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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. |
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1 September 2017 |
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| Kana Imanishi Exhibition |
| 27 June - 2 July 2017 |
LADS Gallery
(Osaka) |
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| Imanishi fashions wooden sculptures of extremely everyday things -- shoes, bicycles, vacuum cleaners. What distinguishes her work is the way she deforms and discolors, to just the right degree, these otherwise utterly unremarkable motifs. In a previous solo show she hung reliefs on the wall, but most of the pieces here are solid objects that sit on the floor or a dais. Adding dimensionality is a smart move that augments the impact of her work. |
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| Shiho Ueda Exhibition |
| 27 June - 2 July 2017 |
LADS Gallery
(Osaka) |
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| Ueda takes full advantage of the lightness of transparent watercolors in abstract paintings that evoke landscapes or the play of light and water. In this solo show, her biggest to date, she maximized her use of the exhibit space as well, displaying an impressive array of large works in various sizes on the longer walls, with smaller works toward the rear of the gallery. The compositional diversity of the layout complemented the rhythmic quality of the works themselves. |
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| Aoi Hayashi: Traces of voice |
| 8 - 16 July 2017 |
KUNST ARZT
(Kyoto) |
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| Unlike written language, the voice cannot be separated from the body of the speaker. Moreover, it is a phenomenon of its time and place that immediately vanishes. Instead of representing the immediacy of the voice through recording or other mechanical means, Hayashi paints her lips with lipstick and applies them directly to the canvas while voicing words. Thus she creates visible traces of physical contact between the speaking mouth and the canvas support, giving form to the sensation that every space is filled countless inaudible echoes. |
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| Ishikawa Kyuyo Calligraphy Exhibition |
| 5 - 30 July 2017 |
The Ueno Royal Museum
(Tokyo) |
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| A retrospective of the renowned contemporary calligrapher's four-plus decades of work since the 1970s. Early on he drew characters not as lines but as surfaces. Later they became linear movements or waves, no longer legible as text. Neither characters nor pictures, his works are lines, signs, symbols, even maps. The show was a richly rewarding visual experience. |
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| HOKUSAI x FUJI: Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji and One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji - A Towering Lineup |
| 27 June - 20 August 2017 |
The Sumida Hokusai Museum
(Tokyo) |
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| The museum's fourth "inaugural exhibition" since its opening in November 2016 showcased Hokusai's two great Fuji series. Adding a novel twist was the classification of his works according to such themes as Composition, Nature, Customs, Perspective, Legends, Yearly Events, and Humor. Dividing the show in this manner highlighted the protean nature of Hokusai's visual imagination. |
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| Japan Alps Art Festival 2017 |
| 4 June - 30 July 2017 |
Omachi City, various locations
(Nagano) |
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| This was the first year for a new art festival based in Omachi, a city picturesquely situated at the foot of the Northern Alps in Nagano Prefecture. Directed by ubiquitous artfest impresario Fram Kitagawa, the event exhibited works by 36 artists and art groups from Japan and abroad in such spots as downtown Omachi, the hot springs district, Lake Aoki and Omachi Dam. Unlike other arts festivals around the country, this one occupied a relatively small area. Though modest in scale, its attractive venues more than compensated for the few works on show. |
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| Takashi Inoi: Train Photo Fisherman |
| 22 June - 8 August 2017 |
Canon Gallery S
(Tokyo) |
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| Inoi (1947-) is not only chair of the Japan Railway Photographers Society, but one of the pioneers of the avocation whose work is notable for the way he sets the trains off against their surroundings. He also has a brilliant instinct for place, time, and season, pressing the shutter with flawless timing. Likening his calling to that of a fisherman, he revels in the challenge of getting his shot at just the right instant. |
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