Tomimoto Kenkichi: A Retrospective

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This exhibition commemorates the 120th anniversary of the birth of Tomimoto Kenkichi, a ceramicist, who was born in Ando village, Nara prefecture in 1886.  Tomimoto, known as a master of modern ceramics, was designated a Living National Treasure in 1955 and received the Order of Cultural Merit in 1961.  Tomimoto entered the design department of the Tokyo Bijutsu Gakko (Tokyo School of Art; the present Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music), and in 1908, while he was still a student, he went to study in London, where he encountered the works of William Morris and Whistler, among others.  After returning to Japan in 1910, he became closely associated with Bernard Leach and began his activities as a ceramicist.
     Tomimoto’s ceramics can be divided into three periods: white porcelain and blue-and-white in Yamato; porcelain with overglaze enamels in Tokyo; and works with overglaze enamels and gold and silver glazes in Kyoto.  Outstanding pieces from each era as well as various materials including sketches and prints will be on display at this large-scale retrospective.

Related Events
Commemorative lecture: “Beauty Composed by Pattern and Form”
Lecturer: NAKANODO Kazunobu (professor, Kyoto University of Art and Design)
Date: August 5 (Sat.)  1:30-3:00PM (numbered tickets distributed 12:30PM-)
Place: 1F lecture hall (maximum capacity 100); free

Concert: “A World of Sound with Mandolins”
Performance: Easel Art Studio feat. OONISHI Kozo
Date: August 12 (Sat.)  1:30PM- / 3:00PM-
Place: 1F entrance hall (100 seats); free

Collaborative symposium by MOMAK and Kyoto Institute of Technology
“Tomimoto Kenkichi” and “Prewar Posters”
The Layered Culture of Japan in the 1930s—“Tradition” as a Project
Date: August 19 (Sat.)  10:00AM-4:00PM (numbered tickets distributed 9:30AM-)
Place: 1F lecture hall (maximum capacity 100); free

Exhibition Dates

Tuesday, August 1 - Sunday, September 10, 2006

Closed on Mondays

Organizers

The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto

The Asahi Shimbun

Supervisor

UCHIYAMA Takeo (former director of The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto)

Sponsorship

Nissha Printing Co., Ltd.

Collaboration

Tomimoto Kenkichi Memorial Museum

All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd.

Admission

	Day of admission	Advance/Groups (20 or more)
Adult	1,200 yen	1,000 yen
University students	800 yen	600 yen
High school students	600 yen	400 yen
Junior high and younger	Free	Free

* Admission is free for visitors in junior high and younger, as well as visitors with disabilities.  Please display appropriate identification on entry.

Advance tickets: Ticket Pia, FamilyMart (P code: 686-675), Lawson (L code: 518949), other major ticket vendors

Publicity Materials

Exhibition flyer (A4)

PDF file (3,849KB)

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Other Museums

Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum  2006/09/30 (Sat.) - 12/03 (Sun.)

Setagaya Art Museum  2007/01/04 (Thu.) - 03/11 (Sun.)

Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu  2007/04/07 (Sat.) - 05/27 (Sun.)

Hagi Uragami Museum  2007/06/30 (Sat.) - 08/19 (Sun.)

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