SPRING RISING

SPRING RISING is the museumʼs first exhibition focused on Hakone.

Spring is the time when life is reborn. Today, an era in which technology has overwhelmed society, people are beginning to reexamine and growing increasingly sensitive to natural wonders in their midst, memories of the earth beneath their feet, and the elemental human force. This exhibition focuses on paintings, sculptures, crafts, and installations, which illuminate the tremendous power of art, contain a pulse that sprouts up from people or the depths of the earth, and stir the senses and our very being.

Beginning with the major ukiyo-e collection held by the Hakone Museum of History and Folklore and with paintings designated as Important Cultural Properties by the town of Hakone, this exhibition presents works inspired by the landscapes of Hakone and other places along the Tokaido route linking Edo (present-day Tokyo) and Kyoto, from the Edo period (1603–1868) to today. It explores, in depth, what has drawn travelers to Hakone and sparked the imaginations of artists across the centuries.

The exhibition features art that explores the depths of the earth, the forces of nature, and the myriad forms of life connected to them, with the works shaped through dialogue with these elements. It includes a large installation by Ohmaki Shinji that resonates with Hakoneʼs natural environment, as well as new work by the internationally active contemporary artist Sugimoto Hiroshi and the ceramic artist Ogawa Machiko. Through approximately 120 pieces, including paintings, sculptures, crafts, and installations, the exhibition presents a diverse array of approaches and creative practices.

This exhibition also focuses on the Pola Museum of Artʼs painting collection, examining how painters pushed their work in new directions during Europeʼs long period of upheaval and renewal from the late 19th century to the present. Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, and Paul Gauguin responded to the shifting qualities of light and color, expressing in their paintings both the transience of passing moments and a yearning for permanence. The museumʼs remarkable group of paintings by Henri Rousseau is among the exhibitionʼs highlights.

Two PixCell-Deer by Nawa Kohei face one another, and a space that renders the unseen visible brings the exhibition to its close.

Featured artists
Utagawa Hiroshige, Goseda Yoshimatsu, Aoki Mika, Nawa Kohei, Ohmaki Shinji, Maruyama Naofumi, Ikemura Leiko, Ogawa Machiko, Sugimoto Hiroshi, Charles Wirgman, Claude Monet, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Henri Rousseau, Tse Su-Mei, Pat Steir, Anselm Kiefer, and more.

SPRING RISING is curated by Imai Keiko (Chief Curator, Pola Museum of Art) and Uchiro Hiroyuki (Senior Curator, Pola Museum of Art)

Press contacts: Inami Ririko (Public Relations, Pola Museum of Art): info@polamuseum.or.jp