The first major exhibition in the Western hemisphere devoted to the revered 17th-century Japanese master Tawaraya Sōtatsu debuts Oct. 24 at the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C. “Sōtatsu: Making Waves,” on view through Jan. 31, 2016, is the first and only opportunity to see more than 70 of Sōtatsu’s celebrated masterpieces from Japan, the U.S. and Europe together, along with homage works by later artists.
An unlikely genius who emerged from the most turbulent period in Japanese history, Sotatsu (ca. 1570–ca. 1640), was a commoner whose powerful designs revolutionized Japanese visual culture and brought traditional courtly arts to the masses. Highlights include the celebrated screens “Waves at Matsushima,” “Dragons and Clouds” and his arguably most famous work, “Painted Fans Mounted on a Screen” from Japan’s Imperial Collection, as well as paintings on folding screens, poem cards and handscrolls and designs for luxury book editions (view image gallery).
“This is an unprecedented moment, the chance for U.S. audiences to discover one of the most important and influential Japanese painters of the past 400 years through his greatest works,” said James Ulak, senior curator of Japanese art at the Freer and Sackler. “Sōtatsu’s designs profoundly changed both Japanese and Western art, yet only now is his name emerging from the shadows.”
Sōtatsu’s works are instantly recognizable, with bold, almost abstracted, design, vibrant colors, lavish fields of gold and silver and tarashikomi (dropping ink onto a wet background to create delicate detail). These innovations later became known as the Rinpa style, which permeated Japanese decorative arts for almost four centuries.
Much of his life, however, remains a mystery. “Making Waves” will explore how Japan’s massive social upheaval allowed a common Kyoto fan-shop owner to become a sophisticated designer with aristocratic connections. Later, a resurgence in his popularity in the early 20th century inspired new generations of Japanese artists, styles such as Art Deco and Western luminaries such as Gustav Klimt and Henri Matisse. As a result, Sōtatsu’s 400-year-old work appears unexpectedly modern.
Museum founder Charles Lang Freer collected several of Sōtatsu’s most noted paintings and is widely credited with introducing both Sōtatsu and his frequent collaborator Hon’ami Kōetsu (1558–1637) to Western audiences. Because of restrictions in Freer’s will, the works cannot travel.
Opening June 28, the related exhibition “Bold and the Beautiful: Rinpa in Japanese Art” traces Sōtatsu’s long-ranging influence through the work of later Rinpa artists, especially Ogata Kōrin (1658–1716), his brother Ogata Kenzan (1663–1743). The exhibition features almost 40 works from the Freer’s remarkable collection of Rinpa paintings, ceramics, prints and lacquers, emphasizing the style’s bright, elegant simplicity.
Japan’s cultural leaders have declared 2015 the 400th anniversary of the Rinpa style, commemorating the 1615 founding of the Kyoto artist colony where Rinpa emerged. In a year rich with Rinpa displays throughout Japanese museums, the Smithsonian’s “Making Waves” and “Bold and Beautiful” will be the only major U.S. presentations.
“Making Waves” is co-organized by the Freer and Sackler galleries and the Japan Foundation with additional financial support pledged by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe.
A full-color exhibition catalog, published in fall 2015, will be the first English-language survey of Sōtatsu.
The Freer Gallery of Art, which opened in 1923, and the adjacent Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, founded 1987, are the Smithsonian’s museums of Asian art and together contain one of the world’s most important collections of Japanese art. The galleries are located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.asia.si.edu.
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