Ryuji Miyamoto: Looking back to go forward
"Invisible Land" at the TOP Museum doesn't showcase Ryuji Miyamoto's best-known works. Instead, it offers insight into the photographer's development of a style that led to international recognition.
Yu Araki: What you get is what you see
The minimalist elegance of Yu Araki's "Le Souvenir Du Japon" at first seems to be an affirmation of civilization and the redemptive possibilities of beauty; however, within the gorgeous setup is a postcolonial ambivalence about the social and historical conditions of "taste."
'Information or Inspiration?': The paths of perception
A review of "Information or Inspiration?" at the Suntory Museum of Art almost needs a spoiler alert — it includes many surprises that make it more than a showcase of glassware, lacquerware, enamel, ceramic and calligraphy works: It's an immersive, thought-provoking experience.
Kanjiro Kawai: Pots of incredible talent
The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto's "Potter Kawai Kanjiro: Works from the Kawakatsu Collection" is just the fourth time it has presented such a substantial selection of works from its renowned Kawakatsu Collection of over 400 pieces.
Masaya Nakayama: Keeping an eye on the art of subtraction
Finding artistic freedom in New York, Osaka-born artist finds new expressions for Japanese-style painting.
Weaving in and out of a century of art
The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo's re-opening exhibition is an ambitious exploration of an entire century's worth of art that runs through the majority of the museum building and spans four floors. Allow yourself ample time to make your way through it.
Japanese artisanship: As real as it can get
From perfect replicas of fruit to tiny articulated dragons, Japan's ceramic, metal, wood and other craft industries excel at making decorative items that are so detailed and realistic, they can fool the naked eye.
Bizen: Pottery that rose from the ashes
Of all the ancient high-fired unglazed stoneware styles in Japan, none is as popular as Bizen pottery, with its vareid colors and textures all the results of melting ash from the kiln.
Ohara Koson: Bringing ukiyo-e back to life
Ohara Koson created a large body of ukiyo-e prints that delighted a foreign clientelle, yet garnered relatively little attention in Japan. More than 70 years after his death, he is finally being honored with a retrospective in his native country.
Toshiko Okanoue gives us pieces of her mind
Despite being unaware of the surrealists in Europe, Toshiko Okanoue created collages that were so unusual for the 1950s, they caught the attention of Shuzo Takiguchi, the leader of Japan's surrealism movement.
Crossing 70 years of Katsushika Hokusai
Featuring an astounding 480 prints, spanning the entire 70 years of Katushika Hokusai's career, the new Hokusai exhibition at the Mori Arts Center Gallery is a great overview for ukiyo-e fans.
Gentaro Komaki: A pioneer of surrealism
Gentaro Komaki (1906-89), the son of a Kyoto Prefecture silk crepe wholesaler, lived a decadent youth of literature and philosophy, until seeing the work of Max Ernst and Yves Tanguy inspired to pursue surrealist art.
