In the early 20th century, innovation and modernization were reshaping how the world looked no less in the fields of architecture, fine art, and design than in science and industry. Many of the leading developments were taking place in Europe, and the art school known as the Bauhaus, based in Germany, was at the heart of the design revolution. Its influence was widespread, even reaching Japan. A new exhibition at Tokyo Station Gallery surveys the school's output and teaching practices, concluding with a look at the work of four Japanese students of the Bauhaus who returned to work in Japan. Titled come to bauhaus! -- the basis of education in art and design, the show packs in about 300 exhibits. more...

The Taro Okamoto Museum of Art, Kawasaki marked its 20th year in 2019. On the way to this museum nestled in the wooded Ikuta Ryokuchi Park, just across the Tama River from Tokyo, my taxi driver tells me it is popular with visitors from the Osaka area, home to Okamoto's landmark public sculpture Tower of the Sun. Okamoto (1911-1996), who made a name for himself across Japan as a major postwar artist, was born in Kawasaki. The museum holds both permanent and special exhibitions, the first relating his life story, philosophy, and artistic achievements, which ranged from ethnological research on Japan's prehistoric cultures to avant-garde painting and sculpture. Okamoto became sort of a cultural phenomenon in his own right, popularizing the phrase "Art is explosion!" The current special exhibition, Shiro Takahashi and the Kojiki: Mythology, Art, Technology, fits with the museum's history of spotlighting contemporary artists who channel his ethos. more...