Kenjiro Okazaki: The Reservoir of Vision
A solo exhibition by the visual artist Kenjiro Okazaki will be held at Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
In 2017, Toyota Municipal Museum of Art held “The Power of Abstraction,” an exhibition curated by Kenjiro Okazaki himself. That exhibition illuminated the concrete, real-world power that abstract art has always carried, deftly overturning the monolithic modernist reading of art history and offering us many stimulating and fresh insights. As a follow-up to that project, this solo exhibition presents the full scope of Kenjiro Okazaki’s work and practice.
Highlights of “Kenjiro Okazaki: The Reservoir of Vision”
The main highlights of the exhibition are summarized below.
– Okazaki’s first large-scale museum solo exhibition in 17 years, since his 2002 show at Sezon Museum of Modern Art.
Nearly the entirety of Toyota Municipal Museum of Art will be devoted to the show, allowing visitors to experience displays that unfold one after another through rooms of varying scale.
– In addition to paintings and sculptures, the exhibition presents a wide range of works including reliefs, textile pieces, tiles, drawings, and cartoon-style sketches.
It offers a comprehensive introduction to Kenjiro Okazaki’s multifaceted practice.
– The formative work “Katadaminokatachi,” which precedes his early signature piece “Akasakamitsuke,” will be on display. This will be its first showing since the 1979 B-Semi exhibition.
– Along with new paintings and new sculptures, new tile works and drawings will also be presented.
– A recreation of the “Brancacci Chapel frescoes,” which Okazaki analyzed lucidly in his major work “The Renaissance: Conditions of Experience,” will be presented.
Using AR (Augmented Reality) technology, visitors will experience the complex layering of figures within each fresco.
Through this, viewers come to sense that Okazaki’s own paintings and reliefs are likewise constructed through the exchange and traffic of various colors and forms.
Right: Kenjiro Okazaki, “‘You, of course, must be able to hear it, madam.’ The lady kept silent as if lost in thought, but at last she yawned widely at the wall. In an instant her own hand covered her mouth. On the wall the shape of a moonlit window stood out clearly. The naked frames of leafless branches trembled faintly, casting their shadows over it. Somewhere far off a telephone rang, and from the next room a voice was heard through the wall. At the very same moment, at the very same place, one’s heart is torn between two opposing worries. If only I could see my own face, everything would surely become clear. ‘I’ve even forgotten my own name. But I know who lives in this room.'” 1997, acrylic on canvas (diptych), collection of Toyota Municipal Museum of Art
Right: Kenjiro Okazaki, “Broom in Midair / Aufheben,” 2016, acrylic on canvas, private collection
This promises to be a rare and precious exhibition offering a comprehensive view of the visual artist Kenjiro Okazaki’s practice. We look forward to it with high expectations.
Details
Kenjiro Okazaki: The Reservoir of Vision
Venue: Toyota Municipal Museum of Art
Dates: Saturday, November 23, 2019 – Monday (national holiday), February 24, 2020
Closed: Mondays; December 28 (Sat) – January 4 (Sat)
*Open on January 13 (Mon, national holiday) and February 24 (Mon, national holiday)
Hours: 10:00–17:30 (last admission 17:00)
Admission: General 1,300 yen (1,100 yen) / High school & university students 900 yen (800 yen) / Junior high school students and younger free *Figures in parentheses are advance ticket and group (20+) rates
Organized by: Toyota Municipal Museum of Art
Cooperation: LIXIL Corporation, Nakagawa Chemical Inc.
