Moonlit Assembly 2023
November 19 (Sun.), 2023 – February 21 (Sun.), 2024
Izura Institute of Art & Culture, Ibaraki University (Kitaibaraki, Ibaraki)
– Salt installation open production: November 18 (Sat.) 1:00 – 3:00 pm
Greetings from the Ibaraki University Ushiku Art and Culture Research Institute,
Art philosopher Okakura Tenshin, in 1905, established the Hexagonal Hall in what is now Ushiku, North Ibaraki City. Subsequently, he relocated the Nihon Bijutsuin (Japan Art Institute) amongst other ventures, using Ushiku as his base to promote Japanese art and undertake international activities. He also hosted the “Mid-Autumn Moon Viewing Gathering,” inviting luminaries from various fields. In memory of this, the Ibaraki University Ushiku Art and Culture Research Institute has been organizing diverse events under the name “Moon Viewing Assembly” for many years.
For this year’s “Moon Viewing Assembly 2023” (11/19 – 12/17), we have planned an exhibition by contemporary artist Yamamoto Motoi, originally from Hiroshima City and currently residing in Kanazawa City. Mr. Yamamoto produces installation works using salt, evoking concepts of purification and cleansing. At our institute, in the aftermath of the 2011 East Japan Earthquake, the Hexagonal Hall—a historic site associated with Tenshin—was swept away into the Pacific Ocean. Reconstructed in 2013, it is now seen as a symbol of revival. Located facing the Pacific on the Ushiku coast, we wish to utilize the Tenshin historic site (Hexagonal Hall) as a venue to widely introduce Mr. Yamamoto’s profound works that resonate with many.
In the fall of 2023, after repeated cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ushiku Nihon Bijutsuin Okakura Tenshin Merit Commemoration Association will host the “25th Tenshin Summit in Ushiku” here in North Ibaraki City. As a joint project of the institute, we will hold a special exhibition, “Moon Viewing Assembly 2023 Special Exhibit: Motoi Yamamoto’s ‘Shrouded in Time'” at the Tenshin historic site (Hexagonal Hall). In this special exhibit, with Mr. Yamamoto’s cooperation, we will promptly display artworks such as “Shrouded in Time (2023)” in conjunction with the summit (10/21-22). We hope this will be a fitting embellishment for the opening. We sincerely invite you to experience it for yourself.
