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For media interviews or further information, please contact : |
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Ms Karen Loh |
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Manager (Media Relations) |
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Corporate Relations Department |
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Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts |
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DID : 6512 4017 |
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| 29 May 2008 |
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| Sharaku Interpreted by Japan’s Contemporary Artists |
| 14 June 2008 - 12 July 2008 |
| NAFA Galleries 1 & 2, NAFA Campus 1 |
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| Toshusai Sharaku, a ukiyo-e artist born in Edo could be considered a genius, whose work exudes the pioneering quality of an artist that captured the imagination of the Japanese people with his uncanny depictions of then-day actors to the inner world of story characters they play. Organised by the Japan Foundation, the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), and the Japan Embassy in Singapore, the exhibition proposes Sharaku as a common theme that is reinterpreted by today’s graphic designers and artists 200 years after his time; illustrating the connection between ukiyo-e and graphic design of Japan, the differences in the approaches used in graphic design, contemporary art and the diversity of today’s artistic expressions. |
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| The exhibition titled “Sharaku Interpreted by Japan’s Contemporary Artists”, held in conjunction with the Singapore Arts Festival, will run from 14 June to 12 July at NAFA Galleries 1 & 2, NAFA Campus 1 (80 Bencoolen Street). It presents posters, paintings and three dimensional works by 28 Japanese graphic designers and 11 artists under three sections : |
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“The Reproductions of Sharaku” section lines up recent reproductions of all 28 bust portraits by Sharaku as created by the Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints. This section was based on the Kabuki and Kyogen plays performed in May 1794 at the three Kabuki theaters in Edo; |
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“Sharaku in Graphic Art” displays a selection of the works, particularly the striking posters related to Sharaku’s bust portraits, in “The 200th Anniversary of Sharaku” exhibition; and |
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“Homage to Sharaku” includes works by 11 relatively young contemporary artists where their means of expression range from painting, sculpture, photography, ceramics, and prints to sound objects. These 11 artists include Yasumasa Morimura, an artist known for using photography to replace figures in oil paintings by such as Velasquez, Rembrandt, and Manet with images of his own face; painter Miran Fukuda; sculptor Takashi Fukai; Yukio Fujimoto who created three sound objects for the exhibition; two ceramic artists Akira Yagi and Masahiro Kiyomizu; and the remaining Kenjiro Okazaki, Saburo Ota, Tsuyoshi Ozawa, Naofumi Maruyama and Takashi Murakami who will each reinterpret Sharaku in their own distinctive medium. |
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| Ms Bridget Tracy Tan, Director of Art & Corporate Knowledge said: "Japan has an eminent and important cultural legacy that it continues to perpetuate today. Modern and applied art such as print making, graphic design, photography and animation are just examples of how artistic heritage permeates contemporary practice. This is our third collaboration with our Japanese cultural counterpart and the Embassy of Japan in Singapore. NAFA's students and our immediate community have benefited tremendously from the experiences such projects offer. The Japanese have a sensitivity and originality in their creative enterprise that offers a unique sense of how art past and present, influences our world today." |
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| Last year, the traveling exhibition went to the Netherlands, South Africa and parts of Europe. This year, it would be making its port of call in Asia, having previously traveled to Qatar and Hong Kong, followed by its upcoming debut in Singapore. Thereafter, the show will move on to China and then India. |
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| Please refer to the annex for selected images. High-resolution images are available upon request. |
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| Exhibition Details |
| Opening Ceremony |
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13 June 2008, 7pm |
| Exhibition |
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14 June 2008 - 12 July 2008 |
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11am - 7pm (closed on Sunday) |
| Venues |
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NAFA Galleries 1 & 2, NAFA Campus 1, |
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80 Bencoolen Street, S(189655) |
| Admission |
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FREE |
| For Enquiry |
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Ms Iris Lim at 6512 4043 or email: artgalleries@nafa.edu.sg |
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| Organised by : |
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| In Association with : |
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