So much to say — so many ways to show it
Same-sex relationships, American bases in Okinawa, globalization, the Olympics, the atomic bomb, national identity, the exploitation of natural resources — "Image Narratives: Literature in Japanese Contemporary Art" at The National Art Center, Tokyo, does not lack for hot button topics.
Art at a science museum: When worlds collide
The premise of "Illuminating Landscapes: The Integration of Art and Science," as designer Taku Satoh puts it, is to explore "art and science together, not separated, as is too common in today's world."
Fashion is a game with a dress code to crack
Fashion can be identified as a game: The rules are not clear, but there are conducts to be observed, codes to be broken, winners, losers and, finally, stylistic exhaustion.
Bontaro Dokuyama: The art of expression
After the Great East Japan Earthquake, Fukushima native Bontaro Dokuyama began to focus on becoming an artist, explaining that he didn't see much expression from his home area: "If the audience enjoys having their thoughts provoked, that is enjoyable for me as an artist."
Genta Ishizuka: Beneath and on the surface
Contemporary urushi lacquerware artist Genta Ishizuka — winner of the 2019 Kyoto's Best Young Artist Award and Loewe Foundation Craft Prize — re-imagines the decorative beauty of traditional lacquer in unusual and sculptural pieces.
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 Edo Period (1603-1868).
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.
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.
Sachiko Kazama: Objections on paper
Sachiko Kazama's epic black-and-white compositions scratch at the history of Japanese fascism, refusing to let it hide behind prevarication and bad text books.
Tadanori Yokoo: From the shadows within
The blotchy, salty self-portrait that confronts you as you enter Tadanori Yokoo's exhibition of recent work "B29 and Homeland: From My Childhood to Andy Warhol" (2018) has a hangman's noose in the top left corner. This recalls one of the artist's most renowned works, ...
Eiko Yamazawa: Cracking the glass ceiling of photography
One of the first successful female photographers in Japan, Eiko Yamazawa was not only an adept commercial photographer, but a pioneer of abstraction at the forefront of constructed photography.
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.
