Yearly Calendar 2017
Crafts Gallery Yearly Calender 2017 (April, 2017 – March, 2018)
Crafts Gallery
Animals, Animals, Animals from the Museum Collection
February 28 – May 21, 2017
＊Closed on: Mondays (except March 20, 27, April 3 and May 1, 2017); and March 21, 2017
Cranes, turtles, clams, dragonflies, mandarin ducks, dogs, hawks, tigers, dragons, phoenixes: there is no end to the animals used as motifs in crafts.
In the modern era, craft artists began to use animal motifs in ways that would not have been imagined earlier, experimenting with forms that made effective use of the distinctive characteristics of materials and techniques to visualize them.
The affactionate gaze that emerges when artists and small animals grow closer together evokes the sympathy of those who see them. Please enjoy the variety of materials and techniques and the lively forms of the animals on display here.
Crafts Gallery for Kids ✕ Adults from the Museum Collection (tentative title)
July 4 -September 3, 2017
＊Closed on: Mondays (except July 17, 2017); and July 18, 2017
What is your country like?—Crafts are full of hints that help answer such questions, because crafts closely reflect the characteristics of each country and region. At the same time, crafts cherish motivations and wishes common to humans across boundaries. Before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, why not explore the charm of crafts along with kids? This is the first of the programs that celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the Crafts Galley. We will host a stamp rally and many other events that you can learn crafts while enjoying them.
The Crafts Gallery 40th Anniversary Exhibition
Ceramic Artist TSUJI Seimei: The Beauty of Akaru Sabi
September 15 -November 23, 2017
＊Closed on: Mondays (except September 18, October 9, 2017); September 19, October 10, 2017
Tsuji Seimei (1927–2008) was an honorary citizen of Tokyo and a ceramist who, after building his noborigama (climbing kiln) in Tama district of Tokyo in 1955, worked primarily on yakishime ware (high-fired, unglazed stoneware) using clay from Shigaraki town, Shiga Prefecture. With his vessels and objects that he produced just as he felt through his collection of antiques and exchanges with artists, the ceramic artist built a unique world called akaru sabi (bright loneliness). In addition to Tsuji’s masterpieces, this exhibition also presents works by craft artists who worked in the same era to explore the ceramic artist’s aesthetic sense of akaru sabi and his unique view of the world.
Cherishing Nature: Masterpieces of Japanese Modern Crafts from the Museum Collection
December 1,2017- February 18, 2018
＊Closed on: Mondays (except January 8 and February 12, 2018); December 28, 2017 – January 1, 2018; January 9 and February 13, 2018
Japanese culture loves changes and beauty in nature, and nature features prominently in its lifestyles and living enviroments. Japanese craft artists use natural materials to create beautiful forms as seen in the combinations of ceramics and overglaze enamels, yarns and dyeing and weaving techniques, lacquer and gold and silver maki-e. This exhibition presents masterpieces of modern Japanese crafts including Moriguchi Kako’s yuzen kimono, Akatsuka Jitoku’s maki-e inkstone box, and Kitahara Senroku’s curving metal box.
Masterpieces of Modern Crafts from the Museum Collection (tentative title)
March 1 – May 27, 2018
＊Closed on: Mondays (except March 26, April 2 and 30, 2018)
Suzuki Chokichi (1848–1919) produced Twelve Hawks for the Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893. Produced using the best technology available at the time, it is one of the most important pieces of metalwork from the Meiji period (1868–1912). This exhibition features this work after three years of restoration. The reproduced ornamental cloth on the perch that had been lost after the Exposition has revived the original brilliant colors. This exhibition presents 100 works including other masterpieces from the Museum collection.
Works of Living National Treasures and Great Masters
This section presents works of bearers of important intangible cultural property (Living National Treasures), and other leading artists and designers at home and abroad. In line with the theme of the current exhibition or season, the program introduces works demonstrating charm of materials or depth of techniques, including ceramics, lacquerware and textiles.
ART MUSEUM Gallery 4
Marcel Breuer's furniture: Improvement for good
March 3 –May 7, 2017
＊Closed on: Mondays (except March 20, 27, April 3 and May 1, 2017); and March 21, 2017
Club chair B3 is often referred to when talking about modern design. Designed by furniture designer and architect Marcel Breuer (1902–1981) at the tender age of twenty-three, this chair is highly acclaimed as the first home furniture that used tubular steel. This exhibition focuses on the charm of Breuer’s furniture design that has fascinated even Japanese.
