Calendar of Events

To mark the centenary of the birth of Sam Francis (1923-1994), Museum JAN pays tribute to this American painter. The exhibition Homage to Sam Francis, showing from 3 February until 21 May 2023, features a selection of Francis’ work from our own collection, complemented by special loans from art collector and Francis enthusiast Nico Delaive. Francis is often associated with abstract expressionism, a post-war American painting movement, but developed a style of his own after his introduction to European and Oriental (modern) art. Francis became known for his paintings featuring expressive colours in a ‘controlled chaos’ of spots, drops, lines and strokes.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo has a collection of about 5,600 works from the modern to the present, centering on postwar art . At the " MOT Collection" exhibition, we strive to convey the diverse appeal of contemporary art by exhibiting works from our collection from various perspectives for each exhibition period. The 3rd floor, titled " Breathing through Breathing," will consist of a group of works that evoke the flow of wind, water, and air as it connects to people's breathing as they travel around the world. Beginning with a series of large-scale paintings by Sam Francis, who is celebrating his 100th birthday this year, we will introduce works by Montien Bummer, Sophiap Pich, Toshikatsu Endo, Yoko Matsumoto, and others that will open up the senses of the viewer . *Exhibition contents are subject to change due to circumstances. Please note.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) presents Sam Francis and Japan: Emptiness Overflowing, the first exhibition to explore the practice of American artist Sam Francis (1923-1994) in relation to historic and contemporary Japanese art and aesthetics. Presenting works by Francis alongside Japanese art, both pre-modern and contemporary, the exhibition introduces a new way of looking at the artist's work that emphasizes his aesthetic sense and his intellectual exchange with artists in Japan. Comprising over 80 works largely from LACMA's collection, Sam Francis and Japan includes landmark paintings and prints by Francis such as Towards Disappearance (1957-58) and Meteorite (1986) as well as a number of works from the museum's Prints and Drawings and Japanese Art departments that will be on public view for the first time. Juxtapositions of works by Francis and historic Japanese works illustrate the pictorial and philosophical affinities they share, particularly the Japanese concept of "ma," the dynamic between form and non-form. The exhibition also presents works by contemporary Japanese artists whom Francis knew from his extensive time in Japan, including many associated with the Gutai and Mono-Ha artist movements of the 1950s and '60s. Archival material lent by the Sam Francis Foundation and the Getty Research Institute accompany the artworks. Sam Francis and Japan was curated by Hollis Goodall, curator of Japanese Art at LACMA; Leslie Jones, curator of Prints and Drawings at LACMA; and Richard Speer, independent scholar and curator.