The art of play: Japan's history of fun
"Styles of Play: The History of Merrymaking in Art" at the Suntory Museum of Art delves into various amusements,with over 100 exhibits, ranging from the Muromachi Period (1392-1573) to the ...
'The Summer of Mononoke (Specters): Ghosts and Yokai in Edo Culture'
July 30-Sept. 8 During the Edo Period (1603-1868), stories of the supernatural boomed in the entertainment industry. Ghosts often appeared in kabuki plays, while yōkai (spirits and monsters) became popular subjects in artworks and prints. This exhibition showcases eerie masterpieces selected from the National Museum of ...
July 27-Aug. 18 Chicago-based interdisciplinary artist Sandra Binion studied classical ballet and fine art at college before becoming a performance artist during the mid-1970s. She began incorporating video and film in her performances in 1982, later focusing primarily on film. This exhibition features Binion's video, photography ...
July 27-Sept. 8 The Aomori Contemporary Art Centre's AIR Program, invites artists from different backgrounds to spend approximately three months attending workshops and creating new projects in Japan. This year's summer program brought together Soichiro Mihara from Japan, Gianfranco Foschino from Chile and Carlos Nunes ...
Yokoyama Kazan: The Edo Period influencer
The Edo Period painter Yokoyama Kazan's imaginative works depicting Kyoto, inspired not only artists but also intellectuals and writers, including the novelist Natsume Soseki.
'Hiroshi Kobatake: Called by Wood'
July 20-Sept. 8 The son of a Western-style painter father and a Japanese-style painter mother, sculptor Hiroshi Kobatake (1935-96) studied at Tokyo University of the Arts. After graduation, he taught art at several universities, until he established his own art school, Kobatake Sculpture Studio, in ...
July 19-Nov. 4 Though insects are integral to environments and affect our everyday lives, due to their variety, surprisingly little is known about them. Their vibrant colors, physical features and other characteristics and habits, however, often go beyond our imaginations, making them a great inspiration ...
'The World of Yamamoto Nizo: Animation Art Director Born in Goto Island, Nagasaki'
July 20-Sept. 16 Born in the Goto Islands of Nagasaki Prefecture, the animation art director Nizo Yamamoto is renowned for his background illustrations for numerous Studio Ghibli films, including "Grave of the Fireflies" (1988), "Princess Mononoke" (1997) and "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" (2006). In ...
How folk craft found its place in the art world
"Japanese Tableware" highlights the passion with which Soetsu Yanagi — one of the founding fathers of the Japanese folk crafts movement — appreciated artisanal works into his own life, displaying the actual tableware that his family used when they gathered for meals.
'Visible Nature / Invisible Nature: Lois Weinberger'
July 13-Oct. 20 Born in 1947 in a village in Tyrol — a mountainous region of Austria — Lois Weinberger grew up drawing plants and animals. As he developed as an artist, he continued to be inspired by the uncontrolled growth of nature, making it ...
'Children and Adults: What Does This Look Like?'
July 13-Sept. 23 Highlighting the materials, techniques and expressions of 60 eye-catching works selected from the Ashiya City Museum of Art and History's contemporary art collection, this exhibition presents pieces by numerous artists, including painter, printmaker and photographer Ei-Q (1911-60), mixed-media artist Yoshinobu Nakagawa and ...
'Izumi Kato: Like a Rolling Snowball'
July 13-Jan. 13, 2020 Izumi Kato began his career as a painter during the 1990s and later focused on wooden sculptures from the 2000s. Now based in Tokyo and Hong Kong, he is internationally recognized for his series of unusual humanoid figures that, in style and ...
