By Yuka Maeno 

The art worlds of China, India and Japan come together in Facing East, an exhibition of paintings and sculptures at the Manchester Art Gallery. The gallery has carefully selected ten rarely exhibited pieces from the Frank Cohen collection, featuring an eclectic mix of contemporary works by Asia’s most prominent international artists: He An, Bharti Kher, Chen Lei, Yue Minjun, Takashi Murakami, Yoshimoto Nara, Ravinder Reddy, Thukral and Tagra. 

Highlights include a life-size baby elephant made of bindis by New Delhi-based Bharti Kher’s, He An’s suspended fibreglasss figures inspired by kung fu fight scenes in The Matrix, and Yoshimoto Nara’s interactive artist’s studio built inside the gallery.  

Facing East runs from 4 February – 11 April at the Manchester Art Gallery, Mosley Street, Manchester M2 3JL. For more information, visit the website.

Image: The Big Kiss, 2007 by Chen Lei. Mixed Media. © The artist. Courtesy The Frank Cohen Collection