St. Louis, MO- The Saint Louis Art Museum announces the July 14 opening of Shiko Munakata, an exhibition featuring a selection of the master artist’s woodblock prints and ink drawings drawn from the Museum’s permanent collection.  On view through 22 October, 2006.

Known for his vigorous style of expression, Munakata liberated the woodblock print from its traditional style and format.  Believing that creativity should emerge spontaneously and naturally from one’s inner spirit, he worked with great speed and intensity.  Images in this exhibition reveal many of his thematic interests, including women, flowers, and self-portraiture.

Among the works on view is In Praise of Flower Hunting.  Measuring more than 4 x 5 feet and made in 14 sections, this impression is considered one of the most ambitious of Munakata’s career and was created in 1965 as a gift for the Saint Louis Art Museum.

Munakata was the first Japanese artist to win a grand prize at the Sao Paulo Biennale (1955) and the Venice Biennale (1956).  In 1970 he was awarded the Order of Cultural Merit, Japan’s highest honor in the arts.  The artist visited and worked in St. Louis in 1965 and 1974.  Curated by Eric Lutz, assistant curator of prints, drawings, and photographs.

 The Saint Louis Art Museum is one of the nation’s leading comprehensive art museums with collections that include works of art of exceptional quality from virtually every culture and time period.  Areas of notable depth include Oceanic art, pre-Columbian art, ancient Chinese bronzes and European and American art of the late 19^th and 20^th centuries, with particular strengths in 20th century German art.  The Museum offers a full range of exhibitions and educational programming generated independently and in collaboration with local, national, and international partners.

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