Installation photograph, Every Living Thing: Animals in Japanese Art
at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, September 22, 2019 - December 08, 2019, photo © Museum Associates/ LACMA

Installation photograph, Every Living Thing: Animals in Japanese Art
at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, September 22, 2019 - December 08, 2019, photo © Museum Associates/ LACMA

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“The Life of Animals in Japanese Art”, exhibited at the National Gallery of Art, Washington (June 2 to August 18, 2019), opens with a new title: “Every Living Thing: Animals in Japanese Art” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. It is co-organized by the Japan Foundation, the National Gallery of Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The exhibition at the LACMA would be recomposed from part of the exhibits presented in Washington together with additional artworks from the LACMA’s collection.

Japan has always had a symbiotic relationship with animals visible as early as the Kofun Period. Animals are portrayed as friends, or possessors of supernatural powers that go far beyond anything of which humans are capable. This explains why they have always played an important role both in the formative arts and in literature. This exhibition is an opportunity to explore the various ways in which the Japanese have portrayed animals; and to understand the cultural and historic framework in which animals have been given such an important role in the arts.
The exhibition is arranged by themes such as Zodiac Animals; Animals from Nature; Religion; Myth and Folklore; and Leisure. A vast array of works spanning 16 centuries, from the sixth to the present are on display using a wide variety of media and genres that include painting, sculpture, lacquer work, ceramics, metalwork, cloisonné, woodblock prints, textiles and photographs.
Three dresses titled “Colombe” (dove in French) in different patterns will be exhibited from the ISSEY MIYAKE archives. Each Colombe dress is made from monofilament fiber that is heat-cut rather than with scissors, and its shapes is created without needle and thread.

Items by Issey Miyake on display:
“Colombe” ISSEY MIYAKE 1991SS (1990) 3 pieces

Related Links
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
National Gallery of Art
The Japan Foundation