Clay and Paper: Japanese Ceramics and Screens is organized by Phoenix Art Museum. It is made possible through the generosity of the Museum’s Circles of Support and Museum Members. The exhibition features objects donated to the Phoenix Art Museum collection by Elaine and Sidney Cohen.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
In traditional Japan, palaces and castles were designed with large interior spaces that could be divided as needed with large, movable, folding screens. Made with wooden framework covered with paper, screens were both functional and decorative. Artists from different schools of painting were commissioned to paint subtle landscapes or colorful processional and festive scenes that flowed across both screens in a pair. These images often evoked a particular season or celebration.
IMAGE CREDIT
Hiroyuki Wakamoto, Tapered vessel with small mouth. Ceramic. Gift of Elaine and Sidney Cohen.
Like these traditional screens, modern Japanese ceramics are created to be functional, decorative, or both. Some works such as water vessels and tea bowls are created for use in tea ceremonies, whereas others are purely sculptural. Many works are deliberately rustic or asymmetrical, reflecting an aesthetic preference for the imperfect and organic rather than the refined and precise. Since the end of World War II, both women and men in modern Japan are trained in art schools and studios to create ceramics such as these.
IMAGE CREDIT
Masanao Kaneta, Haku-yu kurinuki vase, after 1988. Glazed clay. Gift of Elaine and Sidney Cohen.
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On view for a limited time, exhibitions present art from across the centuries and the globe, from iconic fashion to Old Master paintings, contemporary photography to historical objects of Asia.
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Featuring more than 20,000 objects, the collection spans the globe, bringing the world to our city, and our city to the world.
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