror, Wood
Low Chinese Splayed Leg Table, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Perfectly proportioned, this low table is a quintessential example of classical Chinese furniture design. The table dates to the mid-19th century and is crafted of northern elm (yumu...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Minimalist Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Materials
Elm
Pair of Italian Art Deco Slipper Chairs with Macassar Ebony Veneer
Located in Chicago, IL
This lovely pair of Art Deco side chairs perfectly embodies the timeless appeal of Deco period furniture. Ideal in a bedroom or parlor, the chairs have a modern silhouette of round u...
Category
Vintage 1930s Italian Art Deco Side Chairs
Materials
Silk, Wood, Ebony
Japanese Meiji Gilt Lacquer Writing Desk & Poem Box
Located in Chicago, IL
With intricate construction and exquisite decoration, this fine tabletop writing set is a masterpiece of Japanese lacquerware. The matching set includes a writing table (bundai) and poem box (tanzaku bako), both decorated with gilt lacquer in the style of takamaki-e and hiramaki-e urushi lacquer.
Framed by everted ends, the lacquered table top is masterfully worked, depicting a robed man seated on a veranda within an idyllic mountain-and-water landscape. Swirling clouds drift overhead and pine trees bend towards the sky, formed of raised lacquer (takamaki-e) and mother of pearl inlay (raden). Dark lacquer at the corners imitate metal hardware and the sculptural corner legs are decorated with raised motifs of maple leaves.
The writing table includes a matching poem box (tanzaku bako), used for storing paper cards of painted calligraphy and poetry. The lid is similarly decorated in shimmering gilt lacquer with a raised design of a fine carriage beneath a pine tree, draped in cloths and shaded by bamboo blinds...
Category
Early 20th Century Japanese Meiji Lacquer
Materials
Mother-of-Pearl, Wood
Petite Chinese Mirror Tray, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Simple lines, a modest form, and a well-worn finish give this small Qing-dynasty tray a provincial charm that recalls the warmth of home. Rich with character, the tray has a weathere...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Rustic Platters and Serveware
Materials
Mirror, Pine
Georgian Period English Lowboy Side Table, c. 1750
Located in Chicago, IL
This English lowboy table from the mid-18th century unites the refined flourishes of Regency-era furniture with the timeless appeal of country antiques. Crafted of English oak, the t...
Category
Antique Mid-18th Century English Georgian Lowboys
Materials
Brass
Chinese Red Lacquer Hide Pillow, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Dated to the late 19th century, this fine Chinese headrest is hand-crafted of lacquered hide atop an elongated bamboo frame. Used while sleeping like a modern pillow, the headrest ha...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Mounted Objects
Materials
Hide
Petite Red Lacquer Mirror Tray, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Simple lines, a modest form, and layers of hand-brushed red lacquer give this petite Qing-dynasty tray a timeless, provincial charm. The square tray has developed great character fro...
Category
Antique 19th Century Chinese Organic Modern Decorative Dishes and Vide-P...
Materials
Mirror, Pine
"Retablo No. 4 (Blackbird)" by Patrick Fitzgerald
By Patrick Fitzgerald
Located in Chicago, IL
The intricate retablos of contemporary artist Patrick Fitzgerald are his means of paying homage to the musicians that inspired him throughout his life. Derived from Mexican votive...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Folk Art Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Other
Provincial Chinese Splayed Leg Bench with Dovetail Joinery
Located in Chicago, IL
This rustic bench from China's Shanxi province follows the classic recessed-leg form, defined by legs that are set back from the top edge and slightly splayed for stability. Popular ...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Rustic Benches
Materials
Pine
Indigo Blue Reclaimed Elm Waterfall Table
Located in Chicago, IL
This artisan-crafted console table is a celebration of wabi-sabi style. Crafted of elmwood timbers reclaimed from Qing-dynasty architecture, the table has a minimalist waterfall desi...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Organic Modern Console Tables
Materials
Elm
Pair of Chinese Blue & White Good Fortune Jars
Located in Chicago, IL
These round, porcelain storage jars are brightly glazed in the classic blue-and-white manner with a striking, high-contrast design. Emphasizing the graphic aesthetic qualities of Chi...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Chinese Export Jars
Materials
Porcelain
Chinese Raw Pine Herdsman's Coffer, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
Created in the style of Mongolian storage coffers, this early 20th-century herdsman's chest has a modern design of simple lines and rustic texture. Originally configured to open from...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Organic Modern Sideboards
Materials
Pine
Chinese Hanging Scroll Painting of a Winter Landscape
Located in Chicago, IL
Brushed with expressive linework and a minimalist color palette, this Chinese hanging scroll painting depicts an idyllic mountainside landscape in the ...
