Outline

Louise Nevelson (1899-1988), Ad Reinhardt (1913-1967) and Hiroshi Sugimoto (1948- ), the three artists with works in the museum’s collection introduced in this exhibition, are all artists that created distinctive oeuvre in which the color "black" is an important element. Nevelson constructed 3-dimensional works of wood painted black, while Reinhardt painted monochrome oil paintings in black and Sugimoto photographed subjects in black & white. Unlike artists who may have concentrated on works in black occasionally or during a specific period of their careers, these are three artists whose deliberate and thorough pursuit of the theme of black in all of their works, repeatedly and with incomparable levels of success and depth, sets them apart in terms of their artistic results.

In this exhibition, we are proud to present sculptures by Nevelson constructed of stacked boxes, black works on canvas by Reinhardt and Sugimoto»s renowned "Theater" series photographs. We find that bringing together these works in black by three artists of different ages and origins and using different creative methods transports us far from din and distraction of daily life, into a separate world, and one of profound silence.

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Artists

Louise Nevelson （1899-1988）

One of America’s representative female sculptors, Nevelson was born in Kiev and immigrated to the U.S. as a child. From the 1950s she established a unique style by creating sculptures with box shapes using wood painted in matte black. For given periods she also created works in white and gold.
 

Ad Reinhardt （1913-1967）

Born in Buffalo, New York, Reinhardt was one of America’s foremost painters of the post-World War II era. In the 1930s he painted Cubist-influence abstract works with a predominance of geometric forms. In the 1950s he began painting red, blue and then monochrome canvases, before arriving at black as his sole color in 1956 and continuing to paint canvases only in black thereafter.
 

Hiroshi Sugimoto （1948- ）

Born in Tokyo, Sugimoto moved to New York in 1974 and began creating artistic works in series in the medium of black & white photography. Among his representative works are his "Dioramas," "Theaters" and "Seascapes" series, among others. Currently he works from bases in New York and Tokyo.

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Lectures

A three-part series of lectures will cover a wide range of subjects concerning the theme of "black" in the three media of sculpture, painting and photography. 
​​​​​​​Registration from 13:00 on lecture day. Receive a lecture ticket at the museum reception desk (limited to first 60 people). Lecture free with museum admission.​​​​​​​

"Black in 3-dimentional – Material, Space, Color"

Gen Umetsu (Curator, The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama) 
Saturday, February 23, 14:00－15:30
 

"Black Canvases: From Matisse to Reinhardt"

Gen Umetsu (Curator, The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama) 
Saturday, February 23, 14:00－15:30
 

"Darkness and Color – The role of black in photographs"

Minoru Shimizu (Prof., Doshisha University) 
Saturday, March 23, 14:00－15:30

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Gallery Talks

Gallery Talks by the curator (in Japanese)

The curator of the BLACKS exhibition, Kiyoko Maeda, talks about the exhibition in the galleries. Gather at Entrance Hall, no reservations needed
Saturday, February 2
Saturday, March 16
Sunday, April 14
14:00－15:00
 

Guided Tours (in Japanese)

Tours of the permanent collection and the BLACKS exhibition by guide staff. 
14:00－15:00 daily except on days of lectures or curator gallery talks
Gather at Entrance Hall, no reservations needed
 

Audio Guide (in Japanese) 

Audio Guide (in Japanese)
- 500 yen per headset

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Film Showings

"Memories of Origin　Hiroshi Sugimoto"

This is a documentary following 200 days in the life of the world-famous contemporary artist Hiroshi Sugimoto. 
The film will be shown by projector from a DVD copy in the museum’s lecture room. 
Director: Yuko Nakamura (2012, TV MAN UNION, WOWOW, 83 min.)

Saturday, February 16, 15:00－16:30
Sunday, February 17, 11:00－12:30

Registration from an hour and 30 minutes before showing. Receive a ticket at the museum reception desk (limited to first 50 people). Viewing free with museum admission.

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Tearoom in BLACKS

Special tearoom service

During the run of this exhibition, the museum’s tea ceremony-style tearoom with its scenic view of the grounds will serve matcha green tea and Japanese sweets with black tea bowls by potter Takuya Yokoyama and black lacquer ware by Syuzo Shingu. 
Open: 10:30-16:30｜800 yen per serving
 

Cross-Talk
"Quiet Black and Garrulous Black – A Walk with Black"

Ichiro Hirose (Manager of Nishi-Azabu "Toukyo") × Takuya Yokoyama (ceramic artist)
A gallery owner absorbed in the ceramics of contemporary artists for 25 years and an emerging ceramics artist born in 1973 converse about black from a number of perspectives. 

Sunday, February 24, 15:00－16:30
Registration from 13:30 on the day of the talk. Receive a ticket at the museum reception desk (limited to first 60 people). Attendance free with museum admission.