YUKIKOMIZUTANI is pleased to present “Beyond Nature”,featuring Hiroshi Senju and Tanabe Chikuunsai Ⅳ from November 6 to December 21. 

These two artists are dedicated to pursuing Japanese art, innovating tradition and guiding it towards new horizons. Hiroshi Senju explores the extended potential of Nihonga (Japanese painting), while Tanabe Chikuunsai IV delves into the possibilities of bamboo, a material passed down through generations.

The exhibition “Beyond Nature” will showcase a collection of new waterfall works by Hiroshi Senju and site-specific installations by Tanabe Chikuunsai IV. We invite you to experience this groundbreaking collaboration by two of Japan’s leading artists.

Hiroshi Senju, Nihonga Painter

Born in Tokyo in 1958, Hiroshi Senju graduated from the Nihonga program at Tokyo University of the Arts and completed his postgraduate studies there. Among his accolades are the Honorary Award at the Venice Biennale (1995), the Isamu Noguchi Award, the U.S.-Japan Special Merit Award, the Foreign Minister’s Commendation, the Imperial Gift Prize, the Japan Art Academy Award, and the Japan Society Kaneko Kentaro Special Award. His works are held in the permanent collections of institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, National Palace Museum (Taiwan), and the Victoria and Albert Museum in the U.K. Within Japan, his pieces are found in the Hiroshi Senju Museum Karuizawa, Yamatane Museum of Art, Sagawa Art Museum, as well as Daitoku-ji Temple, Yakushi-ji Temple, Kongobu-ji Temple on Mount Koya, and Izumo Taisha Shrine. He has also served as the president of Kyoto University of Art and Design and was appointed as a member of the Japan Art Academy in 2022.

Tanabe Chikuunsai IV, Bamboo Craft Artist

Born in 1973 in Sakai, Osaka, Tanabe Chikuunsai IV graduated from the Sculpture Department at Tokyo University of the Arts and trained under his father, Tanabe Chikuunsai III, before assuming the name Tanabe Chikuunsai IV in 2017. His exhibitions have been held at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the British Museum, the Guimet Museum in France, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, among others. While continuing to produce bamboo works rooted in inherited techniques, such as utilitarian flower baskets, his creations focus on the harmony between nature and humanity, exploring themes like “Past, Present, and Future” and “Life and Death.” His expansive installations across the globe reveal new potential in bamboo craftsmanship. In 2022, he received the Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, as well as the Osaka Culture Prize.