Category
20th Century Chinese Qing Paintings and Screens
Materials
Paper, Silk
"Retablo No. 5 (An Attic of Records)" by Patrick Fitzgerald
By Patrick Fitzgerald
Located in Chicago, IL
The intricate retablos of contemporary artist Patrick Fitzgerald are his means of paying homage to the musicians that inspired him throughout his life. Derived from Mexican votive...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Folk Art Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Other
Chinese Blue and White Jar with Mythical Fu Lions
Located in Chicago, IL
This round, porcelain storage jar is brightly glazed in the classic blue-and-white manner. A combination of stenciled linework and hand-brushed shading, the sides of the jar are deco...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Chinese Export Jars
Materials
Porcelain
Chinese Full Moon Rice Millstone, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
This large stone disc was originally used in a provincial Chinese home as a heavy millstone for grinding rice and other grains into flour and meal. Hand-carved from solid granite to a round, full moon shape, the millstone has a highly textured surface chiseled with an orderly pattern of straight furrows. The opposite side is less worked, with a rougher, organic texture. We love placing millstones like this outdoors to add a stone element to a garden, whether used as an abstract sculpture, as a stepping stone or as the face of a bubbling water...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Minimalist Garden Ornaments
Materials
Granite
"Dappled Light" by Michael Thompson
By Michael Thompson
Located in Chicago, IL
Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Materials
Fabric, Paper, Bamboo, Paint
Chinese Polychrome Lucky Fish
Located in Chicago, IL
Hand-carved from reclaimed wood, this rustic koi sculpture recreates early 20th-century Chinese folk art designs. The fish is carved with a squat, rounded body and finished with colo...
Category
20th Century Chinese Folk Art Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Wood, Pine
Chinese Bentwood Roundback Armchair, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Prior to the 10th century, Chinese society eschewed raised seats in favor of mats. The rising popularity of chairs and other forms of elevated seating led craftsmen to adapt traditio...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Chairs
Materials
Elm
Chinese Blue and White Jar with Mythical Fu Lions
Located in Chicago, IL
This round, porcelain storage jar is brightly glazed in the classic blue-and-white manner. A combination of stenciled linework and hand-brushed shading, the sides of the jar are deco...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Chinese Export Ceramics
Materials
Porcelain
"Voyage" by Michael Thompson
By Michael Thompson
Located in Chicago, IL
Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Materials
Paper, Fabric
Chinese Blue and White Botanical Jar
Located in Chicago, IL
This round, porcelain storage jar is brightly glazed in the classic blue-and-white manner with an allover pattern of botanical motifs. A combination of stenciled linework and hand-br...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Chinese Export Jars
Materials
Porcelain
Chinese Turned Wooden Mortar, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
This petite pinewood vessel is an early 20th century mortar once used daily in a provincial kitchen to grind herbs, spices, and condiments. The rustic container was hand-turned to an...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Rustic Antiquities
Materials
Pine
Chinese Blue and White Botanical Jar
Located in Chicago, IL
This round, porcelain storage jar is brightly glazed in the classic blue-and-white manner with an allover pattern of botanical motifs. A combination of stenciled linework and hand-br...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Chinese Export Jars
Materials
Porcelain
Chinese Bentwood Roundback Armchair, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Prior to the 10th century, Chinese society eschewed raised seats in favor of mats. The rising popularity of chairs and other forms of elevated seating led craftsmen to adapt traditio...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Furniture
Materials
Elm
"Reflective Composition (Blue Stamp)" by Michael Thompson
By Michael Thompson
Located in Chicago, IL
Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his travels. His ongoing series of large-scale kites bridge the gap between flat art and sculpture, each crafted of split bamboo frames covered with stretched muslin and a collage of vintage ephemera – including kimonos, obis, paintings, scrolls, drawings, metal leaf, bleeding paper, book pages, or anything with a story to tell.
