Exhibition/event has ended.
2024 Collection Exhibition 2
Takamatsu Art Museum
Finished
SHARE
Artists
Saori Akutagawa, Hideko Fukushima, Yuki Katsura, Yayoi Kusama, Atsuko Tanaka, Mika Ninagawa, Miwa Yanagi, Tomoko Konoike, Aiko Miyanaga, Bokkei Akashi, Masao Kamo, Senroku Kitahara et al.
・Permanent Exhibition Room 1 "Running Women: Female Artists Seen through the Collection"
The Takamatsu City Museum, along with 10 other museums nationwide that hold works by Saori Akutagawa (formerly Masuda) (1924-1966), will participate in the "Museum to Museums" project to commemorate her 100th birthday in 2024. Each venue will exhibit its collection of Akutagawa's works.
Akutagawa entered the Tokyo Music University (now Tokyo University of the Arts) vocal department in 1942 and married composer Yasushi Akutagawa, a fellow alumnus, in 1948 just after the war. However, as she later mentioned in interviews, "Because my husband would complain whenever I sang, I turned to 'soundless' paintings." From the early 1950s, she studied oil painting under Genichiro Inokuma and dyeing under Michikata Noguchi and immersed herself in painting. Her main theme was her series of "women," which could be seen as self-portraits or reflections of her views on women, depicting intense emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure on canvas. These "women" borrowed from myths such as the Kojiki, and as seen in our collection's "Birth of Myths and Gods" (1956), her work was enriched by her free-spirited imagination and unique interpretations. Around this time, she divorced Yasushi and in 1959 moved to the United States. There she remarried Yukio Madokoro, and at the age of 41, just as she was shifting from semi-abstract to abstract painting, she suddenly passed away.
This exhibition not only honors female artists such as Akutagawa, Hideo Fukushima, and Atsuko Tanaka, who were rare in their active participation during her time but also showcases a diverse range of female artists who have demonstrated their talent in solo and group exhibitions since the museum's renewal in 2016. Works by Eiko Fujikawa, who has connections to Takamatsu, and Junko Yoda, based in New York, will also be introduced. By commemorating female artists such as Akutagawa and her predecessors, visitors will be inspired across generations by witnessing the robust works and figures of resilient women who have persevered through the times.
・Permanent Exhibition Room 2 "Leaders of the Craft World: Bokkei Akashi and Masao Kamo"
The predecessor of the Takamatsu City Museum, the former Takamatsu Municipal Art Museum (located in Ritsurin Park), opened in 1949, during which its initial period was overseen by two appointed curators. One was Bokkei Akashi (1911-1992), a lacquer artist who returned from the battlefield to help rebuild his hometown of Takamatsu through culture, contributing to the establishment of the museum. The other was Masao Kamo (1906-2000), a metalworker who joined the new craft organization "Shojinsha" (Artisans' Society) in 1947, which was formed by young and middle-aged craftsmen such as Akashi and Otomaru Kodo.
Kamo entered the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (now Tokyo University of the Arts) metalworking department like his elder brother Kotaro, graduating in 1927 and joining the "Kojinsha" led by Senroku Kitahara, a pioneer in the traditional craft industry. In that year, the 8th Teiten (Imperial Exhibition) included a new section called "Fine Arts and Crafts," marking a new page in modern craft history. Kamo explored and honed expressions different from traditional engraving.
Akashi, five years younger than Kamo, studied under lacquer artist Joshin Isoi at the Kagawa Prefectural School of Industrial Arts (now Kagawa Prefectural Takamatsu Technical High School), graduating from the Design Department of Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1934. After working at the Wakayama Prefectural Industrial Test Center's lacquer department, he returned to Takamatsu. In 1947, he co-founded the precursor to the "Urushi-kai" (Urushi Society), the "Kogei Shichisai-kai" (Seven Colors Craft Association) with Nobuo Kashima, Yoshitsugu Kubota, and Jitsuya Manago, among others. This association aimed to "gather like-minded individuals to explore new springs. (Omitted) Bright, create new crafts." The spirit of this association was inherited by the renamed "Urushi-kai" in 1949.
Both Akashi and Kamo have been at the forefront of the craft world, embodying new winds in the pre-war and post-war periods, and contributing to the prosperity of the craft world. This exhibition introduces works by 14 artists, including their representative works, showcasing about 30 pieces of work from vigorous craftsmen in Kagawa who have been active in the craft world for more than 10 years since the end of the war.
The Takamatsu City Museum, along with 10 other museums nationwide that hold works by Saori Akutagawa (formerly Masuda) (1924-1966), will participate in the "Museum to Museums" project to commemorate her 100th birthday in 2024. Each venue will exhibit its collection of Akutagawa's works.
