The Subdued Beauty of Flowers
Thru Oct. 16
 Local
Kobe resident Kristian Evans, who pre-viously worked as a professional
mural artist in the UK, will have his first solo exhibition. Although
his painting style is formalist (i.e. painting which gives precedence
to the visual elements), he became interested in traditional Japanese
art while doing his degree.
Kristian quotes “I have no interest in
imitating or maki-ng pastiches of “Japanese Art”. I
paint flowers because they work well both on a formalistic level
and also as symbols of human imperfec-tion and transience”.
The latter having lots of similarities to the
Japanese aesthetic of wabi sabi which has engrossed him for the
last ten years. To Kristian, the flowers in his paintings possess
a human quality but through no con-scious decision they always seem
to be some-what distant or melancholic.
The exhibition will consist of about eight medium
sized paintings and also a number of silkscreen prints, all painted
this year.
HAC Gallery 2F
Getting there: JR/Hanshin Motomachi stn. East exit.
Walk up north for 1 min, turn left before Ippudo Ramen.
Open: 11am-7pm
Admission: Free
Tel: 078-333-256
Edward Steichen Portraits
Thru Nov. 6
Edward Steichen (1879-1973) is one of the most
important figures in the history of photography. During his active
career, which lasted over half the life span of photography, he
was renowned as an artist, fashion photographer, curator, writer,
and technical innovator. He was also a passionate advocate for photography
as an art form, and led, along with Alfred Stieglitz, an aesthetic
revolution that enabled photography to be considered as a medium
capable of interpretation and expression and not as a mere documentary
record of visual facts. This exhibition will feature 52 portraits
from the Luxemburg National Museum of History.
Ashiya City Museum of Art & History
Hanshin Ashiya stn. Walk south past route 43,
between the two rivers.
Open: 10am-4:30pm closed Mon.
Admission: ¥500/¥400/free
Tel: 0797-38-5432
Art Deco
Thru Nov. 6
Following art nouveau and having become the 19th
century's mainstream, art deco swept the world in the 1920s through
1930s. This exhibition brings approximately 200 articles selected
from paintings, sculptures and architecture, to interior, jewelry
and garment design, representing the glittering and nostalgic essence
of this style. Based on the art deco 1910-1939 exhibition held in
London in 2003, this event will be Japan's first grand-scale exhibition
of art deco, which has been recognized as the last stage of decorative
art independent of modern functionalism.
The exhibition extensively introduces this movement
from paintings to contemporary culture. Not only displaying art
deco masterpieces, it also examines the impact from exoticism as
well as diverse cultures such as Egyptian and Chinese. At the same
time, it reflects on the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts
Decoratifs Industriels et Modernes in Paris, and retraces, by category,
its influence on North America, Japan, and the world.
Suntory Museum Tenpozan
Getting there: Subway chuo, Technoport line,
Osaka-ko stn, exit 1.
Open: 10:30am-7pm, closed Mon. • Admission: ¥1,200/¥900/¥500
Tel: 06-6577-0001
Imatake Shichiro Collection
Oct. 8 - Nov. 27
 Born
in Kobe in 1905, Imatake Shichiro was one of the designers who played
a pioneering role in the graphic design community in Japan. He contributed
to the development of the design community in this ground greatly,
without ever leaving Kansai as he played an active part as a graphic
designer starting at Kobe Daimaru Department Store in 1927 until
he was 94 years old in 2000.
The 1920s was the budding season for graphic design
and this is when he took his first steps as a designer. He played
an active part in many fields for being an active painter and designer
as well. He became an art director for large corporations after
the war and has left numerous works behind.
One of his famous works is the logo mark on “mentholatum”,
a Japanese wonder cream that works on everything from scratches,
burns, insect bites, lip cream, etc.
This charming exhibition will focus on the Imatake
as a person as well as introduce many of his graphic designs, tableau
and other collections and data.
Nishinomiya-shi Otani Kinen Bijyutsukan
Imatake Shichiro Exhibition — The Pioneer of Modern Design
Koroen stn.
Open: 10am-4:30pm closed Wed
Admission: ¥500/¥300/¥200
Tel: 0798-33-0164
Kansai Art Listings October
| Osaka
Oct 5-16
Daimaru Museum, Umeda
Exposition — Horst Janssen
JR/Hankyu/Hanshin Umeda stn. 15F
Open: 11am-7pm,
Admission: ¥800/¥600
Tel: 06-6343-1231
Thru Oct 10
National Museum of Art Osaka
Positioning: The New Reality of Europe. Art from Poland, the
Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary
Yotsubashi line, Higobashi stn, exit 3.
Open: 10am-4pm, closed Mon.
Admission: ¥420/¥130/¥70
Tel: 06-6447-4680
Thru Oct 13
DDD Gallery
Katsunori Aoki XX
Oct 19-Nov 15
Germany AIG Graphic
Design Exhibition
Nishi-Umeda stn or Higobashi stn.
Open: 10am-6pm, closed Sat/Sun/ National Holidays. Admission:
Free
Tel: 06-6347-8780
Thru Oct 16
Osaka Municipal Museum of Art
Milano Exhibition
JR/subway Tennoji stn.
Open: 9:30am-4:30pm, closed Mon.
Admission: ¥1,300/¥900
Tel: 06-6771-4874
Thru Oct 23
Kirin Plaza Osaka
Sky High Exhibition
Shinsaibashi stn. Open: 11am-9pm
Admission: ¥700/¥500
Tel: 06-6212-6578
Thru Dec 4
Shinsaibashi Exhibition Hall
Fifty pieces selected by the museum on the theme “travel”
from the museum collection.