A combination of print and collage, this work entitled “Reflective Composition (Blue Stamp...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Materials
Paper
Pair of Gilded Rococo Wall Mirrors, c. 1745-55
Located in Chicago, IL
This show-stopping pair of grand 18th-century wall mirrors are beautifully designed in accordance to prevailing tastes of the Rococo period and are attributed to the workshops of Wür...
Category
Antique Mid-18th Century German Rococo Wall Mirrors
Materials
Mirror, Plaster, Wood
"Iridescence" Memory Jug by Michael Thompson
By Michael Thompson
Located in Chicago, IL
Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his travels. In his ongoing series of memory jugs, Thompson adorns stoneware vessels with a kaleidoscope of ceramic shards, found objects, and pocket-sized trinkets he collected over the course of his life.
Also known as forget-me-not jugs or spirit jars, memory jugs are African American folk art objects that honor a loved one who has recently passed. Small tokens and mementos of the deceased are gathered and affixed to the exterior of a jug or vase, an abundance of memories that celebrates a life lived to the fullest.
Michael Thompson applies this tradition to his own practice, creating tactile assemblages of this and that. Formed in the manner of collage, each jug honors the lost memories of generations past and his own memories of personally discovering each item. With varied sources for materials including Kyoto, Turkey, and Mexico, a great number of the found shards are 18th and 19th century ceramics...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Stone
Chinese Turned Wooden Mortar, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
This petite pinewood vessel is an early 20th century mortar once used daily in a provincial kitchen to grind herbs, spices, and condiments. The rustic container was hand-turned to an...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Rustic Planters, Cachepots and Jardinières
Materials
Pine
"Graphiti" Mixed Media Collage by Michael Thompson
By Michael Thompson
Located in Chicago, IL
Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Materials
Canvas, Paper
Chinese Turned Wooden Mortar, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
This petite pinewood vessel is an early 20th century mortar once used daily in a provincial kitchen to grind herbs, spices, and condiments. The rustic container was hand-turned to a ...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Primitive Planters, Cachepots and Jardinières
Materials
Pine
"Ikebana" Kite by Michael Thompson
By Michael Thompson
Located in Chicago, IL
Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his travels. His ongoing series of large-scale kites bridge the gap between flat art and sculpture, each crafted of split bamboo frames covered with stretched muslin and a collage of vintage ephemera – including kimonos, obis, paintings, scrolls, drawings, metal leaf, bleeding paper, book pages, or anything with a story to tell.
In this bamboo kite entitled “Ikebana,” Thompson beautifully layers darkly saturated fragments atop pages of found text. A repurposed calligraphy scroll panels the left side, brushed with black ink with full flower blossoms and leafy foliage, while delicate pine branches grow upwards from the bottom. Vintage Japanese block prints...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Organic Modern Contemporary Art
Materials
Canvas, Bamboo, Paper
Provincial Chinese Travel Mirror, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
This round folding mirror dates to the mid-19th century and would have accompanied a well-to-do woman on her travels. The wooden frame is carved with simple scrollwork at the hinge and includes a flat cover that props the mirror upright when open. Beautifully aged and full of character, we love this humble traveling mirror...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Table Mirrors
Materials
Mirror, Elm
"Bouquet" Memory Jug by Michael Thompson
By Michael Thompson
Located in Chicago, IL
Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his travels. In his ongoing series of memory jugs, Thompson adorns stoneware vessels with a kaleidoscope of ceramic shards, found objects, and pocket-sized trinkets he collected over the course of his life.
Also known as forget-me-not jugs or spirit jars, memory jugs are African American folk art objects that honor a loved one who has recently passed. Small tokens and mementos of the deceased are gathered and affixed to the exterior of a jug or vase, an abundance of memories that celebrates a life lived to the fullest.
Michael Thompson applies this tradition to his own practice, creating tactile assemblages of this and that. Formed in the manner of collage, each jug honors the lost memories of generations past and his own memories of personally discovering each item. With varied sources for materials including Kyoto, Turkey, and Mexico, a great number of the found shards are 18th and 19th century ceramics...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Stone
"Peach Bloom" Kite by Michael Thompson
By Michael Thompson
Located in Chicago, IL
Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Organic Modern Contemporary Art
Materials
Fabric, Canvas, Bamboo
"The Embrace (Shunga Study)" Collage by Michael Thompson
By Michael Thompson
Located in Chicago, IL
Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Minimalist Contemporary Art
Materials
Paper
"Twilight (Just Before Dawn)" Kite by Michael Thompson
By Michael Thompson
Located in Chicago, IL
Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Organic Modern Contemporary Art
Materials
Canvas, Bamboo, Fabric
"China Cabinet" Memory Jug by Michael Thompson
By Michael Thompson
Located in Chicago, IL
Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his travels. In his ongoing series of memory jugs, Thompson adorns stoneware vessels with a kaleidoscope of ceramic shards, found objects, and pocket-sized trinkets he collected over the course of his life.
