Toko Shinoda and Her Achievements: “Anthology”
Information
- Number of items exhibited
- 20
- Period
- January 11 (Tue.) to March 24 (Thu.), 2022
- Closed
- 2nd and 4th Saturdays, Sundays, national holidays
- Admission
- Free
About the Exhibition
The “Toko Shinoda and Her Achievements” series reviews the numerous works produced over the artist’s century-long career. Titled “Anthology,” this final part of the series looks back on Toko Shinoda’s art activities in general as she pursued the challenges of sumi ink.
At New Year’s when she was six, Toko used ink and brush for the first time in her life. She later became a highly admired artist of abstract ink painting known around the world. Sumi ink, constant companion throughout her long career, is indispensable to any discussion of this artist. When writing characters with ink and brush, her mind would dwell on the meaning and form of each character. When she created a work of calligraphy, her thoughts would wander in the world of poetry and the elegance and beauty of the kana syllabary. When she worked in free and abstract art, she would revel in the unexpected shapes the sumi would take and be captivated by the hues of the ink.
In an essay she expressed her continual captivation with the sumi. “Sumi is mysterious,” she wrote. “I have been working with it for many long years but it is still out of my control. Whenever I think I have somehow tamed it, my expectations are again betrayed, much to my chagrin. This happens again and again.”
The present exhibition shows mainly ink paintings carefully selected from the collection of her works as well as some of her essays, looking back over her sumi art as she wrote about the rigors and joys of dealing with sumi.