Current Exhibition
April 23 (Tue) – May 19 (Sun), 2024
The Path of the Idemitsu Museum of Arts ― From Here and Beyond, Part I
Reviving the Inaugural Exhibition
―Sengai, Ko-Garatsu, Chinese Ceramics, the Orient
Closed: Mondays（Except April 29 and May 4）and April 30 and May 5.
At the museum inaugural exhibition in 1966, the gallery rooms showcased major works of Chinese ceramics and bronze, ko-garatsu (old ware from the Karatsu region), and Zen master Sengai’s paintings. Today, fifty-eight years since its public opening, all the rooms remain with their original structure and style. To begin the museum’s final year in its current Teigeki building, this first exhibition revisits the museum inaugural exhibition and features masterpieces that continue to represent the collection of the Idemitsu Museum of Arts.
Exhibitions
2024.4～2024.12
April 23 (Tue) – May 19 (Sun), 2024
The Path of the Idemitsu Museum of Arts ― From Here and Beyond, Part I
Reviving the Inaugural Exhibition―Sengai, Ko-Garatsu, Chinese Ceramics, the Orient
At the museum inaugural exhibition in 1966, the gallery rooms showcased major works of Chinese ceramics and bronze, ko-garatsu (old ware from the Karatsu region), and Zen master Sengai’s paintings. Today, fifty-eight years since its public opening, all the rooms remain with their original structure and style. To begin the museum’s final year in its current Teigeki building, this first exhibition revisits the museum inaugural exhibition and features masterpieces that continue to represent the collection of the Idemitsu Museum of Arts.
June 1 (Sat) – July 7 (Sun), 2024
The Path of the Idemitsu Museum of Arts ― From Here and Beyond, Part II
Idemitsu Sazo and the Resonance of Beauty―Itaya Hazan, Kosugi Hōan, and Georges Rouault
The first museum director Idemitsu Sazo (1885-1981) was known for building close relations with artists from his period and their creative activities. Itaya Hazan (1872-1963) and Kosugi Hōan (1881-1964) are representative artists whom Sazo had engaged with. This exhibition presents Hazan’s ceramics with the elegant, luminous design and Hōan’s works that reflect the “Eastern ideal” through oil and Japanese painting, alongside works by Sazo’s contemporaries Georges Rouault (1871-1958) and Sam Francis (1923-94).
July 20 (Sat) – August 25 (Sun), 2024
The Path of the Idemitsu Museum of Arts ― From Here and Beyond, Part III
Masterpieces of Japanese and Chinese Ceramics―Rediscoveries in the Collection
It was in 1910 that Idemitsu Sazo (1885-1981) discovered the beauty of Chinese ceramics during his corporate expansion in Northeastern China. The fondness he nurtured toward such works eventually inspired him to collect precious ceramics and crafts. Under the guidance of internationally known researchers Koyama Fujio (1900-75) and Mikami Tsugio (1907-87), Sazo further aspired to enrich his collection. We hope you enjoy the best of the arts and crafts works from the museum collection including Chinese, Japanese and East Asian ceramics as well as lacquer and bronze ware.
September 7 (Sat) – October 20 (Sun), 2024
The Path of the Idemitsu Museum of Arts ― From Here and Beyond, Part IV
One Thing Leads to Another―From the “ Illustrated Stories on Courtier Ban Dainagon ” to Itō Jakuchū
This year marks around the 120th year since Idemitsu Sazo (1885-1981) first obtained Zen master Sengai’s work. Since the museum’s opening until today, the collection underwent processes of re-evaluation and growth, housing a wealth of works that cover histories of Japanese and Chinese calligraphy and painting. This exhibition showcases masterpieces of yamato-e (Japanese style painting), butsu-ga (Buddhist painting), suiboku-ga (ink painting), bunjin-ga (literati paintings), ukiyo-e, rimpa, and calligraphy while retracing the museum’s research and collecting practices.
