Up-and-Coming Japanese Contemporary Artists

Ryushi Memorial Museum holds an exhibition “Ryushi Kawabata Plus One”,

which is a project that attempts to see what kind of resonance and excitement can be evoked by adding contemporary artists to Ryushi’s paintings in collaboration with the Ryutaro Takahashi Collection.

Japanese style painting (Nihonga)

Two Japanese female artists featured in this exhibition are promising and they have a lot to look forward to being active in the world stage. One thing to note is that they are nihonga (Japanese-style painting), not oil painting.

“Nihonga” (Japanese style painting) does not refer to any single defined style. It identifies both traditional Japanese painting and new styles of work that incorporate Western painting methods. Nihonga uses Iwaenogu (mineral pigments) as coloring materials and nikawa (organic gelatin) for a glue.

Iwaenogu (mineral pigments) is made from particles of pulverized rock, mainly minerals. The coarse mineral grains remain on the surface of the painting that can often give Nihonga’s characteristic shimmer.

Juri Hamada

 In the first half of the exhibition, Juri Hamada is featured. Juri Hamada has created dynamic and colorful works on the theme of Genesis, life in nature, and land on a big folding screen. The works are "Genesis: Joy" (2023), "Genesis" (2022), and "From the Forest of the Blue Land" (2016). You may be overwhelmed by her large-scale paintings which are over 16 meters wide.

Her works overturned stereotypes of Japanese style painting in terms of techniques, sensibilities, aesthetics, and styles. I have an impression that Japanese-style painting uses subdued colors and elegant and calm motifs.

Hamada spent her childhood in Indonesia. Her works are based on her memories, the distinctive red color of Indonesia’s soil. The sheet dimension of this primordial landscape motivates her quest to depict life energy.

Reina Taniho

In the second half of the exhibition, Reina Taniho will exhibit works in which images of plants and marine life proliferate and expand and create another life on a canvas. This exhibition will include the large work “Ubusuna”(2017), which is based on the memories in Mallorca, Spain, the pair of works “Resonance/Collecting” (2018/2020), and a new silk work which is approximately 4 meters in length hang from the ceiling.

Ryushi Memorial Museum is celebrating its 60th anniversary and seeks a new perspective to view Ryushi’s work by adding new colors and styles. 

Ryutaro Takahashi is a psychiatrist and famous collector of contemporary art. His collection of Juri Hamada is exhibited along with Ryushi Kawabata at Ryushi Memorial Museum in Otaku, Tokyo.

++++

RYUTARO TAKAHASHI COLLECTION COLLABORATION PROJECT,

“Ryushi Kawabata Plus One, Juri Hamada and Rena Taniho – Colors dance and resonate (first half)

Exhibitions | Takahashi Ryutaro Collection (takahashi-collection.com)

 https://www.takahashi-collection.com/en/exhibitions/