The 100th Anniversary of "Manifeste du Surréalisme" - Surrealism and Japan （Mie Prefectural Art Museum）

The 100th Anniversary of "Manifeste du Surréalisme" - Surrealism and Japan

Finished

In 1924, André Breton's Surrealist manifesto ignited Surrealism, a significant 20th-century artistic movement emphasizing subconscious and spiritual liberation. This movement spread globally, reaching Japan in the late 1920s through figures like Harue Koga and Ichiro Fukuzawa. By the 1930s, Japanese artists like Yoshitaro Migishi, Noboru Kitawaki, Aimitsu, and Taro Okamoto were creating surrealist works and forming avant-garde groups. Unfortunately, Japanese militarism curtailed this movement, leading to wartime losses of artists and artworks. An upcoming exhibition will showcase Japanese Surrealist expression from the pre-Showa era, featuring surviving works by around 90 artists, after a gap of nearly 30 years.