Toko Shinoda
dal 20/3/2003 al 13/4/2003
Segnalato da
Hara Museum of Contemporary Art
20/3/2003
Toko Shinoda
Hara Museum, Tokyo
Toko Shinoda is known as one of Japan's leading female artists and as one of the foremost painters of abstract sumi-e (ink paintings). Unaffiliated with any artistic school or group, this singular artist has pursued a world of beauty that is uniquely her own, creating works that have won international praise and have been included in the collections of major museums throughout the world and in many royal collections.
Variations of Vermillion
Toko Shinoda is known as one of Japan's leading female artists and as one of
the foremost painters of abstract sumi-e (ink paintings). Unaffiliated with
any artistic school or group, this singular artist has pursued a world of
beauty that is uniquely her own, creating works that have won international
praise and have been included in the collections of major museums throughout
the world and in many royal collections.
Born in 1913, Shinoda was initiated into the use of brush and ink at an early
age by her father. From around 1945, she began to extend beyond the
conventional rules (forms) of calligraphy, turning to a freer, more creative
sumi-based aesthetic. In 1956, having already won a reputation as a
calligrapher, she embarked on a solo 2-year stay in New York, where abstract
expressionism was being enthusiastically received. During that period, through
exchange with many artists and people related to the arts, began to pioneer an
uncharted world of painting involving delicate and lyrical tones within
structures filled with dynamic tension.
Since that time, Shinoda has held a great number of solo exhibitions in Japan
and throughout Europe and the U.S. She has also done much work in bas-reliefs,
murals, drop curtains, and other large-scale projects connected with
architecture. Shinoda's elegant, refined sense of beauty is also apparent in
essays as well as interviews in various media. Without a doubt, her works, as
well as Shinoda's existence as an artist, will continue to delight and
influence countless people in the years to come, transcending generations and
national boundaries.
After a career of more than 50 years, Shinoda continues to show a strong and
ever-growing enthusiasm for creation. New paintings (five) produced specially
for this solo exhibition underscore the artist's sincere and constant will to
create, one that is firmly based in Japanese tradition, but one which brooks
no compromise and which originates from the artist's unique sense of space and
physicality.
This exhibition presents around 15 new sumi-e (presented to the public for the
first time) and 25 precious examples of lithographic works created over a span
of 20 some years. We hope you will find a chance some fine spring day to come
to the exhibition and experience the mysterious and profound world of Toko
Shinoda.
Hours:
11:00am - 5:00pm (8:00pm on Wed.) Closed Mon.
(Or Tuesday if Monday is a public holiday), year-end holidays and between
exhibitions.
Hara Museum of Contemporary Art
4-7-25 Kitashinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 140-0001