The traveling exhibition titled “Superlative Artistry of Japan” reached Chsinau. The collection consists of 38 traditional Japanese crafts (kogei) dating from the period between the 19th century and present. The exhibition that was conceived by the Japan Foundation in 2017 to promote the Japanese culture and arts travels in the U.S., Germany, Spain, Russia, Romania, Slovenia, Lithuania and until March 6 can be visited at the National Museum of Arts of Moldova, IPN reports.
In the opening of the event, His Excellence Yoshihiro Katayama, Ambassador of Japan to the Republic of Moldova, said that the mounting of the exhibition marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Moldovan-Japanese relations, while the Japan Foundation that designed the artistic concept created this exhibition in a bid to promote and increase interest in Japanese culture and arts. “It is an exhibition from the traditional art to modern art, from handmade items and painting to Japanese architecture and design. This exhibition travels all over the world and I’m glad that after Germany, the U.S., Spain, Romania, Russia and other countries, this collection reached the capital of the Republic of Moldova. Arts amateurs can appreciate a part of our country’s culture,” said the diplomat, noting that the authors of the collection through the agency of this exhibition aim to show their commitment to the creative ingeniousness, skillfulness without compromises and perfection of techniques.
Tudor Zbârnea, director general of the National Museum of Arts of Moldova, said the given exhibition surprises by its variety of styles and creates cohesion between a historical epoch known in the world and the works of 12 contemporary artists. “The boundary between Japanese crafts and contemporary art is very indistinct. Besides these traditional crafts that are 150 years old, we also see the works of 12 contemporary artists that surprise us by that tie, tenacity of extraordinarily high sensitivity,” stated Tudor Zbârnea.
The Embassy of Japan in Chisinau noted that the exhibition “Superlative Artistry of Japan” is designed to identify “superlative artistry” in techniques, perfection degree and remarkable concepts that do not stop surprising the eyes. The exhibition coherently unites crafts made over a century ago for export purposes and contemporary arts, ceramics, textiles, films and photos, including toy capsules and food samples. “It has been over 150 years since the kogei of the Meiji Era witnessed an explosion in popularity abroad. We want the visitors of the exhibition – consumers of contemporary art – to resonate with “superlative artistry” of the 21st centru, lawful successor of historical DNA”.
According to the organizers, the 12 authors have their own distinct features. The works of Satoshi Araki, Riusuke Fukahori, Kimiyo Mishima and Yoshihiro Suda insatiably look for realism, while the work of Naoki Nishiwaki transmits the supreme monotony of repetition. The use of highly-qualified technology can be seen especially in the works of Takeshi Kitamura, Kazuhiro Yamamoto and Hiroaki Umeda. Naoki Honjo, Takahiro Iwasaki, Yasuhiro Suzuki and Akira Yamaguchi combine technical ingeniousness and concept for transforming the values and even the world we perceive.
