“Tavola Doria” exhibition opens in Italy

On July 7, Tokyo Fuji Art Museum Akira Gokita attended the opening ceremony for the exhibition, “The Signature of Leonardo” (tentative translation), was held at the Poppi Castle near Florence, Italy.

The exhibition features the Tavola Doria, a renowned oil painting dating back to the 16th century believed to represent the central portion of Leonardo da Vinci’s unfinished The Battle of Anghiari mural. TFAM Director Gokita took part in the Poppi Castle ceremony at the invitation of Uffizi Gallery Director Eike D. Schmidt.

TFAM presented the Tavola Doria to the Italian Republic in 2012 and now is owned by the Uffizi Gallery. Under an agreement signed between the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism and TFAM, the work will be exhibited in Japan for two years from July 2018.

PHOTO CAPTION: TFAM’s Gokita stands next to Uffizi Gallery Director Eike D. Schmidt, with Mayor Carlo Toni of Poppi City and exhibition organizers at Poppi Castle on Jul. 7

Danish researcher gives aesthetics lecture

On July 5, Danish scholar Dr. Simon Høffding visited the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum to give a lecture on aesthetics entitled, “Passivity and Participation in the Art Museum—A Phenomenological Exposition.” Some 40 people, including students from nearby Soka University, attended the lecture on one of the methodologies of western philosophy.

Currently teaching at the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Psychology, Dr. Høffding is an expert on phenomenology, aesthetics and musicianship, among other disciplines. One of the unique features of Dr. Høffding’s was to engage the audience in an interactive discussion even as he continued his lecture while standing before a number of works on display at TFAM’s permanent exhibition, “From the Renaissance to the 20th Century—500 Years of Western Paintings,” particularly before Dr. Paul Alexandre by the Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920).

Russian Federation ambassador visits museum

On June 19, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Japan, His Excellency Mikhail Yurievich Galuzin, paid a courtesy call on the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum. Representative of Russian Federation Exchange Agency Vinogradoff Constantine and Embassy Second Secretary Igor Adamovich accompanied him.

TFAM Board of Trustees Kazuhiko Oshida, Director Akira Gokita, Executive Director Akira Kaneko and other senior museum officials greeted the delegation. The two sides discussed TFAM’s record of cultural exchange with Russia, including the holding of the special exhibition, “Dreams, Hope and Love in Russian Painting of the 19th—Early 20th Century,” slated to open in October this year.

The Russian delegation also viewed the special exhibition, “Kyosai and Kyosui—The Soul of the Artist as Pioneered by Father and Daughter,” as well as the permanent exhibition, “From the Renaissance to the 20th Century—500 Years of Western Paintings.”

Great-grandchild to “Pippi Longstocking” creator visits TFAM

The special exhibition “Pippi Longstocking and the World of Astrid Lindgren” will be held from July 28 at the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Sweden and Japan.

The exhibition will not only feature some 200 original illustrations and manuscripts of the red-haired, freckled main character of the eponymous series of children’s books, but also examine the life and legacy of her creator, Astrid Lindgren, as an author and advocate of children’s rights.

Prior to the exhibition’s opening, Johan Palmberg, the author’s great-grandchild, visited TFAM on June 12., with TFAM Director Akira Gokita and other museum officials on hand to welcome him.

Mr. Palmberg, who oversees film, music and theater-related issues, together with foreign sales of his great-grandmother’s book rights, praised TFAM’s collection of artworks and expressed his resolve in working with the museum to make the exhibition a great success.

“Pippi Longstocking and the World of Astrid Lindgren” will be held from July 28 through September 24.

PHOTO CAPTION: Mr. Johan Palmberg (seated second from left)

Museum holds special “art talk” event

On April 29, the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum held what it calls an “art talk” event to examine the broad appeal of Japanese artist Kawanabe Kyosai (1831-89) to this day. Among those speaking at the special event was Kyosai’s great granddaughter Kusumi Kawanabe, who chairs the Kawanabe Kyosai Memorial Museum Board of Trustees and serves as its director; TripAdvisor country manager Tomoe Makino; Yasunori Tamaki, an executive producer at Kadokawa Corporation; and Time Out Tokyo president Hiroyuki Fushitani.

