From uptown to downtown, East to West Side, and everywhere in between, 42 international galleries, plus auction houses and museums, are participating in this year’s Asia Week New York. The official gala tonight at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is a special celebration indeed, especially considering the museum is this year observing the 100th anniversary of its Asian department.

An annual celebration of Asian art, this week features not only focused exhibitions but an opportunity for visitors to enter normally-closed galleries. Some truly fantastic works are offered for sale at galleries, from ceramics to ink paintings, drawings to sculpture and beyond.

There are a few Examiner highlights from gallery shows this week that you won’t want to miss:

China 2000 is featuring a 20th-century ink on paper scrolled painting of a tiger, who looks both majestic and terrifying at the same time as he stalks toward you, yellow eyes staring directly into your own. This painting is particularly prominent in the gallery’s collection because it is one of the only known works created by female artist An Ho and her mentor, the gifted Pu Ru.

At Kang Collection, a gallery dedicated to Korean art, contemporary and color filled the walls. The most eye-catching work was a piece by Sun K. Kwak, made entirely of varnished gaffer tape of every color, wrapped around a wooden panel and then spiraling down to a clump on the floor.

Erik Thomsen’s main exhibition is on “Taisho Era Screens and Scrolls,” which focuses on the many luminous works created in Japan from 1912-1926 mainly for the home. A shimmering screen titled “Peacocks by Blooming Cherry Tree” by Tatsuyuki stands a towering 80 inches and spans almost as long. Made of mineral colors and metallic powders on paper, it is quite a sight to behold.

Joan B Mirviss Ltd, always a favorite gallery because of the distinctive and captivating works on view, is featuring Japanese stoneware. One in particular, made in 1988 by Kuriki Tatsusuke, is an “ovoid, lobed vessel with linear patterning in pink-silver glaze and sculpted mouth.” Unique in form, color and shape, this item of glazed stoneware gives viewers a taste of the craftiness of Asian artists.

Himalayan art is what’s being shown at Kapoor Galleries Inc., where a 6-inch-tall gilt bronze Tara statue from the 15th-century is on display. The intricate beaded inlay around the goddess’s cushion and body, the ornate crown and etched jewels, and the perfection of her pose all contribute to the viewer’s enjoyment of the piece.