Art lovers in the Kansai region have cause to rejoice. A new major museum has opened, fulfilling a promise that remained tantalizingly out of reach for decades. The year was 1983. Culture Club's "Karma Chameleon" was topping the charts, Cold War tensions were ratcheting up, and Apple Computer announced the release of the Macintosh 128K, while in Japan the economic bubble was still several years in the future. It was in August of that year that the city of Osaka announced plans for the Osaka City Museum of Modern Art. The initial impetus was the gift of the large collection of businessman Hatsujiro Yamamoto, including many paintings by the short-lived but prolific Yuzo Saeki (1898-1928), born in Osaka and active in France. more...

The impact of Japanese art and culture on European artistic circles is wide and varied, yet its full scope remains largely unknown, even to many keen art enthusiasts. The Spanish artist Joan Miró (1893-1983) is a case in point. While his images are familiar to many in Japan and abroad, the Japanese influence on his work is a less familiar topic. A new exhibition at The Bunkamura Museum of Art in Tokyo aims to document the connections and interactions between Miró and Japanese artists and cultural figures, and to bring into focus how his interest in Japanese culture may have affected his creative process. Joan Miró and Japan assembles about 140 exhibits, ranging from Miró's own artworks to Japanese prints, pottery and more. more...