One way in which the business world is different from the art world is that business people often say they don’t like surprises. In the art world, people love surprises.

Ceramicists like Ryota Aoki are often amazed when their finished work comes out of the kiln. Painters like Giang Nguyen don’t know exactly what will result in combining colours, but still often take the chance because the outcome can be beautiful. In art, the possibility of seeing something unexpectedly great is always there.

I also love surprises. So when I go to out to see art, I invoke the famous words of Clint Eastwood’s character Harry Callahan: ‘Go ahead, make my day.’ For example, I went to an exhibition a few months ago in a Tokyo suburb, and although I wasn’t impressed with the show, I loved the art in the outside lobby—magnificent prints by Jasper Johns and Ellsworth Kelly. I ended up spending more time there than at the actual exhibit, but was thrilled and went home more than satisfied.

I’d love to live in a place where art would continuously be surprising me. I’m jealous of New Yorkers who can easily go out and see the recently unveiled Ai Weiwei sculptures in their city. These kinds of art surprises don’t happen in Tokyo, where I reside—ever. 

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It’s not widely known—yet—that Thailand has a small but flourishing domestic wine industry. And many of the unique selections slowly starting to come out of the country, and being recognized internationally as well, hail from the Khao Yai area, about 150 kilometres north-east of Bangkok. (The region is home to the expansive Khao Yai National Park.)

I recently spoke with Heribert Gaksch of PB Valley Khao Yai Winery, which was the first winery to open in Khai Yai back in 1997. He told me a little bit more about the emerging Thai wine scene:

What makes the Khao Yai area particularly suitable for producing wine? What makes the varieties special?

Although traditionally, wine is grown between latitudes of 30 to 50° (north or south), Thailand is far further south than that, with PB Valley Khao Yai Winery, for instance, located at 14.3° north on a plateau north of the Khao Yai National Park at about 300 to 380 metres above sea level. But the dry cool weather during the winter months creates a microclimate, which supports the growth of the grapes.

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This Mother’s Day, will Asian mothers around the world be receiving a little bit more gratitude (or resentment) than usual from their grown-up offspring?

After all, like it or not, the image of the Asian mother in the West has changed in the eyes of many, possibly forever, thanks to Chinese-American author Amy Chua’s book and memoir, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, which exploded onto the US scene at the start of the year.

More recently, Chua, who’s also a professor of law at Yale university, was named one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world, for (according to the accompanying blurb) having ‘hit us where it hurts, questioning our parenting, our kids’ educational achievement and our nation's ability to compete globally in today's world.’

So what’s so striking about the book—Chua’s personal memoir of raising her two now teenage daughters—that it’s ignited such fervour in the press and public? Back in January, Chua told the media that in the week after the Wall Street Journal published an excerpt from Battle Hymn, she received hundreds of emails—which included death threats.

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After the earthquake and tsunami, many people here in Japan told me they were lying low, and staying in rather than going out. I can relate. In the weeks following the March 11 disaster, almost everyone I ran into wanted to talk about the earthquake and the tsunami and the radiation. It’s a conversation I’ve had too many times already.

On those days you’d rather stay inside, but still want to look at some beautiful art work, the solution is easy: Turn to your computer and head to the websites of the world's top two major auction houses—Christie's and Sotheby’s. You might have to be a multi-millionaire to bid on some of the works, but looking is free and you can dream about having them in your own collection.

The site that I think is the absolute best is Christie's. On it there's a lot more than just auction information. You’ll also see information about their lectures, their videos and their educational programs. And you can even do a search based on your collecting tastes and the amount of money you’d like to spend. Try entering different amounts and see what turns up.

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How important is art to the future of Chinese society, and what will the consequences be of it taking a backseat in the name of economic progress and Western influence?

I recently had the opportunity to speak to prominent contemporary Chinese artist Zhu Wei—renowned for his ink painting technique—on this topic and more.

In your opinion, do young artists in China have the desire to pursue and modernize traditional art forms such as ink painting? Is this something you think is important in preserving Chinese culture?

Preserving the culture of a country or a nation is very important, especially now. Nowadays, with science and technology being so widespread, people all over the world are using similar basic modes of communication, so culture is going to be the last trump to differentiate a country or a nation from another. And it’s also integral to keeping human society varied. In China, there’s going to be a gap in the continuity of traditional Chinese ink and wash paintings. Although every year hundreds of thousands of students get admitted to oil-painting and design departments of art schools, few students choose to study ink and wash paintings.

What’s more, their parents discourage them from learning such techniques, because the future career is unpromising. As a result, the ink and wash painting departments of art academies countrywide can only enrol three or four students. And even these students are often unwilling to concentrate fully on this.  Normally they’ll select a design course as their second major, opening up a way to better fit into society in future.

Of course, not all students are like this. One of my assistants is from Japan, and she’s very focused on learning ink flower and bird paintings in China. She got a bachelor's degree at first, and now is studying for a doctorate degree.

Ink and wash painting has an interesting recent history in China that might also be applicable to others parts of Asia, such as Japan and Korea. Could you tell us a little bit about this?