EXHIBITIONS
Photography
Venue
Ueno/Okachimachi Area
Toeizan Kan'ei-ji Temple (Corridor of the Aoi Room)
1-14-11 Uenosakuragi, Taito-ku
Date
11:30–16:30; closed on Mon and Tue
*Open Nov 3 (Nat’l hol.) and 24 (Subst. hol.).
Reference Image: Installation view of Modern Japanese Still Life — Former Kamemasu, Kiryu-shi, Gunma, 2024
Photo by Mami Kosemura
Mami Kosemura develops a unique artistic approach by recreating classical paintings as photographic and video expressions using real objects, thereby attempting to insert a perspective behind the paintings.
For this project, Kosemura focused on an oil painting hanging in the Aoi no Ma (Aoi room) of Toeizan Kan’ei-ji Temple. It is believed to be a reproduction of Western Landscape (1887–97), painted by Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the 15th shogun of Edo. Yoshinobu declared “taisei hokan” in 1867 (Keio 3), which marked the restoration of governing power to the Emperor. It is said that he lived under house arrest in this very place for about two months, from February 12, 1868, until the bloodless surrender of Edo Castle in April of the same year. The Western Landscape he painted after that is not only valuable as paintings by a historical figure, but also represent a rare intersection of Japanese and Western painting techniques from that era, making them an important reflection of art during a period of transformation.
Kosemura created two photographic works inspired by this Western Landscape and the Japanese Landscape (c. 1870) painted by Yoshinobu around the same time, which will be exhibited in the Aoi no Ma. There, the historical space and the memory of the paintings will be overlaid through the approach of a contemporary artist, creating a new experience.
Special Cooperation: Toeizan Kan’ei-ji Temple
Cooperation: Tokyo University of the Arts
Map
10 min walk from JR Uguisudani Sta.
17 min walk from JR Ueno Sta.
Mami Kosemura is a contemporary artist who uses photography and animation to explore the confluence of painting, video and photography, referring to classical European motifs and traditional subjects such as Japanese painting. In addition to solo exhibition at Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, 2018, she has participated in many group exhibitions in Japan and abroad. Major awards received by the artist include Nomura Award from the Nomura Arts and Culture Foundation (2004) and the Gotoh Cultural Award of the Gotoh Memorial Foundation (2015).
Kosemura’s art is included in the collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, The University Art Museum of Tokyo National University of the Arts, Gunma Museum of Art, Tatebayashi, Asia Society Museum (New York) and Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts (Taipei).
Ueno/Okachimachi Area
Toeizan Kan'ei-ji Temple (Corridor of the Aoi Room)
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