artscape Japan


	HOME > PICKS

Picks is a monthly sampling of Japan's art scene, offering commentary by a variety of reviewers about exhibitions at museums and galleries in recent weeks, with an emphasis on contemporary art by young artists.

1 November 2017

| 1 | 2 |

Amazing Craftsmanship! From Meiji Kogei to Contemporary Art

16 September - 3 December 2017

Mitsui Memorial Museum
(Tokyo)

Art historian Yuji Yamashita curates this special assemblage of some 130 craftworks, juxtaposing Meiji-era (1868-1912) kogei with contemporary art created in the same spirit. The exhibition demonstrates that while Meiji crafts were largely neglected in the postwar era, a very small number of artists continued to find inspiration in the tradition. It also suggests that practical steps must still be taken to ensure that craftsmanship at this level survives today.

Rokko Meets Art 2017

9 September - 23 November 2017

Various locations on Mt. Rokko
(Hyogo)

This annual event occupies venues scattered across Kobe's Mt. Rokko, or Rokkosan, enabling visitors to view art installations while strolling the paths in the mountaintop park, enjoying the natural setting and various tourist attractions in the bargain. With 39 artists participating, the festival’s eighth iteration offers the usual diversity, but seems a bit subdued overall. It may need some freshening up -- a review of past efforts and an injection of new ideas and goals.

Sachiko Kodama: On Dazzlement - Éblouissant

6 October - 26 November 2017

Seikado
(Kyoto)

Kodama makes artworks from ferrofluid, a liquid metal that shape-shifts like a living organism. Ferrofluids sprout thorn-like protuberances when subjected to a magnetic field. Using a computer-controlled electromagnet, the artist has figured out how to create her own original ferrofluid sculptures. This show introduces ten works on the theme of the "dazzlement" (éblouissant in French) induced by the materials, motion, and light.

Michio Fukuoka: A Sculptor Who No Longer Sculpts

28 October - 24 December 2017

The National Museum of Art, Osaka
(Osaka)

This first major retrospective of the six-decade career of Osaka-based sculptor Fukuoka (b. 1936) offers 98 works spanning the 1950s to the 2000s. Known for his unrepentant anti-art stance (in 2005 he declared himself "a sculptor who no longer sculpts"), Fukuoka creates thought-provoking pieces that challenge or even reject the very act of expression. One hopes this show will bring him wider recognition.

A Retrospective of Togo's Depiction of Women: Lyricism and Beauty

16 September - 12 November 2017

Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Museum of Art
(Tokyo)

A show commemorating the 120th anniversary of the birth of Seiji Togo (1897-1978), an avant-garde artist who was one of the first to introduce Cubist and Futurist styles into Japan. Works range from his experimental early period, his seven years in Paris, the years after his return when he also dabbled in design and murals, and his postwar output when the "Togo style" coalesced. Of particular interest is the relationship between Tsuguharu (Leonard) Foujita, who painted war pictures, and Togo, who did not.

Unkei - The Great Master of Buddhist Sculpture

26 September - 26 November 2017

Tokyo National Museum
(Tokyo)

The country's most celebrated Buddhist sculptor, Unkei (c.1150-1223) is known for his superb technique and the realism and vitality of his images. This thorough survey gathers masterpieces from several sources, notably the Nara temple Kofukuji with which he was closely associated. Also of note is the inclusion of works by Unkei's father and his sons, all of them Buddhist sculptors, thus illustrating the lineage of which he was a part.

Tadao Ando: Endeavors

27 September - 18 December 2017

The National Art Center, Tokyo
(Tokyo)

An exhaustive overview of the renowned architect's half-century career. The entrance is a narrow hallway lined with Ando's early residential designs. This opens into a large exhibition space dotted with an archipelago of plans, sketches, maquettes, and photos of prominent Ando projects around the globe. One must-see is a full-size replica of his Church of the Light.

1937 - Modernism at a Branch Point

16 September - 5 November 2017

The Museum of Modern Art, Hayama
(Kanagawa)

1937 was the year the Marco Polo Bridge Incident launched Japan's all-out war with China. Yet even as the sound of marching boots grew closer and the country began its rush down the slippery slope to World War II, a modern urban culture was flourishing, and surrealist and abstract art were at their zenith. It was indeed a watershed year for modernism, and no exhibition focused on this period could be less than fascinating.

Biosphere Kazuki Hitoosa Solo Exhibition

5 - 16 September 2017

galerie 16
(Kyoto)

Hitoosa makes interactive video installations. In the piece featured here, biosphere, she layers multiple video images of trees and plants, animals, fish, and pond surfaces, accompanied by evocative music. After viewing the work for a while, one begins to feel like the last surviving human on Earth, yearning for a natural environment that no longer exists.

Norio Imai: origin of the blank

2 - 30 September 2017

Art Office Ozasa
(Kyoto)

This solo show was centered around two series produced by Imai (b. 1946) at very different times in his career. Thoughts on the Frame is represented by 12 works from 2010 and 2011, while two works from an earlier series, Painting or White Space-A and -B, were first displayed in a Gutai group show in 1971. It's intriguing that a single artist has been creating work in such a similar vein after four decades.

| 1 | 2 |