The Dulwich Picture Gallery‘s latest exhibition Yoshida: Three Generations of Japanese Printmaking showcases an artistic and technically interesting dynasty in its own floating world. Introducing the Yoshida Family It’s my own fault, really. I shouldn’t leave exhibitions to the last minute. So if my experience at the Dulwich Picture Gallery was a very crowded one, […]
Spirited Away brings the magic and charm of the Studio Ghibli film to the stage. Spirited Away Like buses, sometimes you can be waiting for a certain type of theatrical production for a while, and then they all come at once. So it is, seemingly, with stage adaptations of beloved Studio Ghibli animations by Hayao […]
Daido Moriyama’s first UK retrospective is a revelation, taking over the Photographers’ Gallery with hundreds of his trademark atmospheric images. Daido Moriyama This is the second exhibition of work by a Japanese photographer I’ve seen in London in recent weeks, and both are interesting for how the artists challenge the potential and limits of the […]
This slow and thoughtful exhibition at the Hayward Gallery shows off photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto’s work to perfection. Hiroshi Sugimoto To get to know the work of Hiroshi Sugimoto is to get to know photography itself. That is the impression I had after seeing this survey, the artist’s largest to date, at the Hayward Gallery in […]
Haruki Murakami’s 1999 novel Sputnik Sweetheart comes to the Arcola stage, with all its ambiguity, loneliness and longing. Sputnik Sweetheart The novels of Haruki Murakami are not easy ones to stage. Ambiguous, with frequently charismatic yet unreliable narrators, and other worlds as metaphorical plot devices. I’ve read other works by the author, but not Sputnik […]
Japanese theatre company tarinainanika brings the story of artist Rey Camoy to Bloomsbury Festival audiences. Powerful, moving and at times disturbing, this is a tour de force of physical theatre. Content warning: mentions of suicide and substance abuse. Bloomsbury Festival 2023 I have been known on occasion to say that the most interesting, creative works […]
Lausanne’s Fondation de l’Hermitage is a pleasant museum in tranquil surroundings. Their exhibition Vuillard and the Art of Japan takes a comprehensive look at the impact 19th Century japonisme had on the artist’s work. La Fondation De L’Hermitage On my recent visit to Lausanne, I wasn’t quite sure which institutions I was going to visit. […]
A review of Noguchi, the large-scale retrospective now on at the Barbican. An insight into the varied work of sculptor and designer Isamu Noguchi. Isamu Noguchi Isamu Noguchi is an interesting figure in 20th Century art. And if you haven’t heard of him before, listen up. Born in 1904 to a Japanese poet father and […]
Review of a visit to the Ca’ Pesaro museum in Venice. In which I am intrigued and invigorated by the juxtaposition of forward-looking art collection and strangely old-fashioned Asian art museum. Ca’ Pesaro – Possible to Visit on a Trip to Venice, with Good Planning Ca’ Pesaro is one of the more unexpected museums in […]
