EXHIBITION
The Art Gallery at the University of Hawai‘i at MānoaOctober 13, 2016 – January 8, 2017
Honolulu Museum of Art
Additional Exhibition-Related Program!
EXHIBITION DESCRIPTION
The exhibition examines the inspirational power of historical Japanese art and craft traditions in the work of six contemporary artists, all of whom utilize their expertise in the history and technical mastery of Japan’s rich pre-twentieth century art and craft traditions. Their artworks demonstrate how cultural heritage can inspire transformational and innovative thinking, with the potential to renew and reinvigorate the familiar and the conventional. The exhibition both honors and transcends the confines of “tradition,” reflecting and commenting upon Japan’s own complex relationship with the past. This approach is ironically referenced in the exhibition title word Imayō, a Japanese term of ancient origin that means “in the contemporary style.” After its presentation in Honolulu, Imayō will travel to The Shoto Museum Museum of Art (Shōtō Bijutsukan) in Tokyo. Additional venues are under consideration.
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
ISHII Tōru, KIMURA Ryōko, MITSUTA Haruo, SOMEYA Satoshi, TANADA Kōji, and YAMAMOTO Tarō
CURATOR John Szostak
Additional Exhibition-Related Program!
SPONSORS
UHM Department of Art + Art History; UHM College of Arts + Humanities; Honolulu Museum of Art; The Cooke Foundation; Hawai‘i Council for the Humanities; Japan Foundation; UHM Center for Japanese Studies; UHM Japan Studies Endowment; UHM SEED Initiative for Diversity, Equity, Access and Success; UHM Student Activity and Program Fee Board; Waikiki Parc Hotel; GalleryHNL; and anonymous donors.