Katsuhito Nishikawa
Serenity in Stillness

September 14, 2024 - January 26, 2025

Hours:
9:30-17:00 (last admission 16:30)
Closed:
Mondays (except Sep. 16 and 23, Oct. 14, Nov. 4, Jan. 13), Sep.17 and 24, Oct. 15, Nov. 5, Dec. 24 - Jan. 1, Jan. 14
Organizer:
DIC Corporation
In Association with:
Chiba Prefecture, The Board of Education of Chiba Prefecture, Sakura City, The Board of Education of Sakura City

Museum Admission

Adults ¥1,800

College / 65 and over ¥1,600

HS students and under Free

Museum Admission   Adults   College
65 and over
  HS students
and under
    ¥1,800   ¥1,600   Free

*Free admission for disability pass holders and one care-giver for each

*College students includes vocational and preparatory school students
*High school students include technical/vocational upper secondary school students
*For Student discounts please show a student ID, for Senior discount please show proof of age
*The permanent collection exhibition can also be viewed with a special exhibition ticket

Sintra.jpg

Sintra, 2009 

painted wood and plaster, 41×37×37 cm 

Collection of the Artist 

Lotus.jpg

Lotus, 1998–2000 

painted wood and plaster, 20×45×45 cm 

Collection of the Artist 

Untitled.jpg

Untitled, 1986 

pigment ink, pencil and oil on paper, 29.7×42 cm 

Collection of the Artist 

Root.jpg

Root, 1994 

painted wood and plaster, 77×38×38 cm 

Collection of the Artist 

Profile

Katsuhito Nishikawa

Born in Tokyo in 1949. With the intention of studying art, at the age of 23, Nishikawa went to Germany as the home of the Bauhaus movement he was interested in. There, after studying initially at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, he studied under Erwin Heerich at the Arts Academy of the City of Düsseldorf. Since 1994, Nishikawa has participated in activities at the Museum Insel Hombroich in the city of Neuss, working from a studio within the premises of the Museum. With a focus on projects involving a unity with nature, he also works in a variety of creative fields, ranging from sculpture and 2-dimensional art, and even furniture. Employing simple structures and common materials, Nishikawa continues to create suggestive works dealing with light and darkness and the shadows that they involve. Currently, he is also involved in teaching the younger generation as an emeritus professor at the University of Fine Arts, Hamburg. He is also a recipient of the Cultural Encouragement Award of the City of Düsseldorf.

Highlights

1. The First Retrospective at a Museum in Japan

Nishikawa’s artistic activities have been based in Europe for 50 years, and the opportunities to see those works in Japan have been limited. This exhibition will be the first retrospective of works from his career to be held in a museum in Japan. On display will be works spanning that career from the 1980s to some of his latest works in a variety of mediums, including sculpture, photography, painting, illustration and more.

2. Exhibition Composition by the Artist Himself

This will be an opportunity to see works selected by the artist himself and arranged in the museum’s spaces with a sensitivity unique to an artist like Nishikawa with a personal involvement in architecture. Afloat in the pond that spreads across the grounds in front of the Museum will be an outdoor sculpture titled Moon of Sakura newly created by the artist specifically for this exhibition.

3. Under a Variety of Different Light

The depth of the works that have come to fruition in the course of Nishikawa’s ongoing pursuit of light and shadow, will be shown in different lights, including natural light, exterior light, interior lighting and indirect light, which will provide opportunities to reconsider the relationships between the works and light and the spaces they are seen in.

4. An Exhibition for the Individual Viewers

The quietness that underlies Nishikawa’s works will be presented in museum spaces bathed in an air of dignified purity. We are sure that you will find it an exhibition where each and every visitor can find the space and time to indulge in appreciation of the art.

Terrace.jpg

Terrace, 2013 

painted wood and plaster, 36×30×20 cm 

Collection of the Artist 

At-the-Pond.jpg

At the Pond, 2010 

oil on canvas, 100×140 cm 

Collection of the Artist 

In-Autumn.jpg

In Autumn, 1995 

petals, 680×680 cm 

Collection of the Artist 



All works © Katsuhito Nishikawa 2024

Events

Cross Talk

Tours will be made of the galleries with the curator of the exhibition and a different guest each time to discuss the various aspects found in Nishikawa’s works with a focus on the artist’s “Unique perspectives,” such as light and nature, white and gray among others.

To be held on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month from 11:30 (excluding Sep. 28 and Jan. 25 a total of 7 tours are planned)

Guests
September 14 Katsuhito Nishikawa (Artist)
October 12 Tomoyo Sanbonmatsu (Curator, The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama)
October 26  Yoshihisa Tanaka (Graphic designer, Nerhol)
November 9  Toshiharu Suzuki (Curator, Toyota Municipal Museum of Art)
November 23  Hiroshi Eguchi (Distiller/President, mitosaya)
December 14  Fumio Nanjo​​​​​​​ (President/CEO, N&A inc.)
January 11  Kenjiro Hosaka (Art Director, Shiga Museum of Art)


Gallery Talks by the Curator

Saturday, September 28
Saturday, January 25
Each day from 11:30-12:30
- Booking required on the day of your visit at the Museum’s reception desk.


Guided Tours 

Daily, 14:00-15:00
- Booking required on the day of your visit at the Museum’s reception desk.
 

Museum Concert 

Ayatake Ezaki (Pianist)
 “Serenity in Stillness” (Working title)
Friday, December 13, 18:00 Start
- Reservations required. See Japanese page for details.

Original Goods

In the Museum Shop, in addition to original goods such as T-shirts and postcards, drinks and sweets inspired by this exhibition’s image will be prepared. Based on meaningful key words for understanding this exhibition’s themes, such as “plants” and “time,” that people find affinity with, as well as special goods that have been prepared, we hope visitors will enjoy its lingering impressions even more.


Sodas / candies × mitosaya|Distillery with an herb garden

Petal chocolate × shodai bio nature|Western sweets shop using choice natural ingredients

Black tea (leaves) × teteria|Offering time to enjoy black tea

Coffee beans × yaco coffee|Savory coffee blends

Concurrent exhibits

Viewpoint/Collection Viewpoint
Tadaaki Kuwayama 1932–2023
Frank Stella 1936–2024

Date: July 6, 2024 – January 26, 2025
Gallery 201

In one of the Permanent Collection Galleries, there will be an exhibit in August commemorating the first anniversary of the passing of Tadaaki Kuwayama, and a commemorative exhibit of the works of Frank Stella, who passed away in May of this year. 
In addition to the works with metallic colors on canvas that can be said to be Kuwayama’s signature genre, there will also be print works to be shown for the first time. Of works by Stella, six works on canvas from the Museum’s collection will be displayed, tracing the development of the artist’s oeuvre from the time of his debut until his work exclusively on 2-dimensional supports came to a conclusion in the late 1960s.