Also known as forget-me-not jugs or spirit jars, memory jugs are African American folk art objects that honor a loved one who has recently passed. Small tokens and mementos of the deceased are gathered and affixed to the exterior of a jug or vase, an abundance of memories that celebrates a life lived to the fullest.
Michael Thompson applies this tradition to his own practice, creating tactile assemblages of this and that. Formed in the manner of collage, each jug honors the lost memories of generations past and his own memories of personally discovering each item. With varied sources for materials including Kyoto, Turkey, and Mexico, a great number of the found shards are 18th and 19th century ceramics...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Ceramic, Stoneware
Chinese Blue and White Four Flowers Jar
Located in Chicago, IL
Loosely brushed with cobalt blue pigments, this round, blue-and-white storage jar is underglazed with lush garden scenery featuring the flowering plants of the four seasons. Tree peo...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Chinese Export Jars
Materials
Porcelain
Chinese Polychrome Lucky Fish
Located in Chicago, IL
Hand-crafted from reclaimed wood, this artisanal koi sculpture is a traditional symbol of harmony and luck. For Buddhists, such a fish represents a freedom from all restraints. And b...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Chinese Export Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Pine
"Pansy (New Flower)" Mosaic by Toyoharu Kii
By Toyoharu Kii
Located in Chicago, IL
Intricate, ethereal and highly textured, the abstract compositions of Japanese mosaic artist Toyoharu Kii reflect a sophisticated approach to the technical art of mosaic making. Clas...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Contemporary Art
Materials
Marble
Chinese Yunnan Lobed Pot, c. 1800
Located in Chicago, IL
Cloaked in a beautifully irregular brown slip finish, this 19th-century earthenware pot was charged with the humble task of storing dry goods in a Qing dynasty kitchen. The lobed pot...
Category
Antique Early 19th Century Chinese Qing Vases
Materials
Terracotta
"Pompeii" Memory Jug by Michael Thompson
By Michael Thompson
Located in Chicago, IL
Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his travels. In his ongoing series of memory jugs, Thompson adorns stoneware vessels with a kaleidoscope of ceramic shards, found objects, and pocket-sized trinkets he collected over the course of his life.
Also known as forget-me-not jugs or spirit jars, memory jugs are African American folk art objects that honor a loved one who has recently passed. Small tokens and mementos of the deceased are gathered and affixed to the exterior of a jug or vase, an abundance of memories that celebrates a life lived to the fullest.
Michael Thompson applies this tradition to his own practice, creating tactile assemblages of this and that. Formed in the manner of collage, each jug honors the lost memories of generations past and his own memories of personally discovering each item. With varied sources for materials including Kyoto, Turkey, and Mexico, a great number of the found shards are 18th and 19th century ceramics...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Ceramic, Stoneware
Chinese Blue and White Jar with Scholars' Objects
Located in Chicago, IL
This porcelain storage jar has a rounded, tapered form and is brightly glazed in the classic blue-and-white manner. The jar is decorated on three sides with cartouches enclosing stil...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Chinese Export Jars
Materials
Porcelain
"Ghost (Get Out of Town)" Mosaic by Toyoharu Kii
By Toyoharu Kii
Located in Chicago, IL
Intricate, ethereal and highly textured, the abstract compositions of Japanese mosaic artist Toyoharu Kii reflect a sophisticated approach to the technical art of mosaic making. Classically trained in Florence, Italy, Kii creates his modern mosaics using traditional techniques and materials, including hand-cut Italian marble and Venetian smalti glass. Eschewing the figural in favor of the abstract, his mosaics rely on contrasts of pattern and form to convey complex themes and achieve visual harmony.
