September 11, 2018

Tetsuro Komaï:A Pioneer of Modern Japanese Copperplate Prints
Venue:

Yokohama Museum of ArtDates:

October 13 (Sat.), - December 16 (Sun.), 2018

Komai Tetsuro (1920-1976), a pioneer of modern copperplate printmaking in Japan,
gained renown both at home and abroad for the profound and poetic world envisioned in his prints.
In black ink on white paper he expressed a cosmos of endless wandering amid reveries andmadness, one that seems all the more fascinating in the current digital era.
While focusing on copperplate prints, Komai also interacted extensively with poets andmusicians, and in his works as a member of the cross-disciplinary art group Jikken Kobo
(Experimental Workshop) and his illustrations for poetry collections, he reached across boundaries
between media and genres. The formation of Komai’s vision was also influenced by his love ofWestern art and great admiration for Odilon Redon in particular.
The multifaceted nature of the artist and new, unexplored charms of his works arehighlighted in this exhibition, which resembles a tapestry where the chronological development of
Komai’s work form the warp, and his influences and connections with other artists the weft. One
hitherto little-known aspect revealed here: the artist as a colorist, in vibrant color monotypes fromthe Fukuhara Yoshiharu Collection of the Setagaya Art Museum. A total of about 210 of Komai’sworks appear, including his prints and illustrations for poetry books, as well as about 80 works byrelated artists, in a fertile and fascinating creative landscape of organic connections among diverse
genres of art.

Sections
1. Encountering Copperplate Printmaking
2. Emerging along with Postwar Art
3. Connecting with the Avant-Garde
4. Studying in France and Reemerging from “Ruins”
5. Inspiring and Inspired by Poetry
6. Longing for a World of Color
Komai Tetsuro
Title unknown, ca.1971
Monotype (multicolored), 16.7×17.5cm
Setagaya Art Museum (Fukuhara YoshiharuCollection)©Yoshiko Komai 2018/ JAA1800116

Highlights
1．The many faces of Komai, wizard of corrosion, on view all at once
The phrase “copperplate printmaking” encompasses a variety of techniques. Komai
employed myriad techniques so as to achieve a wide range of creative expression with many
seemingly contradictory effects simultaneously, including subtle gradations and sharp lines,
precise renderings and fantastic abstract forms, stark monochromes and pictures brimmingwith color. Komai was an incomparable master of unique uses of corrosion, in works that seemto stimulate the olfactory as well as the visual sense. These visceral pieces are all the moregripping in our sterile digital era. The exhibition traces the evolution of Japanese copperplate
printing pioneer Komai in six sections, from his earliest to his latest works.
2. Intersections of Art, Music and Literature
Komai participated in the intermedia avant-garde art group Jikken Kobo in the 1950s,
collaborating with composer Yuasa Joji on a work for the Auto Slide projector and producing 3D
art objects. From the late 1950s to 1970s he worked with many poets including Ooka Makoto
and Ando Tsuguo on illustrations and covers for poetry collections. This exhibition showcases
Komai’s transcendence of boundaries among genres, and illuminates the power of his art, which
extends to other areas such as literature and music.
3．View of the artist as a critic, and pairings of Western art and Komai’s works
Komai was not only well versed in the history and techniques of printmaking, but also
had extensive knowledge of Western art history. His work was influenced by that of Westernartists like Redon, Paul Klee and Joan Miro. Komai also contributed many critical texts about theartists he admired to art journals, and by reading these we can discover his own artistic vision.
For this exhibition we have read through Komai’s writings, and have paired his works with thoseof his favorite Western artists to enable interpretation of what he absorbed from them and how
his own original ideas evolved.

Komai Tetsuro
Portrait of Mrs. R, 1971
Aquatint and etching, 25.5×21cm
Yokohama Museum of Art©Yoshiko Komai 2018/ JAA1800116

Komai Tetsuro
Yellow House, 1960
Deep etching and aquatint
21.1×16.1cm
Setagaya Art Museum (Fukuhara
Yoshiharu Collection)©Yoshiko Komai 2018/ JAA1800116

Odilon Redon
Two Dancers, n.d.
Oil on canvas, 44.5×30cm
Yokohama Museum of Art(Donated by Mr. Sakata Takeo)

Admission
Adults¥1,500 ( 1,300/ 1,400)

University and high school students¥ 900 (700/800)

Junior high school students¥ 600 (400/500)

Children under 12FreeSeniors (65 and older)¥1,400 *ID required. Only available at ticket counter in the museum.

*(/)＝Advance / Group of 20 or more.
*For a group of 20 or more, reservation is required in advance.
*Free Admission on November 3(Sat.).
*Advance tickets are available until October 12 (Fri.), 2018 at the Museum Shop, through Seven-Eleven ticket or eplus ticket.
*Visitors with disability and one person accompanying them are admitted free of charge.
(Please present certificate at the entrance.)*The ticket also gives admission to the Exhibition of the Museum Collection for the same day.

General Information
Title:

Tetsuro Komaï: A Pioneer of Modern Japanese Copperplate Prints

Dates:

October 13 (Sat.) - December 16 (Sun.), 2018

Open hours:

10:00-18:00*Open until 20:30 on November 23 (Fri.), 2018
*Admission until 30 minutes before closing.

Closed:Thursdays

Venue:

Yokohama Museum of Art
3-4-1, Minatomirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama 220-0012
TEL: +81(0)45 221 0300 FAX: +81(0)45 221 0317
URL: https://yokohama.art.museum/engOrganized by:
Yokohama Museum of Art [Yokohama Arts Foundation], Nikkei Inc.
Grants from:Japan Arts Council, The Kao Foundation for Arts and Sciences
Sponsored by:
Shiseido Co., Ltd.
Special cooperation by: Setagaya Art Museum
In Cooperation with:
Minatomirai Line, Yokohama Cable Vision Inc.,
Yokohama FM Broadcasting Co., Ltd., Metropolitan Expressway Co., Ltd.

Contact
Mr. Mizutani, Ms. Fujii, Ms. Isshiki
Public Relations, Yokohama Museum of Art
3-4-1, Minatomirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama. 220-0012 JAPAN
TEL:+81(0)45 221 0319

FAX:+81(0)45 221 0317

E-mail: pr-yma@yaf.or.jp