Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 10 : Record of press coverage, March 1982 - May 1984

. ' The Toowoornba Chronicle 13 July 1982 New Gallery stages first Japanese exhibition MASTERPJECES from the Idemitsu Collection curreRtly on exhibition at the new Queensland Art Gallery in Brisbane have been brought to Australia by the l!lternational Cultural Corpora– tion of Australia Limited . Japanese art beg:1n in the Jomon period, the Japanese .,eolithic cultural period extending from ab.,ut 8000 B.C. lo about 200 B.C. In ancient times and through the Middle Ages, Japan in– troduced and subsequently assimilalCd a .,uperb continental culture from Japan, Korea and Persia. The exhibition, titled "Japan", is the first major collection of Japanese ar1 ever 10 visit Australia. Drawn exclusively from the ldemi1su J Museum of Aris, the exhibition in– cludes some of the: finest examples of calligraphy, painting, painted screens and ceramics in existence. The range of In modern times, Japan acceplCd Western European culture. Both Orien– tal and Occidental cultures underwent devc:lopment in this island country of the Far East, resulting in forms of art unique 10 Japan. ' exhibits, dating from the second millenium B.C. 10 mid-19th ceAtury, il– lustrates the richness, refinement and distinctive flavour of the arts of Japan. The paintings and ceramics :;elected from the ldemiuu Museum or Arts for tliis exhibition have been chosen with an eye 10 giving Australian visitors an· overview of the long history or the development of Japanese arts. The Toowoomba Chronicle 14 July 1982 Masterpieces of Japa1tese culture· Toowoomba art lovers who 1·isi1 Brisbane will be interested in increased evidence there of Japanese culture. The most outstanding current exhibi– tion is "Masterpieces from the Idemit– su Collection" at the Queensland Cultural Centre until August I. Negotiations were made for these 84 works to travel to Australia, by Ed– mund Capon when he visited Toowoomba recently. Mr Capon was excited at the pro– spect of this first major exhibition of Japanese art ever to arrive in our coun– try. The works are now in Queensland and will then travel to the N:S.W., South Australian, West Australian and Victorian galleries. · Unlike other travelling shows which are currently at the new Cultural Cen– t re, this Japanese exhibition necessitates an admission charge. Ex– penses connected with transport and the magnitude of the task of bringing the items fro111 Japan arc as great as those needed for the SO million dollar Chinese Exhibition of the Ming and Quing Dynasties which we saw in Brisbane in July last year. There, a similar charge for admission was necessary. However, this charge, is well justified for the viewer, Scrolls, calligraphy, delicate and decorative screens and pottery are highlights. A traditional lea house, built of bamboo and wood is set up and is furnished with straw mat– ting. T(:lis tea house preserves the tradi– tional rwtic atmosphere or such struc– tures and it is a small complete replica of a good Japanese tea house where a sense of its relationship with nature is conveyed to the spectator and where accent on simplicity is apparent. · Toowoomba potters will be in– terested in a deep unglazed earthen– ware Jomon Period jar which dates from 2nd millenium B.C. This is an ex– ample of the oldest type of pottery ever found in Japan and was dug up only 10 years ago in the Niigata Pro– vince on the central-west coast of Hon– shu, Japan's main island. This pottery ware is called Jomon or "cord pat– tern" because of the decoration which is created by the impression of rope in– to the still damp clay body. The jar also features carved and incised linear design. It is very large in size, 63.Scms in heights and 48.Scms in diameter. Another exhibition 'of Japanese art may be seen at the Verlie Just Town Gallery, 2nd level, 77 Queen Street where an enlarged "Japan Room" is permanently set up with appropriate displays . MR George • Mclllroy writes from Canterbury, New Zealand, regarding the 31st Photographic Society or New Zealand Convention which was held there during May. He comments upon the "splendid and provoking" set or prints which were sent to the Conven– tion by Graham Burstow or Toowoom– ba. The prints were shown in the foyer or the Otago Museum in Dunedin for the week following the Convention where an especially good response 10 these prints was made by the public. I ~urft: :-7,,;.[~ .... ~: Pamela King PICTURED i1 Deep Jar; Jomon Period: An unglazed earthenware pot which is included in "Muterpieces or the ldcmitsu Collection" currently 10 be seen at the , ~– ueensland Culture~ ntre.