Nezu Museum’s Famous Gold Iris Screens Return This April
To mark the Nezu Museum’s 85th anniversary, this exhibition puts the spotlight on one of Japan’s most celebrated treasures: the Irises screens by Ogata Korin. Korin was a master of the Rimpa style, an approach to art that functions much like modern graphic design. Instead of trying to make paintings look like realistic photos, Rimpa artists used bold colors, shimmering gold backgrounds and simplified, rhythmic shapes to create a look that feels strikingly contemporary. This show moves beyond just the famous names to show how Korin’s vibrant style was shared and reimagined by a whole circle of talented followers and family members.
In the galleries, you’ll see how this aesthetic was not just for walls; it was applied to everything from delicate silk paintings to sturdy ceramic bowls. You can explore the incredibly detailed brushwork of Watanabe Shiko, a close collaborator of Korin, and see the inventive ceramics of Korin’s brother, Kenzan. The exhibition also features rare pieces returning to Japan from the Cleveland Museum of Art, offering a full picture of how these artists transformed simple flowers and landscapes into a bold, decorative language. It’s a chance to see how one man’s vision of beauty shaped an entire movement that continues to define Japanese design today.