Akutagawa entered the Tokyo Music University (now Tokyo University of the Arts) vocal department in 1942 and married composer Yasushi Akutagawa, a fellow alumnus, in 1948 just after the war. However, as she later mentioned in interviews, "Because my husband would complain whenever I sang, I turned to 'soundless' paintings." From the early 1950s, she studied oil painting under Genichiro Inokuma and dyeing under Michikata Noguchi and immersed herself in painting. Her main theme was her series of "women," which could be seen as self-portraits or reflections of her views on women, depicting intense emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure on canvas. These "women" borrowed from myths such as the Kojiki, and as seen in our collection's "Birth of Myths and Gods" (1956), her work was enriched by her free-spirited imagination and unique interpretations. Around this time, she divorced Yasushi and in 1959 moved to the United States. There she remarried Yukio Madokoro, and at the age of 41, just as she was shifting from semi-abstract to abstract painting, she suddenly passed away.
This exhibition not only honors female artists such as Akutagawa, Hideo Fukushima, and Atsuko Tanaka, who were rare in their active participation during her time but also showcases a diverse range of female artists who have demonstrated their talent in solo and group exhibitions since the museum's renewal in 2016. Works by Eiko Fujikawa, who has connections to Takamatsu, and Junko Yoda, based in New York, will also be introduced. By commemorating female artists such as Akutagawa and her predecessors, visitors will be inspired across generations by witnessing the robust works and figures of resilient women who have persevered through the times.
・Permanent Exhibition Room 2 "Leaders of the Craft World: Bokkei Akashi and Masao Kamo"
The predecessor of the Takamatsu City Museum, the former Takamatsu Municipal Art Museum (located in Ritsurin Park), opened in 1949, during which its initial period was overseen by two appointed curators. One was Bokkei Akashi (1911-1992), a lacquer artist who returned from the battlefield to help rebuild his hometown of Takamatsu through culture, contributing to the establishment of the museum. The other was Masao Kamo (1906-2000), a metalworker who joined the new craft organization "Shojinsha" (Artisans' Society) in 1947, which was formed by young and middle-aged craftsmen such as Akashi and Otomaru Kodo.
Kamo entered the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (now Tokyo University of the Arts) metalworking department like his elder brother Kotaro, graduating in 1927 and joining the "Kojinsha" led by Senroku Kitahara, a pioneer in the traditional craft industry. In that year, the 8th Teiten (Imperial Exhibition) included a new section called "Fine Arts and Crafts," marking a new page in modern craft history. Kamo explored and honed expressions different from traditional engraving.
Akashi, five years younger than Kamo, studied under lacquer artist Joshin Isoi at the Kagawa Prefectural School of Industrial Arts (now Kagawa Prefectural Takamatsu Technical High School), graduating from the Design Department of Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1934. After working at the Wakayama Prefectural Industrial Test Center's lacquer department, he returned to Takamatsu. In 1947, he co-founded the precursor to the "Urushi-kai" (Urushi Society), the "Kogei Shichisai-kai" (Seven Colors Craft Association) with Nobuo Kashima, Yoshitsugu Kubota, and Jitsuya Manago, among others. This association aimed to "gather like-minded individuals to explore new springs. (Omitted) Bright, create new crafts." The spirit of this association was inherited by the renamed "Urushi-kai" in 1949.
Both Akashi and Kamo have been at the forefront of the craft world, embodying new winds in the pre-war and post-war periods, and contributing to the prosperity of the craft world. This exhibition introduces works by 14 artists, including their representative works, showcasing about 30 pieces of work from vigorous craftsmen in Kagawa who have been active in the craft world for more than 10 years since the end of the war.
Schedule | Jul 13 (Sat) 2024-Sep 29 (Sun) 2024 Opening Hours Information
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fee | Adults ¥200; University Students ¥150; High School Students and Under, Seniors 65 & Over free. | ||||
| Website | https://www.city.takamatsu.kagawa.jp/museum/takamatsu/event/exhibitions/exhibition_2024/collection_2024/da_20240713.html | ||||
| Venue | Takamatsu Art Museum https://www.city.takamatsu.kagawa.jp/museum/takamatsu/english/ | ||||
| Location | 10-4 Konyamachi, Takamatsu-shi, Kagawa 760-0027 | ||||
| Access | 10 minute walk from Kataharamachi Station on the Kotohira and Nagao lines, 15 minute walk from the South exit of Takamatsu Station on the JR Yosan and Kotoku lines. | ||||
| Phone | 087-823-1711 |
Back to Articles
SHARE
No comments yet