Japanese Artistry and Beauty:
Important Intangible Cultural
Properties and the People Who Sustain Them
Thru Feb 27
 This
special exhibition introduces the artistry of Japanese traditional
handicrafts, the beauty inherent in their creation, and the craftsmen's
unerring skills that sustain the arts. On display are representative
works and a model of the creative processes of individuals who
have been recognized as holders of important intangible cultural
properties in the area of the traditional craft skills before
the year 2005, and also of the holders' associations. It also
displays materials related to the selected preservation techniques,
which were selected and recognized as indispensable skills for
the preservation of artistry, and the repair and procurement of
the tools.
The art works on display are those belonging
to the holders of important cultural properties connected with
Osaka, including the Tea Ceremony Kettle belonging to Mr. Kakutani
Ikkei, the Japanese Sword belonging to Gassan Sadaichi, the Bamboo
Art Works belonging to Maeda Chikubosai (the Second) and Hayakawa
Shokosai (the Fifth), and the Costume Doll belonging to Akiyama
Nobuko. Many holders of important cultural properties and those
who are engaged in the creation of selected preserved arts reside
in the Kansai district. They strive to improve their skills and
artistry as they continue to train their successors with unremitting
zeal. The elegant and delicate beauty of their works, which has
been created using their traditional skills, continues to fascinate
us.
Osaka Museum of History
Subway Tanimachi/Chuo line, Tanimachi 4-chome stn; exit 9
Open: 9:30am-4:30pm, closed Tue
Admission: ¥600/¥400
Tel: 06-6946-5728
Georges Rouault from the Idemitsu Collection
Feb 8-20
 A
great master of the 20th century, Georges Rouault (1871-1958)
is famous for his religious paintings. Similar to the mediaeval
stained glass, his serene style has never lost its allure. This
exhibition presents some 210 Rouault paintings, which is the quintessence
of over 400 of Idemitsu's Collection, one of the world's largest
collections of this great artist. Various kinds of master-pieces
are on exhibition, including the Passion series in oil as well
as the Miserere series of engravings.
Kobe Daimaru Museum
JR/Hankyu/Hanshin Motomachi stn. • Open: 10am-7:30pm
Admission: ¥900/¥700 • Tel: 078-331-8121
Arnold Shives — Visions of Nature
Feb 7-19
 Canadian
artist Arnold Shives' practice includes painting, wall sculpture
and printmaking, while also being involved in several book projects.
This exhibition in Japan is from images that have grown out of
decades of hiking and climb-ing in the mountains of British Columbia.
These images all owe their origin to another book project that
began 15 years ago. The book involved twelve of his stories relating
to the mountains. For each story he developed an image, a print
using different prints types, wood block, linoleum, rubber or
a combination. Many of these prints have been printed on Mulberry
paper and then bonded onto rag paper. He states, “Threading
my work into a cohesive whole is my abiding sense that art should
ennoble us. All work should ennoble us, of course, but art, in
particular, bears the responsibility of raising deeper questions,
metaphy-sical questions. This brings me back to my longstanding
love of nature and my youthful mountain exploration. Art is the
expression of a passionate love of this world, and of necessity,
art must be married to a spirit of exploration.”
Hanare Gallery-cafe
JR/Hankyu Kawanishi stn 20 min walk • Open: 11am-8pm,
closed Mon
Admission: free • Tel: 072-757-0922 (English OK)
www.hanare.info/hanare.html
Hina Matsuri and Japanese Dolls
Feb 18-Apr 2
With the coming of spring, the Kyoto National
Museum again celebrates Hina Matsuri, the Doll Festival —
also popularly known as Girls' Day — with its annual exhibit
of dolls and hina doll sets. Simple dolls, made of paper, wood,
or straw upon which people transfer their impurities were floated
down rivers. In the Edo period (1616-1867), these dolls became
more elaborate and evolved into dolls that were displayed and
enjoyed in drawing rooms.
This year, with the cooperation of The Museum
of Kyoto, Kyoto Japanese Folk Dolls Museum, and Hokyoji Imperial
Convent, Visiting Kyoto's Hina Dolls, a collaborative exhibition,
will be held at the Kyoto National Museum and the other three
venues. Kyoto National Museum will feature a variety of hina dolls,
including Kan'ei bina, Kyoho bina, Jirozaemon bina, and Yusoku
bina. See the transformations that these dolls undergo over time
through details such as their facial features and attire. Compare
differences between the hina sets arranged in elaborate miniature
palaces from the Kansai region and those displayed on tiers from
the Kanto region.
Kyoto National Museum
JR/Subway: Kyoto stn., take bus #206/208 from stand D2. Get off
at Hakubutsu-kan Sanjyusangendo stop. Keihan: Shichijo stn.
Open: 9:30am-4:30pm closed Mon.
Admission: ¥420/¥130
Tel: 075-541-1151
Kansai Art Listings February
| Osaka
Thru Feb 8
DDD Gallery
Swiss Poster Art — 100 Years of Creation
Feb 1-Mar 13
Graphic Thought Facility Exhi.
Nishi-Umeda stn or Higobashi stn.
Open: 10am-6pm. Closed Sat/Sun/Hol. Admission: Free
Tel: 06-6347-8780
Thru Feb 28
Kokuritsu Minzokugaku Hakubutsu-kan
(Museum of Ethnology)
Worlds in Landscape Models
Thirty-seven miniatures of 23 countries on display
Inside Expo 70 Park. Subway Banpaku Kinen Koen stn.
Open: 10am-4:30pm.. Closed Wed.
Admission: ¥420/¥250/¥110
Tel: 06-6876-2151
Feb 27-Mar 11
Gallery H.O.T
GO
A chess installation by British artist Gary McLeod.
