Tadanori Yokoo: 100 Takes on Hanshan and Shide
Hyokeikan
September 12, 2023 (Tue) -
December 3, 2023 (Sun)
Built in honor of the wedding of the Taisho crown prince, the name of this building means “to express congratulations.” It has been designated an Important Cultural Property as a representative example of Western style architecture of the late Meiji period (early 20th century).
Tadanori Yokoo; 12.1.2022; 2022
Hyokeikan
September 12, 2023 (Tue) - December 3, 2023 (Sun)
For some time, the contemporary artist Tadanori Yokoo has been working on a series based on Hanshan and Shide, a traditional subject matter in East Asian painting. This series includes over one-hundred paintings that Yokoo created specifically for this exhibition, which will be displayed for the very first time. Hanshan and Shide were Zen poet-monks who allegedly lived during China’s Tang dynasty (618–907). They have been celebrated in both China and Japan for their erratic behavior and apparent madness — considered by some as a sign of spiritual enlightenment.
Yokoo continued to work on the series during the coronavirus pandemic and created over one-hundred paintings based on Hanshan and Shide in an atelier secluded from the mundane world, echoing these legendary figures’ transcendent lives. This series traverses various realms, weaving a dazzling tale that truly transcends space and time. The largest series in Yokoo’s career, it poses countless questions to its viewers, like a mirror that shows a different reflection every time.