29th January – 18th April 2022
Japan and modern art until today
From Hiroshige and Toulouse-Lautrec to de Carouge and Kawamata
Works by Toulouse-Lautrec, a necklace by Bernhard Schobinger, a self-portrait
by Oskar Schlemmer, an oil painting by Gustav Klimt, clothes by Christa de
Carouge – regardless of how different these works might be, they have one common
denominator: Japan.
This fascination for Japan is a phenomenon that is not limited by time or
place. Western artists have been increasingly interested in Japan since the middle
of the 19th century, both as part of their search for new visual and formal
languages, and in their endeavours to explore new philosophies of life. Western
art and culture as we know them would be almost inconceivable without these
Japanese influences.
The exhibition ‹Everything and Nothing› aims to trace these manifold references.
Selected works from the collection will be exhibited alongside historical Japanese
works from the Historisches und Völkerkundemuseum St. Gallen to demonstrate
the exciting spectrum of influences that go far beyond mere ‘Japonism’.
Curated by Matthias Haldemann and Nina Schweizer
This exhibition is under the patronage of the Embassy of Japan in Switzerland.
