ShugoArts' artist, Leiko Ikemura will be participating in a group exhibition at Bernard Buffet Museum, Japan.

The Musée Bernard Buffet is holding an exhibition of the Hoeidō edition of The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō by the ukiyo-e master Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) and works by contemporary artists who have been inspired by Hiroshige.

The Hoeidō edition of The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, regarded as Hiroshige's ultimate masterpiece, presents scenes along the highway, as they change over the seasons and over time, with abundant lyricism. The prints in this series are also known for the rich variety which which Hiroshige depicts the human figure in the landscapes at each location. The world these prints create, abounding in its rich sense of humanity, continues to capture the hearts of artists today.

Ikemura Leiko (1951- ) is an artist who lives and works in Europe, where she continues her fundamental questioning of human existence. After the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, she began engaging in a dialogue with Hiroshige's The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, which could be said to depict the essential, primordial landscapes of Japan. That experience has led to her creating poems and a new series of drawings inspired by it.

Samurai warriors coexist with contemporary individuals in the Yamato-e style miniatures Yamaguchi Akira (1969- ) creates. In them, he engages in a dialogue with styles from the past while humorously applying the spirit of modern criticism. Yamaguchi creates new landscapes based on places that have caught his eye in the Mishima area, such as the Mishima Taisha and other shrines, expressed through his own interpretations of them.

"Hiroshige is my hero!" says Takezaki Kazuyuki (1976- ). Staying in the Mishima area, he has become enthralled with the landscapes along the Genpe and Kakita rivers and has created paintings and built installations inspired by phenomena he has observed there. 

We hope that this exhibition will be an opportunity to rediscover the fascination of Hiroshige's The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, to experience the work of several contemporary artists, and to contemplate the indelible, essential landscapes within each of us.

*image (left)
courtesy of the artist