Colors - Uncovering the Secrets of Color from Impressionism to Modern Art
Bernard Frize, "Ijo", 2020, Pola Museum of Art
Photo: Ken Kato © Bernard Frize / ADAGP, Paris, 2024 Courtesy of the artist and PerrotinRobert Delaunay, Woman with an Umbrella, or Parisienne, 1913, Pola Museum of Art Hiroshi Sugimoto, Opticks 029, 2018, Pola Museum of Art © Hiroshi Sugimoto / Courtesy of Gallery Koyanagi Hiroshi Sugimoto, Opticks 048, 2018, Pola Museum of Art © Hiroshi Sugimoto / Courtesy of Gallery Koyanagi Henri Matisse, "Lute", 1943, Pola Museum of Art Kenneth Noland, Cadmium Radiance, 1963, Shiga Prefectural Museum of Art
© Kenneth Noland/VAGA at ARS, NY/JASPAR, Tokyo 2024 B0823Gerhard Richter, Strip (926-3), 2012, Pola Museum of Art © Gerhard Richter 2024 (18062024) Yayoi Kusama, "Infinity Mirrored Room - The Eternal Infinite Light of the Shining Universe of the Seeker," 2020, Artist Collection
©YAYOI KUSAMA Courtesy of Ota Fine ArtsYamaguchi Tsuyoshi "MÖBIUS NO. 18" 2021 Yumekobo Collection
©︎ 2021 MEGURU YAMAGUCHI ©︎ 2021 GOLD WOOD ART WORKS Photo by Kouki UranoTomotaka Koizumi, Multicolored Ruffle Cape, 2020, Artist Collection
Modern society is full of rich colors. In addition to the colors of the sky, nature, cityscapes, and everyday items, there are also colors displayed on various screens, and the latest monitors and smartphones are said to be able to reproduce more than 10 billion colors. Living in such a 21st century society and having experienced a pandemic, we have more opportunities to view photos, videos, and games on screens, and we are becoming accustomed to the "virtual colors" seen through the screen rather than the colors of reality.
This exhibition focuses on the "colors" and their expressions that artists from the modern era to the present have acquired. The exhibition will feature masterpieces from the Pola Museum of Art's collection, including 19th century French Impressionists such as Monet and Renoir, Neo-Impressionists such as Seurat and Signac, 20th century Fauvists, and postwar Abstract Expressionists. In addition, 10 newly acquired works will be shown for the first time, unravelling the history of color in Western painting from the modern era to the present. In addition, many new works by contemporary artists who are devoted to researching materials that express color and color composition will be introduced.
Artists have conducted research every day, developed their own unique methods of expression, and expressed the times. Let's take a look at the secrets of the colors they have created through their lives. This experience may bring color to your daily life and awaken the "true colors" that lie dormant within you.
[Highlights of the Exhibition]
A dynamic introduction to the development of art from Impressionism to contemporary art, with 10 works on public display for the first time
The Pola Museum of Art's collection includes many important works by major artists that allow us to trace the history of Western art from the modern era to the present, such as 19th century French Impressionists including Monet and Renoir, Neo-Impressionists represented by Seurat and Signac, 20th century Fauvism, and postwar Abstract Expressionism. This exhibition dynamically introduces the transition of "color" in modern and contemporary art, focusing on masterpieces from the Pola Museum of Art, and adding 10 newly acquired works that have never been shown before.
Innovation in paints and the development of color theory: Keywords that unravel the history of painting
In the early 19th century, attempts were made in France to scientifically explain the colors caused by the effects of light. This led to the development of "color theory," which not only classifies colors by hue (blue, yellow, red, etc.), but also analyzes them using new axes such as lightness and saturation, and led to the discovery of combinations of colors such as complementary colors and new color effects. This color science is still used in modern digital technology. Furthermore, new paints that emerged as a result of scientific advances from the mid-19th century enriched painters' palettes and contributed to realizing theoretical color effects based on color theory on the canvas.
This exhibition explores the history of color innovation in Western painting from modern times to the present.
Focus on artists' exploration of new forms of expression
In the first half of the 20th century in Europe and America, research progressed on vivid oil paints with high saturation thanks to the development of synthetic pigments, as well as paints using acrylic resin, a new artificial material. In search of new possibilities for expression with these new paints, postwar American Abstract Expressionist painters tried a variety of techniques, including pouring, dripping, and staining. There was also a trend to break away from traditional painting methods and overturn the conventional image of painters working in front of an easel, while also striving to create large-scale paintings. The free and liberating expression that makes full use of new painting techniques and does not fit into any formal framework continues to be passed down to the works of contemporary artists.
Introducing many new works by contemporary artists - exploring the possibilities of future art
This exhibition focuses on contemporary artists who are inspired by the paintings of modern and postwar artists and are devoting themselves to researching materials and color compositions that express color. These artists select traditional color materials and newly developed materials, freely combine them, and attempt to realize their own unique art without being bound by form. On the other hand, there are also artists who, while working on crafts or colorful three-dimensional works based on an aesthetic sense of "use and beauty," seek beauty in two-dimensional or semi-three-dimensional forms that retain the traditional colors that emerge from the characteristics of the materials, with a background of interest in comprehensive spatial decoration. From their attitudes toward color and their creative activities that make use of color, we will explore the future possibilities of contemporary art.
[Related Programs]
■ Saturday, December 2024, 12 14:14-00:15 Nobuaki Maeda Artist Talk(End)
Nobuaki Maeda, one of the artists featured in this exhibition, talks about his own artistic journey so far, his connection to the minimalism of Judd and Flavin, and his works featured in the Colors exhibition. [Interviewer: Manabu Miki (color researcher, writer, editor)]
■ Sunday, January 2025, 1 12:11-00:12 Gallery Talk Relay (Modern to Postwar Art)
A total of five members of the exhibition's curator and museum staff will pick out modern "colors" that they particularly recommend from the exhibition and give consecutive talks lasting an average of 5 minutes each.
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Venue | |
Location | 1285 Kozukayama, Sengokuhara, Hakone-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa |
Access | About 13 minutes by bus from Hakone Tozan Railway "Gora" station [Tomei] About 25 minutes from Gotemba IC |
TEL | 0460-84-2111 |
website | https://www.polamuseum.or.jp |
Museum Hours of Operation | 9:00 ~ 17:00 |
Museum Holidays | Open all year round for special exhibitions and exhibitions (temporarily closed due to bad weather) |
Museum Admissions Fee | <Adult> 2,200 yen <University / High school students> 1,700 yen <Junior high school students and younger> Free |
Facility information | Restaurant / cafe / museum shop |
Parking | There(Paid, 1 yen a day) |
Updated: 2025.01.11