Strong Women, Beautiful Men: Japanese Portrait Prints from the Toledo Museum of Art

This exhibition explores two recurring themes in the history of Japanese printmaking: beauty and celebrity. These traditions can be traced through three centuries of printmaking into our own time. Images of celebrities are spotlighted, including renowned courtesans and beautiful women (bijin-ga) and famous kabuki actors (yakusha-e). Artists, carvers, printers, and publishers inventively used caricature, parody, stylization, and physiognomy to create compelling images that appealed to an increasingly competitive market.

This exhibition was organized by the Toledo Museum of Art.

In honor of the opening of the Joy Light Gallery of Asian Art this fall, the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts is featuring a lively series of exhibitions, films, music, lectures, and family programs celebrating the cultures of East Asia. The events are coordinated by the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, with support from the Joy Light East Asian Art Acquisitions and Exhibition Fund, and in partnership with Western Michigan University, Midtown Gallery, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, and Fontana Chamber Arts. Click here for more information (PDF).