On Utage
Kashima Arts is proud to announce the launch of Utage, a series of special exhibitions to be held every spring. Catered to each occasion, these exhibitions will showcase the best of Kashima Arts’ selection. In this new tradition, Kashima Arts will introduce, exhibit, and offer the very best of Japanese art, from hanging scrolls to calligraphy and paintings, each spring through Utage.
The inaugural exhibition, Utage: Modern Japanese Paintings will be held from Saturday, April 23 to Sunday, May 1, 2022, at Kashima Arts (Kyobashi, Tokyo). Approximately 25 works by major modern Japanese painters, such as Kaburaki Kiyokata and Takeuchi Seiho, will be on exhibit.
【Exhibition Highlights】
Approx. 25 Works by Major Japanese Artists from the Meiji to Showa Period To Be On Offer!
The first of the Utage series, Utage: Modern Japanese Paintings will focus on Japanese art from the Meiji to Showa period.
Modernity entered Japan after a 300-year long reign of the Edo Shogunate. As the government began to promote Western values and rapidly construct a modernized state; the Meiji era became known as a progressive. Furthermore, as Western culture, thoughts, and institutions became widespread, the values and lifestyles of the many began to undergo great change. This had a great impact on the Japanese painting world, and a new sense of beauty began to sprout. Painters were eager to form original, innovative expressions whilst simultaneously preserving traditional techniques and styles.
This exhibition will introduce the works from the dawn of modern times to the Showa era. Featuring approx. 25 works, the inaugural exhibition offers works by 18 artists, including the so-called pioneer of modern Japanese painting, Takeuchi Seiho, the Bijin-ga master, Kaburaki Kiyokata, the internationally renowned bird-and-flower, Watanabe Seitei, and more.
