If this email does not display properly, please click HERE Kamisaka Sekka: dawn of modern Japanese design Sekka was one of the greatest visionaries of modern Japanese art and design. Kamisaka Sekka A thousand grasses 1899–1900 one page from three volumes of woodblock prints ink and colour on paper 23.6 × 35.5 cm Unsōdō, Kyoto, Kamisaka Sekka Flowers of the twelve months 1920–25 one leaf from a set of twelve album leaves, ink and colour on silk 24.7 × 31.7 cm each Hosomi Museum, Kyoto and Ai Yamaguchi (b. 1977) We have as much to talk about as this mountain is tall 2008 (detail) mixed media 221 × 236 cm diameter Courtesy of ai yamaguchi • ninyu works and Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, California Kamisaka Sekka (1866–1942) was one of Japan’s leading artists, designers and art instructors of the first half of the 20th century. Fusing influences of modern European styles such as Art Nouveau and the British Arts and Crafts Movement, as well as traditional Japanese art, Sekka created bold, visually dynamic designs and devised an innovate approach to craft production, earning him the reputation as one of the greatest visionaries of modern Japanese art and design. Sekka’s paintings on scrolls and screens, drawings for lacquerware decoration, ceramics and textiles revived the decorative tradition of Rinpa – a quintessentially Japanese style, popular in Japan since the early 1600s. “The brilliant colours and powerful designs of his paintings have led him to be considered one of the masters – or even the last master of the longstanding Japanese decorative tradition, Rinpa,” said Khanh Trinh, curator of Japanese art, Art Gallery of New South Wales. In accordance with the practice of the early Rinpa artists, who advocated a close collaboration between diverse media, Sekka embraced the idea of the ‘artist as designer’, working closely with artisans who made objects based on his designs. Like his European counterparts, Sekka realised that the role of design – including industrial, interior and graphic design – would dominate modern aesthetics. To provide an understanding of his development, the exhibition also features works by Rinpa masters of the 1600s to 1800s, such as Ogata Kōrin who gave the movement its name. And to demonstrate the enduring allure of Rinpa and Sekka, there is a range of works by contemporary Japanese artists as well as Sydney-based fashion designer Akira Isogawa. Major lender to the exhibition is the Hosomi Museum, Kyoto, which is recognised as housing one of the most extensive and superb collection of Sekka’s and Rinpa art in Japan. Other loans come from the private collections of the descendants of Sekka and other crafts artists with whom he collaborated. The exhibition consists of over 100 exquisite paintings, ceramics, textiles, woodblock prints and drawings and is the first time that such a comprehensive display of his design work has been shown in Australia. An exhibition in two parts Due to their fragile nature, not all works can be displayed for the entire period. The exhibition will close for two days while around 30 of the approximately 100 works are changed over. On view 22 Jun – 22 Jul 2012 25 Jul – 26 Aug 2012 Art Gallery of New South Wales Art Gallery Road, The Domain, Sydney Admission $10.00, $8.00 concession Media contact Susanne Briggs Tel +61 2 9225 1791 Mob 0412 268 320 susanne.briggs@ag.nsw.gov.au Principal sponsor @absolutearts.com. If you are no longer interested you can  instantly. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery Road, The Domain, Sydney NSW 2000 Telephone (02) 9225 1744 or Toll Free 1800 679 278  Website www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au