NEW YORK, NY.- The Department of Asian Art of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Asia Week New York will co-host the annual reception in the Asian art galleries of The Museum on Monday, March 19 to celebrate Asia Week.

This private by-invitation only reception has become a must attend event on the calendars of curators, auction house experts, and collectors who descend upon New York for the ten-day non-stop extravaganza of exhibitions, auctions, and cultural events.

“We are delighted to join with the Department of Asian Art of the Met as co- hosts of this wonderful evening,” says Christina Prescott-Walker, chairman of Asia Week New York. “There isn’t a more spectacular setting in which to herald the treasures of Asia.”

Maxwell K. (Mike) Hearn, Douglas Dillon Chairman of the Metropolitan’s Department of Asian Art, commented: “This event, which brings together dealers, collectors, curators and scholars from around the globe, underscores the relevance and importance of Asian art as a vital component of The Met’s encyclopedic holdings.”

As they have in preceding years, guests can avail themselves of special curatorial tours of The Met’s entire Asian Wing, including the seven special exhibitions currently on view there. They include:

Diamond Mountains: Travel and Nostalgia in Korean Art (through May 20, 2018); The Poetry of Nature: Edo Paintings from the Fishbein- Bender Collection (through January 21, 2019); Crowns of the Vajra Masters: Ritual Art of Nepal (through December 16, 2018); Streams and Mountains without End: Landscape Traditions of China (through January 6, 2019); Spirited Creatures: Animal Representations in Chinese Silk and Lacquer (through July 22, 2018); A Passion for Jade: Heber Bishop and His Collection (through July 22, 2018); and Celebrating the Year of the Dog (through July 4, 2018).
Many of the Asia Week New York dealers will launch their exhibitions on Thursday March 15. The exhibitions will open to the public the next day and throughout the designated Open House Weekend, and continue through March 24.