The Art Institute of Chicago
(Art Institute of Chicago Website)
111 S. Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60603
312.443.3600

Beyond Golden Clouds
Japanese Screens from
The Art Institute of Chicago
And
The Saint Louis Art Museum
(Saint Louis Art Museum Website)

June 26 – September 27, 2009
Curated by Janice Katz
Media Representation: Chai Lee, Carla Kessler

Susan Weinrebe
June 26, 2009

Suffused with the glow of countless sheets of applied gold leaf, twenty-four exquisite screens from the Art Institute of Chicago and the Saint Louis Art Museum shimmer in the lowly lit rooms of the current show, Beyond Golden Clouds.

This is the first major show of Japanese art at the Art Institute, since 1996, and the screens are completely open to view, rather than being placed behind glass or in a case. Also, rather than being displayed on walls, they are generally arrayed on low platforms, the hinged frames undulating with the rhythm inherent to their form.

Little worlds, country-sides, scenes from folk tales, bravura brushwork, and virtuoso portraits of flora and fauna abound as the subjects of many screens. If viewed from either side, a different perspective of the landscape, for instance, is often revealed, in addition to the one seen from looking at the screen head on.

Arranged roughly in chronological order, the earliest screen on display dates to about 1490. Landscape of the Four Seasons is a languid depiction of the year, season by season. The works advance through the centuries, with the modern (1990) Mountain Lake Screen Tachi Series, a luminous sentinel, almost altar-like in its imposing placement as the concluding screen. A video accompanies this piece and shows the artist, Ōkura Jirō, in the process of creation, as captions and narration discuss elements of his design.

As the curator, Dr. Janice Katz, elaborated in a lecture previewing Beyond Golden Clouds, screens were gifts of state, backdrops to diplomacy, and immediately identifiable goods from Japan; but they usually served, “…an essential function in the homes of courtiers, where they were used to cordon off parts of a room.”

Screens were and continue to be elegant art that is also functional. “…the most common use was when members of the court slept to give them a measure of solitude.” One can imagine that these shorter screens, often placed behind a sleeper’s head to shield from drafts and create a little nook, were painted meditations upon which to drowse.

Because of space and the delicacy of the screens, not all of them will be shown continuously. Six or seven additional pieces will be rotated into the display on August 15. Whether one visits the exhibit once or returns several times, Dr. Katz assures, “We’ve chosen the best of our collection and combined them with works from the Saint Louis Museum that complement ours.”

Supporting Beyond Golden Clouds are an exhibit catalog, explanation tags in English and Japanese next to each screen (a first for the museum), teacher and family programs, lectures, and, of course, the Art Institute’s website.

Ikeda Keisen (Japanese, 1863-1932).
"Fish and Plants", 1908.
Single six-panel screen; ink, color, and gold on silk;
137 x 287 cm. President’s Exhibition/Acquisition Fund;
Alsdorf Discretionary Fund; Russell Tyson Endowment Fund;
Purchased with Funds Provided by the Wetson Foundation.

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Sakai Hoitsu (Japanese, 1761-1828).
"Fans and Stream", 1820/28.
Pair of two-panel screens; ink, colors, gold, and silver on silk;
each 166.9 x 174.6 cm.
Saint Louis Art Museum, Friends Fund (140:1987.a-b).

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Noguchi Shohin (Japanese, 1847-1917).
"The Gathering at the Orchid Pavilion", 1900.
Pair of six-panel screens; ink, colors, and gold on silk;
each 182.5 x 391 cm. Gift of Roger L. Weston.

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Tosa Mitsuoki (Japanese, 1617 - 1691).
"Flowering Cherry and Autumn Maple with Poem Slips", 1654/81.
Pair of six-panel screens; ink, color, gold and silver on silk;
each 144 cm x 286 cm. Kate S. Buckingham Endowment.

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For more information, contact Dr. Roberta E. Zlokower at zlokower@bestweb.net