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.
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.
