THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
CEAS Director and Associate Professor of Art History, Chelsea Foxwell, Co-Curates Meiji Modern: Fifty Years of New Japan
Published on October 6, 2023
Meiji Modern: Fifty Years of New Japan is a monumental art exhibition organized by the Japanese Art Society of America (JASA) in celebration of its 50th Anniversary. It is curated by Chelsea Foxwell, Associate Professor of Art History and Director of the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Chicago, and Bradley Bailey, Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Curator of Asian Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
The exhibition opened on October 3, 2023 at the Asia Society in New York and will run through January 7, 2024.
Meiji Modern will travel to Chicago for exhibition at the Smart Museum from March 21 through June 9, 2024, with a public opening reception on Thursday, March 21, 2024, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM. Additional public and K-12 outreach programs, along with an academic symposium and graduate student workshop, will take place in coordination with the Smart exhibition.
This landmark exhibition takes a fresh look at the art of Japan’s Meiji era (1868–1912), four remarkable decades that propelled the country into the modern era. Comprising nearly 150 artworks—including paintings, prints, photographs, sculptural works, and objects in various media, such as enamel, lacquer, embroidery, and textiles—the exhibition presents some of the finest examples of Meiji period artworks in American collections, both public and private.
Organized around time-honored Japanese motifs, such as the sea and nature, Buddhist deities, and mythical animals, Meiji Modern highlights these themes as they are transformed with the introduction of newly imported techniques, materials, and audiences. The exhibition historically situates the period and transports the public to the latter 19th century—a time of political upheaval, imperial expansion, economic transformation, and social unrest worldwide.
Meiji Modern emphasizes modern Japanese artists’ engagement with both European and Asian trends and the concurrent invention of “classical Japan” as a category. Showcasing Japan as a case of nonwestern modernity, the exhibition also addresses issues surrounding art and identity resonant with audiences today.
Principal support for this exhibition has been provided by Lorna Ferguson and Terry Clark; James M. and Carol D. Trapp; as well as well as the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Chicago, including funding from a Title VI National Resource Center Grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Major support has been provided by Gay-Young Cho and Christopher Chiu. Additional support has been provided by Christopher Hunt; George and Roberta Mann; Charles H. Mottier and Philip J. Vidal; and the Museum’s SmartPartners.
Citations
Meiji Modern: Globalisation and Experimentation in Modern Japanese Art