Toyoharu Kii’s latest body of work “Geophytes” continues themes of rebirth and renewal. A reference to plants that regrow from hidden elements beneath the earth’s surface, the series celebrates the resilience of the natural world. Each mosaic is imagined as a landscape that documents a history of environmental damage due to human activity, and the subsequent return of nature as a restorative force. Through the juxtaposition of patterns and the interplay of order and disorder, Kii creates man-made “images of destruction” and finds hope in the future by “reconstructing nature.”
In this mosaic entitled "Ghost (Get Out...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Contemporary Art
Materials
Marble
"Ghost (Waiting For Friends)" Mosaic by Toyoharu Kii
By Toyoharu Kii
Located in Chicago, IL
Intricate, ethereal and highly textured, the abstract compositions of Japanese mosaic artist Toyoharu Kii reflect a sophisticated approach to the technical art of mosaic making. Clas...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Contemporary Art
Materials
Marble
"Ghost (Big Wings)" Mosaic by Toyoharu Kii
By Toyoharu Kii
Located in Chicago, IL
Intricate, ethereal and highly textured, the abstract compositions of Japanese mosaic artist Toyoharu Kii reflect a sophisticated approach to the technical art of mosaic making. Classically trained in Florence, Italy, Kii creates his modern mosaics using traditional techniques and materials, including hand-cut Italian marble and Venetian smalti glass. Eschewing the figural in favor of the abstract, his mosaics rely on contrasts of pattern and form to convey complex themes and achieve visual harmony.
Toyoharu Kii’s latest body of work “Geophytes” continues themes of rebirth and renewal. A reference to plants that regrow from hidden elements beneath the earth’s surface, the series celebrates the resilience of the natural world. Each mosaic is imagined as a landscape that documents a history of environmental damage due to human activity, and the subsequent return of nature as a restorative force. Through the juxtaposition of patterns and the interplay of order and disorder, Kii creates man-made “images of destruction” and finds hope in the future by “reconstructing nature.”
In this mosaic entitled "Ghost (Big Wings)," Kii takes a more representational approach to his storytelling, creating figurative drawings out of thin lines of tesserae. The mosaic belongs to his “Ghost” triptych, wherein Kii uses “wings” to represent the presence of a heavenly being, the ghosts of past spirits or the presence of an angel or guardian. In “Ghost (Big Wings),” Kii mourns the extinction of many creatures due to environmental change and imagines their lonely spirits wandering the earth. Enveloping their silhouettes is “a bird with big wings,” writes Kii, depicted here within a dense mosaic of abstract patterns, a symbol for nature’s healing power. “The bird consoles...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Contemporary Art
Materials
Marble
"New Morning" Kite by Michael Thompson
By Michael Thompson
Located in Chicago, IL
Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his travels. His ongoing series of large-scale kites bridge the gap between flat art and sculpture, each crafted of split bamboo frames covered with stretched muslin and a collage of vintage ephemera – including kimonos, obis, paintings, scrolls, drawings, metal leaf, bleeding paper, book pages, or anything with a story to tell.
In “New Morning,” panels of teal and indigo leach across the expansive canvas with captivating irregularity. Contrasted by a neutral field of vintage block prints...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Organic Modern Contemporary Art
Materials
Bamboo, Canvas, Paper
Chinese Calligraphy Brush with Glass Bead Handle
Located in Chicago, IL
Along with paper, ink, and inkstone, the brush is one of the Four Treasures of the scholar’s studio. Arguably the most important tool, the brush served as a direct link to the artist...
Category
20th Century Chinese Scholar's Objects
Materials
Metal, Other
Chinese Blue and White Four Flowers Jar
Located in Chicago, IL
Loosely brushed with cobalt blue pigments, this round, blue-and-white storage jar is underglazed with lush garden scenery featuring the flowering plants of the four seasons. Tree peo...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Chinese Export Jars
Materials
Porcelain
"Parts of Another" Collage by Michael Thompson
By Michael Thompson
Located in Chicago, IL
Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Materials
Paper
"Red Headed Drummer" Collage by Michael Thompson
By Michael Thompson
Located in Chicago, IL
Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Art
Materials
Paper
"Sprout" Mosaic by Toyoharu Kii
By Toyoharu Kii
Located in Chicago, IL
Monochromatic, ethereal and highly textured, the abstract compositions of Japanese mosaic artist Toyoharu Kii reflect a sophisticated approach to the technical art of mosaic making. ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Minimalist Contemporary Art
Materials
Marble
