Collection GalleryThe 3rd Collection Gallery Exhibition 2014-2015 (134 works in all)
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The 3rd Collection Gallery Exhibition 2014-2015 (134 works in all)
Exhibition Period
7. 16 (Wed.) - 8. 31 (Sun.), 2014
Overview
Our third collection gallery exhibition this fiscal year features exhibits related to the special exhibition being held on the 3rd floor from July 19 (Sat) until August 24 (Sun) entitled "KYOTO, Re-creation of Reminiscence – Lacquerware in Modern Japan," works with themes relating to summer, and exhibits entitled "Curatorial Studies 06," which are being displayed for the first time in 3 years.
The entrance to the venue is adorned with one of the most representative works of our collection, "Still Life－Palette, Candlestick, and Head of Minotaur" by Pablo Picasso. We have been assisting the activities of other museums both in Japan and abroad through the loaning of numerous pieces from our collections. This particular work by Picasso was loaned to Fundación Mapfre in Madrid, Spain, on the occasion of their special exhibition entitled "Picasso en el taller" held from February 10 until May 11, 2014. In this exhibition, we have been able to present the transition of Picasso's methods of expression ranging from cubism in his prewar days to figurative paintings after the war in a most compact, efficient manner by displaying his various prints from different periods.
The section following Picasso features Japanese-style paintings drawn during World War II, including such works as "Impressions from the Battlefield" by Yamazaki Takashi and "Picture Diary during the War" by Hada Teruo. Together with Picasso's "Still Life－Palette, Candlestick, and Head of Minotaur," a serial study of Picasso's masterpiece, "Guernica," which was created as a protest against both the barbaric bombing of a small Spanish hamlet, Guernica by the Nazi German forces and against the world which brought about such an atrocity, the exhibition aims at presenting a precious opportunity to consider the relationship between art and war.
The Nihonga (Japanese-style painting) section features paintings under the theme of summer scenery. Hayashi Shime, who once studied at San-nan-juku run by Tsuchida Bakusen, and graduated from Kyoto City Specialist School of Painting (presently Kyoto City University of Arts), played an active role at exhibitions organized by the Kokuga Sousaku Kyokai (Society for Creating National Style of Painting). After the war, he became famous for engaging in reproduction projects of ancient paintings such as mural paintings in the Main Hall of Horyuji Temple, while teaching at his alma mater. The importance of learning from old knowledge is related to the relationship between lacquerware and the Rimpa school as shown in our exhibition "KYOTO, Re-creation of Reminiscence – Lacquerware in Modern Japan."
The "Photography/ Prints" section features works by William Eugene Smith and Ida Shoichi. Although renowned for his photography featuring the battlefields of World War II and pollution in Minamata, Smith also focused his photography on the city of Pittsburg, once a thriving city of the steel industry, and his Pittsburg series has been selected for this exhibition. Characterized by intense contrast between sheer darkness and strong light, his photography features the people and scenery of the city of Pittsburg. Ida Shoichi studied Western-style painting at Kyoto City University of Fine Arts (presently Kyoto City University of Arts) and while there began to study lithograph art on his own, ultimately making it the foundation of his artistic technique for the rest of his life. In this exhibition we are featuring his representative serial work from the 1970s entitled "Eleven Great Masters" This work, which features as its subjects the works of 11 artists including Michelangelo, together with a work featuring Marcel Duchamp, exemplifies in a most refined manner the fact that prints are an "art of reproduction," by demonstrating the relationship between "original work" and "copies," and the image discrepancy born thereof. These works clearly show Ida's critical impressions of the situation, that historical artwork has been repeatedly, although unconsciously, used and copied, and the artistic trends of the 1960s, that artists emphasized the direct and concrete expression of the relationship between body and materials.
The "Craft" section features works by artists involved in the so-called mingei (folk art) movement, including the potters, Kawai Kanjiro, Hamada Shoji and Tomimoto Kenkichi, the textile artist Serizawa Keisuke, and the lacquerware artist Kuroda Tatsuaki. Inspired by the arts and crafts movement in England, artists tried to restore craftwork to the daily lives of the people through the appeal of hand-made quality, partly as a reaction against aggressive modernization of Japan. In this section we are introducing another trend of crafts which cannot be fully explained in the exhibition, "KYOTO, Re-creation of Reminiscence – Lacquerware in Modern Japan," a trend which features lacquerware artists struggling for modernization. Furthermore, appropriate for the summer season, contemporary glass works by foreign glass artists are also featured.
Lastly, the room with the skylight and the area in front of it holds the 6th “Curatorial Studies,” which is a project to present the results of research done by our curators in collaboration with other researchers and artists in Japan and abroad. Currently, we are featuring paintings by Yoshida Minoru, a member of the Gutai Art Association. In conjunction with this project, we are also introducing works by other members of the Gutai Art Association which are included in our collection, including Yoshihara Jiro. For more detailed information, please refer to the panel presentation installed in the venue.
Themes of Exhibition
- ・Paintings and Prints by Pablo PICASSO
- ・Japanese Style Paintings with Summer Scenes
- ・Black Beauty: W. Eugene SMITH's "Pittsburgh"
- ・Prints by IDA Shoichi in 1970s
- ・"Crafts" and MINGEI
- ・Contemporary Glass Works
- ・Works by Artists of GUTAI featuring Recent Acquisition
- ・Curatorial Studies 06: Yoshida Minoru: Paintings 1964-1967
- ・Outdoor Sculpture