Benesse House Museum : Notice of Exhibition Changes
from January 19th, 2016.
"Social Commentary" ― Yasuo Kuniyoshi and Contemporary Art after World War II
Benesse House Museum opened in 1992 as a facility integrating a museum and a hotel. Bringing together the architecture of Tadao Ando and a collection of contemporary art amidst the natural setting of the Seto Inland Sea, and actualizing Benesse Art Site Naoshima's concept of "coexistence of nature, art and architecture", it aims to provide a space where visitors can relax and take a moment to re-envision their own lives for the better.
In 2015, we started to make changes to the exhibition in order to consider different perspectives, and we will continue to do this henceforth every year.
The theme of 2016 is "Social Commentary." How we face problems such as urbanization and modernization in our contemporary society is one of the issues that surfaced during our reconsideration process.
In this exhibition, we will highlight six pieces by Okayama-born artist Yasuo Kuniyoshi (1889), who flourished as a painter in the United States, where he worked on these pieces from the time of World War II through the postwar era. Through these pieces, we can vividly grasp his struggles as an immigrant in the U.S. and his sense of being torn between two warring countries, during the turbulent time between the worldwide Great Depression through the World War II. (Picture: Yasuo Kuniyoshi "Mr. Ace")
Along with Kuniyoshi's work, we will feature contemporary artwork by other artists that blossomed during the postwar period, such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Tom Wesselmann, Yukinori Yanagi, Shinro Ohtake and Yasumasa Morimura(*). Each of these artists looked deeply into times and societies in which they were living, and questioned them in their unique ways. Their viewpoints suggest issues we, too, should think over, even in our current time.
Our hope is that this exhibition will give you an opportunity to reconsider how you experience and look at the period and society in which we ourselves live.
* A film by Yasumasa Morimura, "Season of Passion / A Requiem: MISHIMA," will be shown in the 2nd floor lecture room of the Benesse House Museum, between the hours of 10 am and 6 pm, during the Setouchi Triennale 2016. The Seasons are as follows: Spring Season (March 20 - April 17); Summer Season (July 18 - September 4); and Autumn Season (October 8 - November 6).Benesse House Museum
Opening Hour 8:00-21:00（last entry 20:00） Open everyday
Admission 1,030 yen（Free admission for children 15 years old and under, and overnight guests at Benesse House）
Location Gotanji, Naoshima, Kagawa, 761-3110, JAPAN Phone +81-(0) 87-892-3223（9:00-20:00）
