Hiroshi Sugimoto, Yoshihiro Suda, Toeko Tatsuno, Hitoshi Nomura, Nam June Paik, Yukio Fujimoto, Aiko Miyawaki, Yasumasa Morimura, Edward Rusche, Jean-Pierre Raynaud, Koji Enokura, Satoshi Ohno, Izumi Kato, Kazuo Shiraga, Kazumi Nakamura, Jonathan Borofsky, Tadanori Yokoo, Katsuro Yoshida, Lee Ufan, Anish Kapoor, Yayoi Kusama, Tatsuo Miyajima, Yoshitomo Nara et al.
Beginning this spring, Hara Museum ARC will present the exhibition Grasping at Clouds: Works from the Hara Museum and the Hara Rokuro Collections. As with the previous year’s exhibition, A Nexus of Rainbows, the title of this exhibition refers to a certain process that goes through the mind during the creation and enjoyment of art with a term inspired by the museum’s rich natural environment. The works selected in turn from the Hara Museum Collection (contemporary art) and the Hara Rokuro Collection (traditional East Asian art) will be presented in two parts: Part I for spring and summer and Part II for autumn and winter.
In Japanese, the word “cloud” appears in the term “grasping at clouds,” which is used to describe something that is vague, elusive, or unrealistic and is therefore somewhat negative in connotation. However, the idea of clouds becomes positive when we recall how looking at soft clouds floating in the sky often triggers a stream of images and thoughts, much like the “clouds” that inspire the mind of the artist or the viewer of art, clouds that might be something that has never been seen or done before or something concrete that is extracted from uncertain or chaotic situations. Most of the works exhibited in Contemporary Art Gallery A, B, and C are examples of this larger sense of clouds. They include works created by artists who have developed their own theory or method to give shape to essential aspects of themselves, art, or society. There are also works that express a concept rather than an actual reality. These include abstract paintings and sculptures devoid of concrete images and photographic works that consist of a series of confounding images with several possible interpretations. On the other hand, in the special exhibition space Kankai Pavilion, visitors can see clouds as depicted in early modern Japanese paintings. These include clouds that act as compositional devices to signal a change in scene or represent the flow of time, as well as clouds depicted in Buddhist paintings. Also on view throughout the year will be Maruyama Okyo’s sketch for his monumental painting Landscape of Yodogawa River, with periodical changes in the section shown. As a record of Okyo’s experience of the river and his artistic intentions, this sketch can serve as a guide towards gaining a deeper understanding of the finished painting.
Part I Spring-Summer: 2022/3/19 - 9/4 Part II Autumn-Winter: 2022/9/10-2023/1/9
10 minutes by taxi from Shibukawa Station on the JR Joetsu line; From JR Shibukawa Station, take the Kan-etsu Kotsu bus towards Ikaho Onsen and get off at Green Bokujo-mae. The venue is 7 minute walk from there.
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