A Japanese photography collection titled “Japan Modern: Photography from the Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck Collection” is on view at the Smithsonian Institution’s Freer Gallery of Art and and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C. through January 21.
Selected photographic works of major 20th-century photographers are on exhibition. “Whether capturing evocative landscapes or the gritty realities of postwar Japan, this presentation focuses on Japanese artists’ search for a sense of place in a rapidly changing country,” notes the exhibition brief.
“The images highlight destinations both rural and urban, in styles ranging from powerful social documentary to intensely personal. A selection of photo books and experimental films adds to this multifaceted exploration.”
Carol Huh, associate curator of contemporary Asian art at Freer|Sackler said the exhibition showcases about 80 works highlighting seminal moments in the development of 20th-century Japanese photography.
“Photographers sought to grasp a sense of self and place in the midst of economic, social, and physical transformation occurring throughout Japan,” said Huh.
Our new exhibition “Japan Modern: Photography from the Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck Collection” celebrates the Sackler’s recent acquisition of this collection of over four hundred Japanese photographs.https://t.co/cB8N6myEgX pic.twitter.com/Rfqb8L8VwA
— Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art (@FreerSackler) October 16, 2018
Another exhibition, “Japan Modern: Prints in the Age of Photography” showcases how Japanese artists reacted to modernity through woodblock prints in the late 19th century.
Sponsored by Mitsubishi Corporation, photographs on display in Japan Modern exhibition have been partially gifted by Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck. Freer|Sackler purchased the selection as part of its acquisitions fund in honor of Julian Raby, director emeritus of the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.
The exhibition is open to the public and free of charge.