Special 50th Memorial Exhibition:
Fukuda Heihachirō × The Rimpa School

　

29 September (Sun.) – 8 December (Sun.) 2024
(Closed on 10/15, 11/5 and Mondays, except for 10/14, 11/4)

Hours: 10 am - 5 pm (Last admission at 4:30 pm)

Admission Fees: Adults: 1,400 yen; University and high school students: 1,100 yen; middle school and younger children: free of charge; Disability ID holders and one accompanying person: 1,200 yen each

*Discount for those who are wearing kimono: Discount of 200 yen for adults

【Exhibition Timed-Entry Reservation】※9/20, 12:00 on sale

Organized by: Yamatane Museum of Art and the Asahi Shimbun. Japan Arts Council and Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan

Highlights of the Exhibition

Fukuda Heihachirō

Young Women and Peach Trees, Color on Silk, 1916; Yamatane Museum of Art

Peonies, Color on Silk, 1924; Yamatane Museum of Art

Spring, Color on Silk, c.1925; Yamatane Museum of Art

Sweetfish, Color on Silk, c.1935; Yamatane Museum of Art

Sweetfish, Color on Silk, 1940; Yamatane Museum of Art

Poppies, Color on Paper, c.1940; Yamatane Museum of Art

Twin Sparrows on Paulownia Tree, Color on Paper, c.1942; Yamatane Museum of Art

Autumn Leaves, Color on Silk, 1943; Yamatane Museum of Art

Bamboo Shoots, Color on Silk, 1947; Yamatane Museum of Art

Japanese Pampas Grasses, Color on Paper, c.1949; Yamatane Museum of Art

Irises, Color on Paper, 1957; Yamatane Museum of Art

Carp, Color on Paper, 1966; Yamatane Museum of Art

Other Artists

Attributed to Tawaraya Sōtatsu, Chinese Black Pines and Maple Trees, Color on Gold-Leafed Paper, 17th Century; Yamatane Museum of Art

Sakai Hōitsu, Autumn Plants and Quails [Important Art Object], Color on Gold-Leafed Paper, 19th Century; Yamatane Museum of Art

Suzuki Kiitsu, Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons, Color on Gold-Leafed Paper, 19th Century, Yamatane Museum of Art

Sakai Ōho, Red and White Lotuses, White Wisteria Blossoms, and Maple Leaves, Color on Silk, 19th Century; Yamatane Museum of Art

Approximately 50 works in total are to be displayed.

Exhibition Overview

Fukuda Heihachirō (1892-1974) was a nihonga artist who sought fresh colors and forms. To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of his death, the Yamatane Museum of Art is delighted to hold, for the first time in twelve years, a special exhibition examining Heihachirō’s oeuvre.

Born in Oita, Heihachirō moved to Kyoto to study at the Kyoto City School of Arts and Crafts and the Kyoto City College of Painting. In 1919, his work was accepted for the first time at the Teiten (Imperial Art Exhibition). During the Taisho period (1912-26), he examined motifs with care and created realistic works. In the Showa period (1926-89), he established his own distinctive art through simplified color planes and bold compositions.

This exhibition examines his career, from works dating from before his early masterpiece, Peonies, from the Taisho period, the pinnacle of realism, created with thorough, detailed portrayal. It continues with his Bamboo Shoots, with the formative characteristics of the bamboo shoots meticulously captured and combined with the stylized bamboo leaves. In Red and White Mochi and Three Cranes (private collection), the rounded pieces of mochi confectionary contrast brilliantly with the folded paper cranes’ linear forms. The many superb works on display together, spanning his entire career, include his Autumn Colors, Playful Finches (private collection), thought to be his last work.

The exhibition also addresses Rimpa works, classics that influenced Heihachirō. Attributed to Tawaraya Sōtatsu, Chinese Black Pines and Maple Trees, with its brilliant design sense, andSakai Hōitsu, Autumn Plants and Quails [Important Art Object], with its decorative composition and precise depiction, are among the works displaying the diverse fascination of the Rimpa style, which Heihachirō, admired, for your appreciation.

Fukuda Heihachirō, a modern nihonga artist who described his own style as “Realism-based decorative paintings,” meets Edo-period Rimpa, so rich in both design and decorative qualities. We hope you will enjoy this unusual opportunity for those two art spheres to intersect across time and space.

*All works are from the Yamatane Museum of Art collection unless otherwise noted.