Itō Shinsui; Published by Watanabe Shōzaburō, Japanese, 1898 - 1972, Woman Looking at a Mirror, July 1916, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Gift of Ellen and Fred Wells 2002.161.205

Chiaki Ajioka | Japanese Modernism & Itō Shinsui: Paintings & Prints

Modernism in Japanese art began around 1910. As information on Western art and literature was increasingly available, young artists in Tokyo and Kyoto/Osaka region became engaged in experimental projects that reflected the rapidly changing urban environment and new ways of seeing and thinking. The young Itō Shinsui developed his approach to art absorbing these events around him. Inspired by the current exhibition “Seven Masters: 20th-century Japanese Woodblock Prints from the Wells Collection,” Ajioka’s talk will consider Shinsui’s painting and print design in the context of Japanese modernism.

Chiaki Ajioka, PhD, is a Japanese art historian and consultant currently serving as a board member at the Australia-Japan Foundation in Sydney, Australia. Ajioka contributed an essay to the exhibition catalogue, Seven Masters: 20th-Century Japanese Woodblock Prints from the Wells Collection.

A reception will follow in the Fountain Court.

Generous support for the publication, Seven Masters: 20th-Century Japanese Woodblock Prints from the Wells Collection, is provided by Ellen Wells.

This lecture is made possible by the generous support of the Elsa Carpenter Asian Art Lecture Fund.

$10; $5 Mia members, free to Asian Art Affinity Group members. To register, call (612) 870-6323 or reserve online.

Itō Shinsui; Published by Watanabe Shōzaburō, Japanese, 1898 - 1972, Woman Looking at a Mirror, July 1916, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Gift of Ellen and Fred Wells 2002.161.205