Past Exhibitions

None Whatsoever: Zen Paintings from the Gitter-Yelen Collection

March 8—June 16, 2024

None Whatsoever: Zen Paintings from the Gitter-Yelen Collection explores the origins of Zen Buddhism through over four centuries of ink paintings and calligraphies by painter-monks, including the celebrated Buddhist master Hakuin Ekaku.

Out of Bounds: Japanese Women Artists in Fluxus

October 13, 2023—January 21, 2024

This exhibition will be the first to fully explore the essential role of Japanese women in Fluxus, a movement that helped contemporary artists define new modes of artistic expression.

Kyohei Inukai

March 17—June 25, 2023

Kyohei Inukai is the first institutional solo exhibition of Kyohei Inukai (1913–1985), a largely unknown, yet prolific Japanese-American artist. Presenting key bodies of work—many of which have never been shown before—this exhibition highlights Inukai’s paintings and screenprints of illusionary, abstract lines and shapes that defined his artistic style during the latter years of his career, from the 1960s through the 80s. These works are juxtaposed with a series of sumi-e, or Japanese ink paintings, that dovetail Inukai’s distinctive curvilinear forms and nuanced color palettes with traditional Japanese art. This rare presentation of an underrecognized artist’s legacy builds upon Japan Society’s ongoing mission to embrace and showcase diverse narratives of art and artists of Japan and the Japanese diaspora.

Refashioning: CFGNY and Wataru Tominaga

November 18, 2022—February 19, 2023

Japan Society presents the exhibition Refashioning: CFGNY and Wataru Tominaga from November 18, 2022 through February 19, 2023. The first show devoted to the art of contemporary fashion at Japan Society, the exhibition explores the work of CFGNY and Wataru Tominaga, two emerging fashion labels that engage with the intersections between fashion, art, and identity. Featuring garments, accessories, and textile-related works, the exhibition examines the ways in which these two practices—one based in New York, and the other in Tokyo—experiment with artistic mediums beyond conventional forms of dress, while challenging preconceived notions of gender and identity.

Kazuko Miyamoto: To perform a line

April 29—July 24, 2022

Japan Society presented the solo exhibition Kazuko Miyamoto: To perform a line between April 29–July 24, 2022. The exhibition was the first institutional survey of Kazuko Miyamoto (b.1942, Tokyo), a relatively little-known but significant artist, and will provide a long overdue examination of this singular artist’s career. This exhibition reclaims Miyamoto’s contributions to the development of Minimalism, challenging its general understanding as male dominated, and embraces her highly individual artistic pursuit to reveal a sustained interest in the body through evocative conceptual experiments and investigations in performance and textiles.

Shikō Munakata: A Way of Seeing

December 10, 2021—March 20, 2022

This new presentation of nearly 100 path-breaking works by celebrated artist Shikō Munakata (1903-1975) is organized from Japan Society’s rare collection—the largest Munakata collection in the United States. Primarily known for his powerfully expressive woodblock prints, this exhibition reveals the breadth of Munakata’s oeuvre, which spanned from prints to calligraphy, sumi ink paintings, watercolors, lithography, and ceramics.