Mark Rothko was born in Dvinsk, Russia (current Daugavpils, Republic of Latvia) in 1903. During his childhood he immigrated to the United States with his family. Although he entered the prestigious Yale University, he left after two years. In 1923, he moved to New York to become a painter. In the beginning, his motifs were painted in gloomy tones and included indoor figures and cityscapes such as subway stations. Then, he moved on to a surrealistic style of painting with titles based on ancient mythologies. After the mid 1940s, he departed from representational painting and, finally, he arrived at a style with amorphous cloud like shapes floating on large surfaces. These paintings, which were abstract, yet mysterious and lyrical with colored surfaces producing light, immediately gained attention and Rothko became one of the most popular painters representing the United States.
While receiving fame, Rothko began to dream of having his "own space for paintings." This would be a room with only his paintings, without those of other painters, in which he would control the lighting and install as he desired. In doing this, for the first time, Rothko’s paintings become alive and his multiple artworks are able to respond to each other like music as viewers are completely surrounded.

"Seagram Murals" is a series of artworks in this exhibition that Rothko undertook after being given a space for the first time. However, because the specified space was a private dining room in the high-class restaurant, "The Four Seasons," in the Seagram Building in New York, where every night, well-dressed celebrities came to enjoy conversation and luxurious meals, Rothko rejected the pretentious atmosphere and decided to turn down the deal that he had previously accepted happily. As a result, when his 30 paintings were completed, he lost their exhibition opportunity.

The "Seagram Murals" series differs from his previous artworks. On the wall, they appear to form a large horizontal surface, with forms reminiscent of window frames arranged and painted in maroon, orange and black as their base colors. These paintings transport viewers to a deeper, unknown world. Surrounded by an overpowering existence resembling an ancient ruin, one reflects upon and explores one’s mind and meditates--- Rothko must have longed to realize such a space. Finally in 1970, nine of the "Seagram Murals" traveled across the Atlantic to find a home at the Tate Gallery in London. An additional seven of them have been exhibited in one room at Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art since the museum’s opening in 1990. As the sole Rothko room in Asia, it has been highly popular for many of our visitors.

For this exhibition, fifteen paintings, half of "Seagram Murals," which have been scattered for more than 50 years, are gathered together for the first time to create a new Rothko space. This exhibition is a rare opportunity unlikely to occur again. Also part of the exhibition, models and sketches related to "Seagram Murals" and large paintings completed before and after "Seagram Murals" including a series rarely seen, as well as Rothko’s letters, which are exhibited for the first time to the Japanese public, will each present the essence of Rothko’s later years.

Since 1970, for 38 years, Tate Gallery, London has housed a Rothko room. Since 1990, for 18 years, Kawamura Memorial Art Museum, Sakura, Chiba has housed a Rothko room. Both the British and Japanese Rothko rooms were to permanently exhibit "Seagram Murals" in one room. This was a strong wish of Rothko when he was alive. Each of these rooms is a popular spot for art enthusiasts. For these two museums, it has been a long-standing dream to exhibit the scattered "Seagram Murals," together. There is a magnificent viewing opportunity during this exhibition to have a total of fifteen paintings together, three from the Tate, five from the National Gallery of Art, Washington and seven from Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art. In accordance with Rothko’s plan for the creation of a dream Rothko Room, the gap between paintings is kept as small as possible and paintings are placed in a higher position on the walls to create a continuous surrounding band of red walls.

In his late years, Rothko searched for someone who would truly understand his artwork and to whom he could entrust these artworks, which he considered to be as important as his own children. In 1965, Sir Norman Reid, who was a director at the Tate Gallery during that time, visited Rothko seeking a donation and after spending a long time, more than four years, he gained trust and nurtured a friendship with Rothko. Finally, he was able to acquire "Seagram Murals." In this exhibition, Rothko’s letters to Mr. Reid are presented in Japan for the first time. In these letters, one may encounter Rothko’s changing emotions, which vary from confusion and impatience, doubt and belief, and anger and joy.

Following the setback of the "Seagram Murals" project, Rothko continued to obtain space for his painting series to be exhibited together. He worked on a series for the member dining room at Harvard University and for a church built by Mr. And Mrs. de Menil in Houston. In addition, there was also another series of artworks created at that time. These are the nine "Black–Form Paintings" that Rothko created in 1964. Using colors that were extremely close to black such as jet black, dark purple and dark brown, this series, with one oblong shape placed in each painting, was numbered starting from 1 suggesting that it was probably painted as a series. In the space of this exhibition, four paintings from this series are exhibited together to create another Rothko Room. The quietness of these paintings reminds us of deep darkness and even sacredness.

Dates	Lecturers	Content
Sunday, March 29, 2009 17:30-19:00	Kenichiro Mogi (Neuroscientist) x Sumi Hayashi (Curator, Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art)	In the exhibition space surrounded by the red "Seagram Murals," two professionals from different fields will discuss the appeal of Rothko’s paintings.

• Participation Fee: 1000yen (admission fee not included)
• First 100 persons only. Participation tickets will be available for purchase at the museum entrance on the day of the event from 13:00.
• Please understand in advance that the schedule may change or be cancelled.

Dates	Lecturers	Content
2/21(Sat), 3/14(Sat), 4/10(Fri) , 5/24(Sun), 14:00-15:00	Sumi Hayashi (Curator, Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art)	Exhibition curator will guide participants through the exhibition .

• First 40 persons only, meet at the Entrance Hall at 14:00.

Everyday except 2/21, 3/14, 4/10 and 5/24,　14:00 - 15:00

• No reservation required, meet at the Entrance Hall at 14:00
• Please understand in advance, when there is a large number of visitors at the museum, guided tours may not be possible in the Rothko Exhibition.

Included are explanations for the Rothko Exhibition, the Collection Display and chamber music by Mozart and Schubert. In consideration of Rothko’s deep appreciation for classical music, his son, Christopher Rothko has selected the music.

"MARK ROTHKO" 2940yen
The exhibition catalogue will be available at bookstores nationwide from Tankosha on March 5.

Exhibition List Download (PDF:56KB)

Mark Rothko working at his studio, 106 West 53 St.,ca. 1954
© 2009 Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko Photograph by Henry Elkan

Adults

¥1500

Students & Seniors over 65 with ID

¥1200

Elementary, middle and high school students

¥500

[Group rate over 20 persons (following price is for one person)]

Adults

¥1300

Students & Seniors over 65 with ID

¥1000

Elementary, middle and high school students

¥400

[Persons with disability pass (+ one attendant each)]

Adults

¥1200

Students & Seniors over 65 with ID

¥900

Elementary, middle and high school students

¥300

List of exhibitions organized in the past is available.