Exhibitions 21


MASAMI TERAOKA AND JAPANESE UKIYO-E PRINTS


From the early 1970s, Japanese American artist Masami Teraoka adopted the traditional visual vocabulary of 17th to 19th century Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints to comment on the world around him. Tese included reflections on contemporary themes such as globalisation, collisions between Asian and Western cultures, and the AIDS crisis. Inspired notably by kabuki theatre prints and the ukiyo-e genres of bijin-ga (beautiful women), yurei-zu (supernatural beings), and shunga (erotic prints), Teraoka created dramatic compositions rich in symbolism. Commenting on his work,


the artist said, ‘Te people and props that I use are symbols of both the contemporary life I experience and of the venerable Japanese traditions I admire. I also look at my paintings as kabuki plays, the ancient Japanese equivalent to


Catfish Envy (1993), by Masami Teraoka, printed and published by Tyler Graphics, from the Hawaii Snorkel series, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, gift of Kenneth E Tyler 2002 © the artist and Kenneth E Tyler


movies. I am the director, and I must be careful casting each actress and actor because the strength of each work depends on how I script, draw, and paint each one. I call my work Masami- za or Masami-theatre’. Te National Gallery is


presenting key examples of Teraoka’s ukiyo-e style works alongside historic ukiyo-e prints, delving into their


EVERYDAY WAR


Te Asian Art Museum presents the first North American solo exhibition of pioneering Taiwanese artist Yuan Goang-Ming (b 1965), featuring work from his critically acclaimed presentation at the 60th Venice Biennale. Opening in early April, this large-scale exhibition in the Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang Pavilion showcases Yuan’s exploration of contemporary life through video installations that bridge personal experience and universal themes. Widely recognised as a


pioneer in Taiwan’s new media art scene since the 1990s, Yuan creates immersive video and installation work that captures the tenor of globally turbulent times. His work often transforms


intimate domestic spaces into powerful metaphors for widespread instability, from the haunting siren of Taiwan’s air raid drills to the violent disruption of safety in our own homes. ‘Yuan’s work speaks to the


precise moment we’re living in,’ explains the exhibition’s curator Abby Chen, head of contemporary art at the Asian Art Museum and curator of Yuan’s Venice Biennale presentation. ‘His depiction of personal spaces as sites of both comfort and conflict resonates with audiences worldwide, particularly as we navigate increasingly unsettled times. At the same time, this


exhibition is deeply personal. It is a manifestation of his experiences as a second- generation war refugee, and his reinterpretation of the legacy of trauma as both a


son and a father’. Te exhibition brings


work from Yuan’s celebrated Venice Biennale presentation to San Francisco, including the provocative 2024 video Everyday War, recording an actual explosion in the artist’s own bedroom – an evolution from Dwelling (2014), in which a similar scene takes place underwater. Tis progression reflects


the artist’s observation that the gap between imagined and actual catastrophe has narrowed significantly for everyone in recent years. Te Asian Art Museum’s


presentation builds on Everyday War‘s prior iteration in Venice with the inclusion of two additional works. Disappearing Landscape Passing II (2011) is autobiographical, looking at the ever-changing landscape of the artist’s home and neighbourhood, emphasising the ephemeral nature of place and memory. Te second of two


additional works can only be seen from outside of the museum. Indication (2014- 25), a video work in which the artist and his friends stand in a line, pointing fingers at the audience before suddenly collapsing, will be inaccessible from the main exhibition. Instead, the unsettling sequence – alluding to accusation, accountability, and the precarious role of bystanders in cycles of violence – is visible from outside the building by passers-by and museum guests along Hyde Street.


• From 3 April to 7 July, Asian Art Museum,


San Francisco, asianart.org


Everyday War (2024) by Yuan Goang-Ming, still from a single-channel video, 10.33 minutes, courtesy of the artist © Yuan Goang-Ming ASIAN ART | APRIL 2025


visual, strategic, and thematic connections. Leading ukiyo-e artists


featured include Utagawa Kunisada, Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Toyohara Kunichika, and Tsukioka Yoshitoshi. Forming part of the


National Gallery’s Kenneth E Tyler Collection exhibition series, this display focuses on


Teraoka’s Hawaii Snorkel series, published by Tyler Graphics in 1992-93. Related trial proofs and archival materials will showcase the hybrid techniques and innovative approaches Tyler employed to help Teraoka realise his vision.


• Until 6 July National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, nga.gov.au


Nakamurashikan IV as Asaina Tobei by Utagawa Kunisada I, woodblock print, 1863, gift of Dr Lee Kerr and Mark Henshaw 2015, donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Programme


Everyday Maneuver (2018) by Yuan Goang-Ming, still from a single-channel video, 5.57 minutes, courtesy of the artist © Yuan Goang-Ming


DISCOVER


Everyday War at the Venice Biennale 2024


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