Overview of the Exhibition

Flowers beguile the seasons with scent and color. Since painting began, people have used the brush to capture the fleeting beauty of flowers. This exhibition features flowers and fruits painted by Yokoyama Taikan, Hishida Shunsō, and other masters of modern Japanese painting. Even at this moment of year, these pictures allow you to enjoy the passing seasons of Japan.

The theme of Section 1 is Seasonal Flowers and Fruit. Paintings here include Kayama Matazō’s signature work Oboro, a magical depiction of a weeping cherry at night, Yokoyama Taikan’s Momo, a vivid rendering of peaches on the tree, and Hayami Gyoshū’s Zansetsu-zu, which shows narcissus flowering while the snow remains. Moving from scene to scene of this calendar of flowers, you can appreciate the colorful bounty of nature through the passing seasons.
Section 2 is titled ‘Painting the Seasons of Japan’. In this single space, you can enjoy an annual round of the beauty of nature as the months progress. In the innovative composition of Setsugetsuka, three painters — Takeuchi Seihō, Yokoyama Taikan, and Kawai Gyokudō — collaborated to harmoniously convey the essence of summer, spring, and winter. Meanwhile, in its many finely detailed depictions of plants and animals, a single work by Imao Keinen, Amarimono Hyakushu, represents all the seasons.
Section 3 Ephemeral Nature in Kyoto features work by Nakamura Nanami. Showing flowers that bloom and then loose their petals, greenery that sprouts and burgeons, rather than illustrating the snapshot view of photography, this contemporary artist living in Kyoto aims to show the flow of time. Feel free to linger over the everchanging natural scenery of Kyoto depicted on a large seven-meter wide composition.

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Exhibition Information

Artwork

"Woman Viewing Chrysanthemums" by Ito Shoha

"Peaches" by Yokoyama Taikan

"Lingering Snow" by Hayami Gyoshu

"Spring Garden" by Hishida Shunso

"Dewdrops" by Hayami Gyoshu

"Morning Glories" by Hayami Gyoshu