This exhibition will be the first major survey of the art of Shigeko Kubota (1937–2015) in Japan nearly in three decades. Born in Niigata and educated in Tokyo, Kubota moved to New York in 1964 to join the Fluxus movement. Kubota became internationally known as a pioneering artist for her “video sculpture,” which integrated video into three-dimensional structures. Her contribution to contemporary art, however, has yet to be adequately evaluated.
The goal of the exhibition is to provide an updated and contextualized survey of the Japanese American female artist Shigeko Kubota to international audiences. Shortly after the artist’s passing in 2015, the Shigeko Kubota Video Art Foundation was established in New York at the bequest of the artist to preserve and further the study of Kubota’s life and legacy, in addition to advancing the field of video art. Drawing significantly from a collection of recently restored sculptures, drawings, photographs, and ephemera of the Shigeko Kubota Video Art Foundation, and complementing them with additional works from Japanese museums and archival materials from the artist’s family, the exhibition will showcase a diverse array of materials for the first time.
What was Kubota thinking and seeking as a female artist who was developing her art on the world stage at the dawn of new media art? The exhibition will present multivalent views of Kubota’s life and work through drawings, photographs, archival documents, and video—including her Duchampiana video sculpture series. The exhibition is scheduled to tour three museums across Japan, starting in her hometown of Niigata, in the spring of 2021, then traveling to Osaka in the summer, and ending in Tokyo in February 2022.
The organizers would like to express their special thanks to the Shigeko Kubota Video Art Foundation, New York.
Tour schedule:
March 20–June 6, 2021
The Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art
June 29–September 23, 2021
The National Museum of Art, Osaka
November 13, 2021–February 23, 2022
Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Organizers: The Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, The National Museum of Art, Osaka, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, The Yomiuri Shimbun, The Japan Association of Art Museums, Television Niigata Network Co.,Ltd. (Niigata only)
Curators:
Mayumi Hamada, The Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art
Azusa Hashimoto, The National Museum of Art, Osaka
Mihoko Nishikawa, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Midori Yoshimoto, New Jersey City University, USA
Contact information:
The Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art: kinbi [at] coral.ocn.ne.jp
The National Museum of Art, Osaka: kouhou [at] nmao.go.jp
Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo: mot-pr [at] mot-art.jp
Grant support: Terra Foundation for American Art, Japan Agency for Cultural Affairs, The Pola Art Foundation, The Mitsubishi UFJ Trust Cultural Foundation (Niigata only), The Nomura Foundation (Niigata only)
The Terra Foundation for American Art is dedicated to fostering exploration, understanding, and enjoyment of the visual arts of the United States for national and international audiences. Recognizing the importance of experiencing original works of art, the foundation provides opportunities for interaction and study, beginning with the presentation and growth of its own art collection in Chicago. To further cross-cultural dialogue on American art, the foundation supports and collaborates on innovative exhibitions, research, and educational programs. Implicit in such activities is the belief that art has the potential both to distinguish cultures and to unite them.
