In spite of winter
Growing from the heart
A butterfly’s wings
Matsuo Bashō
Form & Bronze gallery together with SAMURAI gallery presents the exhibition “Rising Sun”, which combines the ancient art of Japan and contemporary works of art. The exhibition is part of the 21st festival “Japanese Spring in St. Petersburg”, organized by the Consulate of Japan.
The Meiji period (1868-1912) was a turning point in the history of Japan. After more than two hundred years of isolation, Japan entered the world stage, and the West became acquainted with its traditional culture for the first time. Foreigners rushed through the suddenly opened doors and enthusiastically discovered a new and unprecedented culture. Both Japanese prints and handicrafts made a huge impression on the West at the time. The exhibition at the Form & Bronze Gallery features bronze sculptures of samurai, okimono statuettes depicting gods and touching genre scenes, engravings depicting geishas and battle scenes, and a collection of netsuke.
Form & Bronze will introduce viewers to a new author – Vadim Ignatov and his terracotta sculptures “The Archer” and “Breathlessly”. Also the gallery will present monumental painting “Equestrian Samurai” by Denis Golivets, sculptures by Albert Avetissian, TAO Sergey Kondrashkin and Andrey Ostashov.
Walking through the exhibition, you can see what the life of the Japanese of that time was made of: the belief in the active participation of the gods in their daily affairs, so the statuettes with their images are full of life and infect emotions; the ability to enjoy simple things and be in the moment, which can be seen, looking at okimono, where a father teaches his son to walk, or two brothers play with found chickens; samurai fortitude and loyalty, honoring the traditions.
Have these values changed centuries later? Looking at how Japanese art harmonizes with modern works, one is drawn to open a collection of Basho’s hokku and unravel the secret of Japanese wisdom.
