Sliding Door Panels of the Kyoto Imperial Palace

Jan 6 – Feb 18

Kyoto National Museum, Kyoto

The buildings of the current Kyoto Imperial Palace were constructed in 1855, when several of the most eminent Japanese painters of the time were commissioned to create its interior panel paintings. These precious works serve as time capsules of Kyoto's nineteenthcentury painting scene and reveal the many stories of its history. For conservation and preservation purposes, the halls and interior panel paintings of the Imperial Palace have only rarely been publicly displayed. This exhibition features over two hundred of these treasured works and explores the elegant and colorful culture of the court.

Getting there: JR/Kintetsu Kyoto stn, take Bus 206 or 208, get off at Hakubutsukan, Sanjyu-san Kando
Open: 9:30am–6pm. Closed Mon
Admission: ¥1,200/¥800
075-525-2473

Carl Henwood 'Framing and the Occult'

Jan 7- 13

Tranq Room, Kyoto

This is the latest multi-media installation by Australian artist, Carl Henwood. While it is his fourth exhibition in Japan, it is his first solo exhibition here. Framing is a multi-media installation employing video, light projection and sound, manipulated in real-time via sensors attached to the gallery window. The window as an act of framing organizes perception around the visual and occults, or hides other perceptual information. An artwork that looks at the way we look.

Getting there: 5 bus from either Kyoto station or Sanjo Keihan to Shinyodo mae bus stop on Shirakawa dori. (Other suburban buses; 203 204)
Open: Gallery opens at 5pm on the 7th, 12pm–12am. Closed Tue.
Admission: Tickets at door ¥1,000 with free drink
Tel: 075-762-5888

Artist Pick-Up: From Photography to Moving Images

Jan 12 – Feb 8

Remo, Osaka

The artist pick up will be focusing on Osaka-based artist Palla (Kawahara Kazuhiko) and Holland-based Yoshimura Ayako and their film installations. Kawahara, who records unstable gray zones and the middle domains of cities in his photographs, creates a visionary image from one of his scenes. Yoshimura, who has taken hundreds of photographs from observation decks all over the world puts together her photographs into a minimal world of imagery. From the work of these two artists who explore cityscapes, you can see how far globalization has advanced.

Getting there: 4th Floor Festival Gate. Subway Midosuji/Sakaisuiji line, Dobutsuen-mae, exit 5. JR loop, Shin-Imamiya stn. East exit • Open: 3pm-9pm (Thu-Sun)
Admission: ¥500 • 06-6634-7737

The Prints and Ceramics of Picasso

Jan 13 – Mar 25

The National Museum of Art Osaka

©2006 - Succession Pablo Picasso-SPDA(JAPAN) Pablo Picasso (Buste de Femme au Chapeau) 1962 linoleum-cuts

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) is one of the most famous painters of the 20th century. Although he is best known for his paintings, sculpture and graphics, he also had a love for ceramics. In this exhibition, made up of items from the museum's Picasso Collection, along with representative print works such as 'The Frugal Repast' and 'Portrait of a woman with a hat,' ceramic works made by the artist after World War II will be on display. His work with ceramics enriched his other artwork. This selection of some 40 works illustrates the special charm of Picasso's highly imaginative art.

Getting there: Subway Yotsubashi line, Higobashi stn, exit 2.
Open: 10am–5pm. Closed Mon
Admission: ¥420/¥130/¥70 • 06-6447-4680

The Age of Modigliani and Picasso:
Works from the Metropolitan Museum
of Modern Art, Lille

Jan 18 – Feb 4

Daimaru Museum Umeda

©2006 - Succession Pablo Picasso-SPDA(JAPAN)

The exhibition will showcase about 100 paintings, sculptures and illustrated books from the modern art collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, Lille, in northern France. Featured will be works by great artists of the 20th Century, such as Modigliani, Picasso, Braque, Bernard Buffet, Fernand Leger, Wassily Kandinsky and Joan Miro.

Getting there: JR/Hankyu/Hanshin Umeda stn
Open: 10am – 7:30pm
Admission: ¥1,000/¥800/free for children under JHS
06-6343-1231

Kansai Art Listings January

ART section compiled by Maki Nibayashi