Exhibitions

On the celebrated occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art, a wide variety of artworks from the Museum’s collection will be displayed. It is one of the most important and fascinating collections outside Japan. The collection comprises mostly of Japanese artworks from the Felix Tikotin Collection, to which donations of private collections were added, among them, the collections of Lewis B. Gutman and Daniel and Hilda Lebow of New York, the collection of Abraham Horodisch of Amsterdam, the collections of Shulamith and David Rubinfien and Sandra and Kenneth Bleifer of California, the collection of Michael Rukin of Boston and many others.

This is the fifth exhibition of its kind at the Tikotin Museum since re-opening to the public in 1995. Once again, we are proud to present a broad spectrum of artworks donated to or acquired by the Museum during the years that have elapsed since “New Acquisitions VI” in 2014. Traditional and modern prints, clothing accessories and other items are included in this exhibition.
The Museum’s collection has been augmented in various ways over the years. We acquire modern and traditional Japanese works of art, mainly in genres that enrich and sustain the collection, and artworks from new fields as well. Artists exhibiting either solo or in group exhibitions donate their own works to the Museum. Furthermore, some Japanese artists who have yet to be exhibited at the Museum also donate works. The collection has also grown thanks to collectors’ gifts and donations.

In early ink drawings it was customary to include gasen (writing). Gasen is original prose or verse, or a quotation from classical literature or poetry. In some instances, the text is added by a friend or admirer of the artist, and in others by the artist himself. Beneath the text the signature and seal of the poet are added. During the Edo era (1603-1868), the long tradition of poem-paintings
also began to appear as ukiyo-e (pictures from the floating world),
the woodblock print genre. Although ukiyo-e is considered a
popular art form, it is still closely linked to the classical Japanese
culture. This is evident in the integration of classic tanka poems
in the paintings or prints. An innovation of the Edo period was
illustrating poetry anthologies. The best known of these is "One
Hundred Poems of One Hundred Poets" (Hyakunin isshu).

What is origami? Most people would describe it as is an activity in which squares of colored paper are folded to create representations of animals, objects or geometric forms. However, this would not describe the folded paper installations of Tomoko Fuse (b. 1951). Her work asks us to consider the relationships between tradition and innovation. Is her work origami, or is it sculpture made from folded paper?

During the Edo period, various laws and prohibitions were imposed on the Japanese public. The Tenpô Reforms of 1841 forbade luxury. In 1842, a special law was enacted dealing with woodblock prints and illustrated books. Among other things, the law forbade the publication of prints depicting Kabuki actors, courtesans, geisha and eroticism, and banned the production of colour prints with more than eight colours.

In the mid-19th century, following a period of two hundred and fifty years of seclusion, Japan opened its gates to the West and trade relations with various countries were established. In addition, Japan formed a large army in order to protect its strategic interests in neighboring countries, as did many other world powers of the time.
At the end of the 19th century, Japan's territorial disputes with China on Korean soil increased and it sent troops to the region. In the early 20th century, Japan did so once again, in a similar conflict with Russia. During the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), the Japanese army fought on various fronts in Korea and in Manchuria, China.

The Japan Foundation was founded in 1972 to promote mutual understanding between different countries through cultural exchanges. As part of this program, the Foundation produced the exhibition “Winter Garden: The Exploration of the Micropop Imagination in Contemporary Japanese Art,” curated by art critic Ms. Midori Matsui. The exhibition is comprised of 35 artworks including drawings, paintings and videos by 14 artists active since the late 1990s.

Porcelain production began in Japan in the early 17th century, several hundred years after it had first appeared in China during the Tang dynasty (618–906). Although the history of pre-modern, Japanese porcelain was significantly shorter than that of its mainland counterparts, it was, nevertheless, extremely productive

Traditional ukiyo-e prints (ukiyo-e: pictures from the Floating World) were among the most important artistic achievements of the Edo era (1603-1868), whose decline began with the death of the artist Ando Hiroshige in 1858. Two contributing factors to this change were the opening of the gates of Japan to the West in 1853 and the Meiji Restoration (1868) which led, among other things, to the discovery of new artistic works. At this time, Japan was greatly exposed to the influence of European art, although there were those who recognized the need to preserve their traditional art.

Over the centuries, the tendency evolved in Japan to value small objects over big ones and this for both practical and religious reasons. Since Japan is an island nation with limited resources and dense population, the use of large objects is not practical. In addition, the Buddhist perception of minimalism had extensive impact over a wide range of Japanese art forms.