The Museum of Modern Art in Wakayama, Japan Presents Three Winter Exhibitions

Written by Alexander Smellie Friday, 23 December 2011 23:06

Wakayama, Japan.- The Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama is proud to present three special exhibitions. "Collections: Winter 2011/12", "Hidaka Shokoku: The 130th Anniversary of his Birth" and "Artists around Yoshihara Hideo" ("which overlaps with the "Yoshihara Hideo: A Retrospective" aexhibition, on view through January 15th 2012). All three exhibitions are on view through February 19th. "Collections: Winter 2011/12" has three sections: in the first section, artists, pricinpally from Wakayama, and including Jinnaka Itoko, Tatehata Taimu, Tanaka Kyokichi, Kawaguchi Kigai and Murai Masanari will be featured along with the most renowned wider Japanese artists of the same period, like Kishida Ryusei and Saeki Yuzo. The  second section focusses on Noda Hiroji’s Painting, and showcases this artist from Gobo, Wakayama, who is also featured in a major solo show at the National Art Center, Tokyo, beginning in January.

The artist’s original and unique sense on shape and form will be seen in folded canvases and modified bases. The final section, Western Art in the 20th Century,  shows some of the diverse expressions which made up the art of the 20th  century through the works of artists like Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Joan Miro and others who were active around Paris from the inter-war years beside more recent American and European artists such as Mark Rothko, George Segal and Christo.

The second exhibition celebrates the work of Hidaka Shokoku on the occassion of the 130th anniversary of his birth. "Hidaka Shokoku: The 130th Anniversary of his Birth" exhibition we will look back at the life of the artist with about 30 works from the beginning till the very end of his career, along with  about 20 works by related artists such as Tomioka Tessai and Muraami Kagaku to whom Shokoku looked up to as his role-models, Nonagase Banka and Hayashi Takeshi who were cloese friends and his first teacher Sakai Hosen. Shokoku (real given name: Masakatsu, ne Kimura, later to be known as Ikeda) was born to a  doctor family in Gobo, Wakayama. He chose his painter's name Hidaka after his hometown Hidaka district. Shokoku was also an otolaryngologist (head and neck surgeon). He graduated Wakayama Junior High School and Tanabe Junior High School, and then studied at Kyoto Prefectural Medical School. He also studied in the otolaryngology class at Kyoto Imperial Medical University. Afterward he came back to Wakayama to be the head otolaryngologist at Wakayama Red Cross Hospital, and later he opened his own ENT clinic. Playing an active role as a doctor, Shokoku was keenly interested in art, learned from local artists and began to paint himself. He also established a group with his art-loving fellow doctors and organized art exhibitions in Wakayama involving many artists. His contribution to the development of the art and culture at that time was quite meaningful. Until the mid 1950s, he worked as a doctor, and then turned over his clinic to his son to dedicate himself solely to painting. Working on his art vigorously, he came to take a great interest not only in Japanese and Eastern ancient art, but also in Western at, particularly Impressionism, which he studied. A keen walker, he explored many rural areas and mountains, which brought him a deep insight into nature.

The final exhibition is "Artists around Yoshihara Hideo" and serves as a counterpoint to the retraspective of the artist which is on view at the museum through January 15th 2012. Artists who had deep connections with Yoshihara Hideo will be featured, to show how they influenced, or were influenced by Yoshihara. His interaction and communication with them formed a stream of contemporary art in Kansai district. Yoshihara started to work on printmaking at the age of 24 in 1955, when he joined in the Demokrato Artist Association (DEMOKRATO). There, he was significantly influenced by EI-Q and Izumi Shigeru, and together they taught themselves lithography through trial and error. In 1956, the members of DEMOKRATO displayed works in this unfamiliar print medium at a Lithographic Group Show by Nine Artists at Osaka for the first time. However it would take some more time for the public to understand printmaking as a new art media. Meanwhile, having some doubt whether printmaking can really be a contemporary artform, Yoshihara began to teach from 1963 at the Kyoto City University of Art, bringing him into contact with the sculptors Horiuchi Masakazu, Yagi Kazuo and Suzuki Osamu who would provide inspiration and support. From his classes, many printmakers like Kimura Hideki and Yamamoto Yoko have since gone on to make an impact worldwide. About 50 works of the artists from his circle will be on view in this exhibition.


The unique building of the Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama, presents a beautiful contrast with the traditional Japanese architecture of the Wakayama Castle and its famous rooftop that is seen nearby surrounded by urban greenery.  The building was designed by Kisho Kurokawa. In 1963, the Wakayama Prefecture Museum was opened in the Wakayama Castle Park, and in 1970, it was transformed as the Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama. In July 1994, the Museum of Modern Art moved from the Wakayama Culture Center to the new building near the Tenshukaku. Designed by architect Kisho Kurokawa, the unique architecture creates an interesting contrast with the Wakayama castle. The museum has a spacious lobby, a hall for lectures and film screenings, a museum shop, and a restaurant. The Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama, has a rich collection of home-town Wakayama artists, such as Kigai Kawaguchi and Banka Nonagase. In addition, the Museum especially features a collection and introduction of art prints. This is because many frontier artists who left important landmarks in the history of modern Japanese art print have links with Wakayama. Those printmakers include Yozo Hamaguchi (mezzotint), Kyokichi Tanaka (woodcut), Koshiro Onchi (woodcut), among others. The Museum is proud of its print collection as one of the best in Japan. It also has a overseas art prints such as those of Pablo Picasso and Odilon Redon. Other collections include those of Mark Rothko, Frank Stella, George Segal, and Japanese modern artists of the Kansai area (Western Japan). As well as its famous print collection, the museum also has Japanese traditional paintings, oil paintings, sculptures and art prints of the Meiji Period (1868-1912) as well as contemporary pieces. The museum display changes periodically, and various exhibitions and featured collections are organized in order to exhibit as many works as possible from its holdings for public viewing. Special exhibitions are organised on a regular basis. Visit the museum's website at ... http://www.momaw.jp/

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