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Artistic Masterpiece Comes to Shofuso |
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Internationally acclaimed Nihon-ga painter, Hiroshi Senju, one of Japan’s most
revered contemporary artists, has completed twenty full-scale murals for the
Japanese House and Garden, Shofuso, in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. The murals
will be installed on paper sliding doors (fusuma) and a centerpiece alcove
(tokonoma) wall in the interior of the house and will replace the original ones
destroyed by vandals in the 1970s. These new murals – to be installed in April
2007 – will make the Japanese House the first and only place in in the United
States to house such a unique and traditional Japanese art
installation.
Hiroshi Senju is renowned for his unique combination of
modernism expressed through an ancient method of Japanese painting. In 1995 he
became the first Asian to be awarded an Honorable Mention at the Venice Biennale
with his paintings of Waterfall. He was recognized as one of the artists who can
lead and contribute to the new trends for the next generation of art.
Recognizing on a 2004 visit that the Japanese House is an architectural
and artistic masterpiece in which “I can sense the presence of Japan”, Hiroshi
Senju carefully planned his creation of the murals. Senju spent hours at the
House selecting pigments that reflect the colors and atmosphere of the building
and garden. The result is murals that both exemplify his signature style as well
as the hues and feeling of the setting.
The Japanese House is now being
prepared for the installation. Japanese craftsmen, using centuries old
techniques, are carefully making the paper sliding doors that will house the
murals. Starting mid-February, a group of Japanese conservationists will arrive
to prepare the House for the murals including refinishing walls, repairing
wooden doors and replacing part of the veranda floors. The murals, currently
exhibited at Yamatane Museum of Art in Tokyo, will be transported to
Philadelphia in April to be permanently installed at the Japanese House. A
dedication ceremony for the murals is scheduled Sunday, April 29, 2007. The
House and Garden will open for the 2007 season on May 1st.
For over
fifty years, the Japanese House and Garden, in Fairmount Park has served as a
symbol of Japanese-American friendship and is considered a cultural treasure in
both Japan and America. The house was designed in 1954 for exhibition at the
Museum of Modern Art to introduce American audiences to Japanese design. The
house was relocated to Fairmount Park in 1958 as a gift from the people of
Japan.
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