Subway Shinsaibashi stn. Idemitsu Nagahori Bldg. 13F
Open: 11am-6pm, closed Wed 10/16
Admission: ¥500/¥300/free
Tel: 06-6208-9096
Thru Dec 6
Museum of Ethnology
Special exhibition on Indian fashion
Inside Expo 70 Park. Subway Banpaku Kinen Koen stn.
Open: 10am-4:30pm, closed Wed.
Admission: ¥830/¥450/¥250
Tel: 06-6876-2151
Thru Dec 11
Fujita Bijutsukan
Calligraphy Exhibition featur-ing hand copied sutra from Nara
Period. 35 pieces.
JR/Keihan Osaka-jo, Kitazume stn., subway Kyobashi stn.
Open: 10am-4pm, closed Mon.
Admission: ¥800/¥500/¥300
Tel: 06-6351-0582
Thru Dec 23
Museum of Oriental Ceramics Osaka
Masterpieces of Oriental Ceramics. Exhibition from Korea,
Japan and China.
Midosuji line, Yodoyabashi Station
Open: 9:30am-4:30pm, closed Mon.
Admission: ¥500/¥300/free
Tel: 06-6223-0055
Oct 7-23
nomart project space, cube & loft
Oxfords's Sketchbook — Mayuu Ikeda
Chuo Line, Fukaebashi stn; exit #1
Open 11am-7pm (Sat 1-7pm), closed Sun. Admission: Free
Tel: 06-6967-1354
Kyoto
Thru Oct 16
Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art
Collections from the Louvre
City bus no.5, 100 Kyoto-kaikan & Bijutsukan-mae
Open: 10am-5pm
Admission: ¥1,300/¥900/¥500
Tel: 075-771-4107
Thru Oct 16
The Museum of Kyoto
Matsushima, Amano Hashidate, Itsukushima — The Three
Most Famous Views in Japan.
Kyoto subway Karasuma line, Karasuma-Oike stn.
Open: 10am-4:30pm, closed Mon.
Admission: ¥1,000/¥700/¥400
Tel: 075-494-2238
Thru Oct 23
The National Museum of Modern Art Kyoto
Domoto Hisao Exhibition
From JR/Kintetsu Kyoto stn, take
bus no.5, get off at Kyoto-Kaikan-Bijyutsukan-mae.
Open: 9:30am-4:30pm, closed Mon.
Admission: ¥1,200/¥900/¥600
Tel: 075-561-4111
Oct 8-Nov 20
Kyoto National Museum
Saicho and the National Treasures of the Tendai Sect.
Keihan Shichijo Stn.
Open: 9:30am-5pm, closed Mon.
Admission: ¥1,200/¥800/¥400
Tel: 075-541-1151
Thru Dec 11
Asahi Beer Oyamazaki Villa Bijutsukan
The 3 Mashiko Hamadagama: Shoji, Shinsaku and Tomoo
JR Yamazaki/Hankyu Oyamazaki stn.
Open: 10am-4pm, closed Mon.
Admission: ¥700/¥500/free
Tel: 075-957-3123
Thru Dec 18
Hosomi Museum
8th Annual Exhibition on Rimpa
Tozai Subway line, Higashiyama stn. On corner of Nijo-dori
and the river
Open: 10am-5:30pm, closed Mon.
Admission: ¥1,000/¥800
Tel: 075-752-5555
Thru Dec 23
Koryo Museum of Art
The World of Korean Fine Art and Pottery
From Kyoto stn, take but no.9 to Kamogawa Chugaku Mae.
Open: 10am-4:30pm, closed Mon.
Admission: ¥500/¥400/¥300
Tel: 075-494-2238
Hyogo
Thru Oct 10
Hyogo Prefectural Museum
The New Silk Road Exhibition
Hanshin Iwaya stn.
Open: 10am-5pm, closed Mon.
Admission: ¥1,300/¥900/¥500
Tel: 078-262-0901
Thru Oct 10
Kobe Shiritsu Hakubutsukan
Masterpieces of the Museum Island, Berlin — Visions
of the Divine in the Sanctuary of Art
JR/Hankyu/Hanshin Sannomiya stn.
Open: 10am-4:30pm, closed Mon.
Admission: ¥200/¥150/¥100
Tel: 078-391-0035
Thru Oct 23
Himeji City Museum of Art
Mizukoshi Shonan Exhibition
JR/Sanyo Himeji stn; Nr. Himeji Castle
Open: 10am-4:30pm, closed Mon.
Admission: ¥500/¥300/free
Tel: 0792-22-2288
Oct 13-Dec 4
Hyogo Prefectural Museum of History
Shotokutaishi
JR/Sanyo Himeji stn.
Open: 10am-4pm, closed Mon.
Admission: ¥200/¥100/free
Tel: 0792-88-9011
Nara
Thru Oct 10
Nara National Museum
• Cultural Crossings: Tang Art and the Japanese Envoys
• Sho-shoin and the Treasures of Reproduction
Kintetsu Nara stn. inside Nara Park
Open: 9:30am-5pm, closed Mon.
Admission: ¥1,000/¥700/¥400
Tel: 0742-22-7771
Thru Jan 06
Nara Shashin Bijyutsukan
Irie Yasukichi Exhibition — Commemorating 100 Years
of Photography
(Exhibition changes every month)
JR/Kintentsu Nara stn, take loop bus
Open: 9:30am-4:30pm, closed Mon.
Tel: 0742-22-9811
|
ART section compiled by Maki Nibayashi |