Subway Minami Morimachi stn / Yodayabashi stn.. Closed Sun.
Open: 12pm-7pm (last day 5pm)
Admission: Free
Tel: 06-6363-2536
Thru Mar 31
Nihon Kogeikan
Ceramics of modern Koishika-wara-yaki, Onta-yaki,
and other old ceramics on display
Kintetsu/subway/JR/Namba stn.
Open: 10am-4:30pm. Closed Mon
Admission: ¥300/¥200/¥100
Tel: 06-6641-6309
Feb 11-Apr 16
Kirin Plaza Osaka
Enochu: Chu Enoki Exhibition
Midosuji line, Shinsaibashi stn.
Open: 11am-9pm
Admission: Free
Tel: 06-6212-6578
Thru Apr 2
Kokuritsu Kosai Bijutsukan
Pushkin: Masterworks of French Impressionism and Modernism
from The State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow
Yotsubashi line, Higobashi stn, exit 3
Open: 10am-4pm. Closed Mon
Admission: ¥1,400/¥1,000/¥500
Tel: 06-6447-4680
Mar 11 - Apr 16
Suntory Museum Tenpozan
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Subway chuo, Technoport line, Osaka-ko stn, exit 1
Open: 10:30am-7pm. Closed Mon.
Admission: ¥1,000/¥700/¥500
Tel: 06-6577-0001
Kyoto
Thru Feb 12
Asahi Beer Oyamazaki Villa Bijutsukan
Nagasaki Holland New Year's Exhibition
JR Yamazaki/Hankyu Oyamazaki stn.
Open: 10am-4pm. Closed Mon
Admission: ¥700/¥500/free
Tel: 075-957-3123
Thru Feb 12
The National Museum of Modern Art Kyoto
German Photography Now
From JR/Kintetsu Kyoto stn, take
bus #5, get off at Kyoto-Kaikan-Bijyutsukan-mae.
Open: 9:30am-4:30pm. Closed Mon
Admission: ¥830/¥450/¥250
Tel: 075-561-4111
Feb 11-26
Kyoto Bunka Museum
Selected Artists in Kyoto — New Wave 2006
Subway Karasuma-Oike/Hankyu Karasuma stn.
Open: 10am-5pm. Closed Mon
Admission: ¥700/¥500/¥400
Tel: 075-222-0888
Thru Feb 26
Kiyomizu Sannenzaka Bijutsukan
Cloisonne and metalworks by Imperial Court artists
from the Meiji Period.
City bus #207, Kiyomizu-michi stop.
Open: 10am-4:30pm. Closed Mon/Tue
Admission: ¥500/¥300/¥200
Tel: 075-532-4270
Thru Apr 2
Hosomi Bijutsukan
Japanese New year and early spring decorations on display,
including Hina dolls
Okazaki Saishoji-cho
Open: 10am-5:30pm. Closed Mon
Admission: ¥700/¥500
Tel: 075-752-5555
Hyogo
Thru Feb 12
Nishinomiya-shi Otani Kinen Bijutsukan
Museum Collection based on the theme of color.
Hanshin Koroen Stn.
Open: 10am-4pm. Closed Wed
Admission: ¥300/¥100
Tel: 0798-33-0164
Thru Mar 19
Hyogo Prefectural Museum
Traces of Shuji Yamada — Photographs, Roof
Tiles, Charcoal
Hanshin Iwaya stn.
Open: 10am-5pm. Closed Mon
Admission: ¥1,300/¥900/¥500
Tel: 078-262-0901
Thru Mar 19
Itami Shiritsu Museum
Display of Japanese and western style paintings and litho-graphs
with a travel theme
JR/Hankyu Itami stn.
Open: 10am-5pm. Closed Mon
Admission: ¥700/¥350/¥100
Tel: 0727-72-7447
Thru Mar 19
Kobe Shiritsu Hakubutsukan
Exposition Napoleon et Versailles.
Over 150 paintings,
scul-ptures, jewelry, pottery and furniture from the Chateau
de Versailles collection.
JR/Hankyu/Hanshin Sannomiya stn.
Open: 10am-4pm. Closed Mon
Admission: ¥600/¥400/¥250
Tel: 078-391-0035
Thru Mar 19
Hyogo Prefectural Museum of History
Time Travel by Japanese Backgammon Sugoroku
From
Edo Period to Showa Era
JR/Sanyo Himeji stn.
Open: 10am-4pm.. Closed Mon.
Admission: ¥200/¥100/free
Tel: 0792-88-9011
Thru Mar 26
Himeji Shiritsu Bijutsukan
Paul Delvaux et Rene Magritte — Paintings by
two Belgian surrealists
JR/Sanyo Himeji Stn.
Open: 10am-4:30pm. Closed Mon
Admission: ¥500/¥300/¥200
Tel: 0792-22-2288
Nara
Thru Feb 12
Yamato Bunkakan
The museum collection exhibition of works with design patterns
that symbolizes happiness. Over 80 ceramics, metal works,
and paintings.
Kintetsu Gakuenmae stn.
Open: 10am-4pm. Closed Mon
Admission: ¥600/¥300
Tel: 0742-45-0544
Thru Mar 5
Nara Kenritsu Bijutsukan
Retrospective Exhibition of Tomimoto Kenkichi, an
innovator of modern porcelain
Kintetsu Nara stn.
Open: 9am-4pm. Closed Mon
Admission: ¥400/¥250/¥150
Tel: 0742-23-3968
Feb 14-Mar 21
Nara National Museum
Treasures of Todai-ji Omizutori Ritual
Kintetsu Nara stn. inside Nara Park
Open: 9:30am-5pm. Closed Mon
Admission: ¥1,000/¥700/¥400
Tel: 0742-22-7771
|
ART section compiled by Maki Nibayashi |