In the first half of the event, the three guests introduced their favorite Kyosai artworks and shared their views on the artist’s creations. In the second half, Director Kawanabe fielded questions and shared personal anecdotes of the challenges she had to overcome in establishing the museum as well as her feelings for Kyosai’s daughter and fellow artist Kyosui, who is the director’s grandmother, among others.

Special dance exhibition held in conjunction with “Kyosai and Kyosui” exhibition

On April 14, the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum held a dance workshop featuring Philippe Chehere, a French dancer and choreographer.

Monsieur Chehere is a pioneer dance therapist for patients with Huntington’s disease and Minamata disease, operating primarily in France and Japan. His recent performances include workshops and performance art in such museums as the Louvre and Musée de l'Orangerie as well as universities and medical institutions in Japan.

As the hour-long TFAM workshop was held as part of its “Kyosai and Kyosui—The Soul of the Artist as Pioneered by Father and Daughter” exhibition, the participants moved to the exhibition room for a dance session following a light warm-up. The artwork served to inspire performing poses, while balloons and tissue paper were used for a series of exercises.

The party of the Tsinghua University Art Museum in China visited TFAM

On April 10, delegates from the Tsinghua University Art Museum in China visited the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum. The delegation was led by Deputy Director Yang Dongjiang and consisted of Subhead of Exhibition Department Wang Chenya, General Director of Design Wang Peng and Tsinghua University Assistant Professor of Academy of Arts & Design Liu Runfu.

On hand to welcome them were TFAM Board of Trustees Chair Kazuhiko Shinoda, Director Akira Gokita and Executive Director Akira Kaneko.

The delegates from China viewed the permanent exhibition “From the Renaissance to the 20th Century—500 Years of Western Paintings” and “Kyosai and Kyosui–The Soul of the Artist as Pioneered by Father and Daughter.”

PHOTO CAPTION: Deputy Director Yang Dongjiang (fourth from left) led the Chinese delegation

The special exhibition “Kyosai and Kyosui” opens

On March 29, the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum held the opening ceremony for the spring special exhibition, “Kyosai and Kyosui–The Soul of the Artist as Pioneered by Father and Daughter.” TFAM, the Kawanabe Kyosai Memorial Museum and Transpacific Enterprises organized the exhibition.

At the ceremony, TFAM Director Akira Gokita spoke on behalf of the organizers. He was followed by the great grandchild of Kyosai, Kusumi Kawanabe, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees and Director of the Kawanabe Kyosai Memorial Museum, who shared insights on father-and-daughter artists Kyosai and Kyosui.

Transpacific Enterprises COO Rey DeBoer, TFAM Board of Trustess Chair Kazuhiko Shinoda and Kawanabe Kyosai Memorial Museum Director Kawanabe led the tape-cutting ceremony.

The exhibition will open at TFAM for public viewing on April 1.

Hachioji junior high school students visit TFAM

On March 6, junior high school students from the Hachioji Tate Elementary and Junior High School visited the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum. They viewed the permanent exhibition “From the Renaissance to the 20th Century—500 Years of Western Paintings” with a curator who shared the history and anecdotes of the artists and their works.

TFAM holds second Mozart concert honoring Higashiyama Kaii

On February 25, the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum held the “Higashiyama Kaii’s Beloved Pieces of Mozart–A Piano Recital by Aki Fujii and Quartetto Grazia.” Ms. Fujii is a pianist actively performing worldwide, while the Quartetto Grazia is a talented string quartet.

The “Higashiyama Kaii: From The Nagano Prefectural Art Museum Higashiyama Kaii Gallery—A TFAM 35th Anniversary Commemorative Exhibition” is slated to conclude on March 4.