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

The Courier-Mail 30 April 1982 ~l\i••-.i '. t ' <I' v; <•· •Y;~·.~t'·-: '~t :-· r THE HANGING scroll "Beauties Admiring Paintings" by 18th century Japanese artist Katsukawa Shunsto, one of the pieces of the Idemitsu exhibition for the new Queensland Art Gallery in June. Japanese art to Brisbane first THE FIRST major exhibition of Japanese art In Australia will begin its 12-month tour of five state capitals in Brisbane to coincide with the opening of the new Queensland Art Gallery in June. H will lnclurte paln l ,ngs and cal– ligraphies from the 12t h to the 19th centuries, ·ranging from an elegant poem written on decorated hand– made paper, to finely detailed dom– estic scenes and landscapes on tcrolls and screens. The ceramics range from a neol– ithic Jomon pot, dated the second millenium BC, to a selection of tea ceramics and outstanding examples of classic Japanese porcelains such as Imarl, Kutani and Kakiemon . The 85 Items !,ave been chosen from the IdemJtsu collection in Tokyo, where the NSW Art Gallery's curator of Asian art, Jackie Men– zies, was given I\ free hand in selec– ting them from the thousands of pieces ln the collection. She wns pn.rtlcularly excited by the fact that they are vi rtually unknown to the public outside Tokyo, where they can lie seen in the !rtemitsu llluseum on the top fl oor of the rct-– urn itsu Ko,a n Compa ny in the cit,··s centrnl business d is trict of MRnlll• 011ch1. The lal(' Sa:-.n Jrlalllil ~ll hC'l-! illl his .-ollect1011 111 1!111. a nd bu11l ,L up to 111cl11de itr111s lle., towecl with !Illes ,Japanese g1rr 10 oll 1c1·1,- of i:rent cultural ~1i;11if1ca 11c-c l~ their inhen– tance. Some of these will be seen In Art Australia: seven Important Art Objects and four Important Cultur– al Properties he.ve been chosen for the touring exhibition. They will all be suitably cared for on their journey, not only In the control of light Md temperature in the galleries, but In the ··rest periods·• formerly allotted to them between each engagement in their touring schedule. These vary from 23 to 31 days, and allow the dellcate scrolls and screens a period of recuperation in complete darkness. The touring exhibition has been se– lected carefully to concentrate on key a~pe<:ls of the arts of Japan in order to illustrate the country's rich artistic traditions. "I hope this exhibition will open people's eyes to the e.ru; of Japan," said the director of the Art Gallery or NSW, Edmund Capon, when he an– nounced details In Sydney. "It deals with the sort of thini:s people can appreciate Instinctively. It will be 1i ,·1sual fea st, somet hin g c,·. erybody can relate to. "We have tried to contain It to the mainstream of paintings and ceram– ics which, after all, best characterise Japanese tradition In the arts. "I hope I he exhibition will reveal something of the background of Ja.– pan and its culture, which arc vir– tually unknown in Australia - but the most important thing l~ that people come, look at the things and enjoy them." Japan: Masterpieces from U1e Ide– mitsu Collection has a budget of Sl.5 million for its year In Australia. IL is being sponsored by MIM Holdings, with assistance from CSR. the Bank of NSW, the Australia-Japan Foun– dation and the NSW Coking Coal Producers. A carefully worded statement ex– plains that it has been arranged, by the InternationRI Cultural Corpo– ration of Australia ·and organised by t he Art Gallery of NSW. After Its Brisbane showing from June 22 to August !, the exhibition will rest, reopeni ng In Sydney nn 1'.ug– u st 25. then mo1·1n,r r n to i' de– Jaicte. Perth and ~Ielbourne, where iL will finallr close on J une 12, 1983. -JILL SYKES ...