Murase Myōdō 村瀬明道, Breaking Waves in the Pines (Shōtō), late 1900s. Hanging scroll; ink on paper. Denver Art Museum: Gift of Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone, 2018.155. Photo © Denver Art Museum
Murase Myōdō 村瀬明道, Breaking Waves in the Pines (Shōtō), late 1900s. Hanging scroll; ink on paper. Denver Art Museum: Gift of Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone, 2018.155. Photo © Denver Art Museum
Her Brush: Japanese Women Artists from the Fong-Johnstone Collection takes a nuanced approach to questions of artistic voice, gender, and agency through more than 100 works of painting, calligraphy, and ceramics from 1600s to 1900s Japan.
Many of the artworks will be on view for the first time to the public. Her Brush traces the pathways women artists forged for themselves in their pursuit of art and explores the universal human drive of artistic expression as self-realization, while navigating cultural barriers during times marked by strict gender roles and societal regulations. These social restrictions served as both impediment and impetus to women pursuing artmaking in Japan at the time.
Her Brush showcases works by renowned artists such as Kiyohara Yukinobu 清原雪信 (1643–1682), Ōtagaki Rengetsu 太田垣蓮 月 (1791–1875), and Okuhara Seiko 奥原晴湖 (1837–1913), as well as relatively unknown yet equally remarkable artists like Ōishi Junkyō 大石順教 (1888–1968), Yamamoto Shōtō 山本緗 桃 (1757–1831), and Katō Seikō 加藤青湖 (fl. 1800s). These works bring forward the subjects of autonomy, legacy, and a person’s ownership of their individual story.
Interactive components facilitate a personal, intimate connection between the visitor, the artwork, and the artist. Paintings, calligraphy, and ceramic works of art are presented through the lens of the exceptional individuals behind them, with biographical focuses that tell the stories of their makers interspersed throughout the galleries. On view November 13, 2022, through May 13, 2023, this exhibition is included with general admission.
Kiyohara (Kanō) Yukinobu 清原雪信, The Goddess Benzaiten and Her Lute (biwa), 1660–1680s. Hanging scroll; ink, color and gold on silk. Denver Art Museum: Gift of Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone, 2018.150. Photo © Denver Art Museum
Ono no Ozū (or Ono no Otsū) 小野お通, The Deified Sugawara Michizane Crossing to China (Totō Tenjin), early 1600s. Hanging scroll; ink on paper. Denver Art Museum: Gift of Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone, 2018.152. Photo © Denver Art Museum
Murase Myōdō 村瀬明道, Mu (nothingness) and Kan (barrier), late 1900s. Table screen; ink on paper with wood frame. Denver Art Museum: Gift of Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone, 2018.154A-C. Photo © Denver Art Museum
Murase Myōdō 村瀬明道, Breaking Waves in the Pines (Shōtō), late 1900s. Hanging scroll; ink on paper. Denver Art Museum: Gift of Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone, 2018.155. Photo © Denver Art Museum
Nakabayashi Seishuku 中林清淑, Blossoming Plum and Bamboo, 1893. Hanging scroll; ink on paper. Denver Art Museum: Gift of Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone, 2018.194. Photo © Denver Art Museum
Various artists, Turtles on New Year’s Morn, about 1894. Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk. Denver Art Museum: Gift of Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone, 2018.202. Photo © Denver Art Museum
Tagami Kikusha 田上菊舎, Hermit/Self-Portrait, early 1800s. Hanging scroll; ink on paper. Denver Art Museum: Gift of Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone, 2018.222. Photo © Denver Art Museum
Calligraphy by Ōtagaki Rengetsu 太田垣蓮月 and Painting by Wada Gesshin 和田月心, Stag and Poem, 1865–70. Hanging scroll; ink on paper. Denver Art Museum: Gift of Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone, 2018.245. Photo © Denver Art Museum
Okuhara Seiko 奥原晴湖, Flowering Plants of the Four Seasons, 1898. Painting on cabinet doors; ink and color on paper mounted on wooden panels. Denver Art Museum: Gift of Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone, 2018.247A-B. Photo © Denver Art Museum
Ōtagaki Rengetsu, 太田垣蓮月, Hanging Flower Vase in Shape of Hechima Gourd (hana ike), 1791–1875. Stoneware. Denver Art Museum: Gift of Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone for the Denver Art Museum, 2021.184. Photo © Denver Art Museum
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