Past Special Exhibition 1998

Shimura Fukumi Exhibition

1 December (Tue) to 25 (Fri), 1998

Shimura Fukumi born in Shiga prefecture in 1924 spent long years mastering the crafts of dyeing using natural plant pigments and hand-spinning silk pongees. Also trained in lacquer craft by Kuroda Tatsuaki, and in pottery by Tomimoto Kenkichi, she began pursuing new possibilities in pongee weaving, and through spinning out precise works imbued with her own inner feelings succeeded in bringing new dimensions to the world of textile crafting. In 1990 she was recognized as an “Important Intangible Cultural Property” (“living national treasure”) for her silk pongee weaving technique, and remains active as one of today's leading modern textile artists.
This exhibition featured ten works that Shimura had submitted to the Shiseido-sponsored Exhibition of Modern Industrial Arts, as well as portraits of the artist herself and pictures of her work by photographer Inoue Takao, an interview panel, and other displays introducing her world of silk pongee weaving.

Exhibition of Shiseido-Related Artists & Shiseido Design Department

1 September (Tue) to 29 November (Sun), 1998

The Shiseido design department was established in 1916 to head the company's creative efforts in advertising, packaging design, and storefront design. It was through the members of this department at the time, including painters like Yabe Sue, Komura Settai and Takagi Choyo, and its leadership of first Shiseido president Fukuhara Shinzo (himself an avid photographer), that the Shiseido design policies still current today were born.
This exhibition celebrated the Shiseido Art House's twentieth year with a display of works by these early Shiseido artists and designers, as well as a selection of works by other artists and craftsmen closely associated with Shiseido, such as painter Umehara Ryuzaburo and potter Tomimoto Kenkichi.

Uemura Shoko Exhibition

2 June (Tue) to 30 August (Sun), 1998

Uemura Shoko was born in 1902 in Kyoto. As the eldest son of his mother, the artist Uemura Shoen, he was raised in an environment rich in art and aesthetics. In 1930 he finished a course at Kyoto Municipal School of Fine Arts and Crafts. His works submitted to the Teiten and Bunten exhibitions promised a successful future, and in 1948 he helped establish the "Sozo Bijutsu” painters' circle. As of this writing he was still active at age ninety-six. Uemura's detailed, elegant paintings based on his penetrating observations of the natural world remained widely popular, and in 1984 he received an Order of Cultural Merit award and other nominations, and he continued to be a prominent figure on the stage of Japanese painting. This exhibition featured sixteen works by Uemura Shoko selected from the Shiseido Art House collection, presented along with an interview panel and portraits of the artist by photographer Ijima Koei, altogether offering a multifaceted introduction to Uemura Shoko and his work.

Exhibition of Paintings & Sculptures from the Collection

17 March (Tue) to 31 May (Sun), 1998

This exhibition featured eighteen paintings and twelve sculptures selected from the Shiseido Art House collection.
The Shiseido Gallery in Ginza, Tokyo was established in 1919—an era that coincided with the emergence of modern art galleries—as a venue for unknown artists to gain exposure for their work free of charge, and since that time it has hosted over 3,000 exhibitions.
This exhibition was comprised of works originally exhibited at the Shiseido Gallery and now stored in the collection of the Shiseido Art House.