Skip to main content

“In the Moment”–Japanese Art from the Larry Ellison Collection

 

Ellison

The current exhibit (June 28-September 22) at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco  introduces sixty-four exceptional art treasures, mostly screens and paintings by acclaimed artists from the Momoyama through the Taisho periods (roughly sixteenth through early twentieth centuries).  All of the artwork is from Ellison’s Japanese architecturally designed estate in Woodside.

With a retired museum curator as his advisor,  Ellison’s collection is extraordinary in vision.  The artwork includes Buddhist religious art, humorous illustrations of folk tales, and floral  and animal images on screens and in sculpture.  Some of the art is being exhibited outside of temples for the first time.

Shotoku
Shotoku

The collection is a rare opportunity to gaze at symbols for immortality (the crane), powerful energy (dragon),   enlightenment (elephant), and the ephemeral world (almost any floral image).  Some of the paintings and hanging scrolls depict endearing images of animals and insects, representing the belief that rebirth takes many forms: a parade of crickets, ravens who symbolize death, cats and dogs as protective spirits.Kuan yin2

I was enchanted by the collection’s freshness and originality. One of my favorites is a six-panel silver screen by Usumi Kiho depicting a single peacock feather and one blue-black raven, simply entitled “Peacock and Raven”.  Another painting, by Maruyama Okyo,  of a young cat has white and grey fur that almost looks soft enough to touch.cat2

 

For those interested in early Japanese Buddhism, the ethereal wooden statue of a two-year old Prince Shotoku, is a rare find.  Shotoku Taishi is well-known as the first to introduce the religion to a woman–his aunt Empress Suiko–and therefore, considered a supporter of women’s Buddhist practice. This is an extremely unusual and stunning portrait–a young toddler who is not yet a Buddhist leader and almost certainly a sculpture originally belonging to a temple.

This is an exhibit not to be missed.  Go see it before it closes on Sunday, September 22.

Comments (4)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe to my Newsletter

* indicates required
Apr0 Posts
May0 Posts
Jun0 Posts
Jul0 Posts
Aug0 Posts
Sep0 Posts
Oct0 Posts
Nov0 Posts
Dec0 Posts
Jan0 Posts
Feb0 Posts
Mar0 Posts
Apr0 Posts
May0 Posts
Jun0 Posts
Jul0 Posts
Aug0 Posts
Sep0 Posts
Oct0 Posts