The Human Tradition in Japan: Ten Figurative Sculptors 1930s-1950s

1 August - 6 September 1998

Hours: 9:30a.m.- 5:00 p.m.
Entry is permitted thirty minutes before the galleries are closed.
Closed: Closed on Mondays

Admission: charged

We are pleased to present “The Humanist Tradition in Japan: Ten Figurative Sculptors 1930s-1950s”.

Modern sculpture began in Japan under the instruction of the Italian sculptor Vincenzo Ragusa in the 1870s. In the teens of this century, young sculptors who worked outside of the government-sponsored exhibitions were strongly influenced by French sculptors, first Rodin and later Bourdelle, Maillol, and Despiau.

The ten sculptors appearing in this exhibition were born in the first and second decade of the twentieth century. Except for Sakurai Yuicbi, who belonged to the Japan Art Institute and specialized in wood sculpture, they all showed with the sculpture section of the Kokugakai (National Painting Society), established in 1928, and were the core members of the sculpture section of the Shinseisaku Kyokai(New Creation School Association), founded in 1939.

This generation of sculptors started their careers in the late twenties and early thirties, but were forced to stop making sculpture during the 15-year period from the Japanese invasion of China to the end of World War II. Bitter experiences of government suppression of thought and expression, obligatory military service, and time spent in prisoner-of-war camps gave depth to their artistic expression. They established their distinctive individual styles of sculpture after the war, in the late forties and early fifties.

This exhibition introduces an aspect of the development of figurative sculpture in Japan through the work of this group of artists who avoided the officially-approved academic tradition and based their work on humanist ideas, expressing the subjective reality of human beings.

This exhibition is the homecoming version of “Le Japon Sculpture moderne 1935-1955”, an exhibition presented by the Despiau-Wlerick museum in the city of Mont-de-Marsan, France, from May to August 1997. The ten artists and the works appearing in the French exhibition were selected by Philippe Camin, director of the Despiau-Wlérick museum. Some changes have been made in the selection of work shown in the Japanese venue, and a new catalog has been prepared.

We would like to thank everyone who helped make this exhibition possible, especially the collectors who have kindly loaned works to the exhibition and Kao Corporation for the support they have provided.