The Museum of Modern Art Wakayama presents “Human/Nature: Four Perspectives from Modern to Contemporary”, an exhibition on the the theme of humans and nature, on display from April 14th through June 3rd.
Kano Koga, After The Rain,1936, pigment color on silk, collection of the Museum of Modern Art Wakayama
How humans deal with natural environment varies by regions and times. Yet one fact never changes: nature is necessary for humans. And, taking a distance view, human beings are nothing more than a part of nature. In the field of art, nature has always been one of the most important subjects through the ages. In modern times, natural objects such as landscape and plants were always objects to be depicted. And now in our time, such natural phenomena as visible or recordable as movements of stars, and even as invisible in themselves as time and gravity, are occasionally the focus of artists interest. Furthermore, some artists deal with relationships to nature by finding materials in nature or bringing nature itself into their works.
This show introduces various works related to humans and nature from modern to contemporary. The tremendous natural disaster that struck Japan last year forces us to question our attitude toward nature anew. It will be an opportunity to reconsider the coexistence trough art.
The Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama, has a rich collection of home-town Wakayama artists, such as Kigai Kawaguchi and Banka Nonagase.
In addition, the Museum especially features a collection and introduction of art prints. This is because many frontier artists who left important landmarks in the history of modern Japanese art print have links with Wakayama. Those printmakers include Yozo Hamaguchi (mezzotint), Kyokichi Tanaka (woodcut), Koshiro Onchi (woodcut), among others. The Museum is proud of its print collection as one of the best in Japan. It also has a couple of overseas art prints such as those of Pablo Picasso and Odilon Redon.
Other collections include those of Mark Rothko, Frank Stella, George Segal, and Japanese modern artists of the Kansai area (Western Japan).
More than 10,000 collections of the Museum include Japanese traditional paintings, oil paintings, sculptures and art prints of the Meiji Period (1868-1912) and until today. The museum display changes periodically, and various exhibitions and featured collections are organized in order to exhibit as many works as possible from its holdings for public viewing. Also there are special exhibitions from time to time.
In addition, the Museum hosts small-group gatherings, seminars with invited speakers, concerts, and workshops.- www.momaw.jp