Tenmyouya Hisashi (天明屋尚, born 1966 in

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

) is a Japanese

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...

ist. Tenmyouya's unique style, he calls Neo- Nihonga, revives Japanese traditional painting as a contemporary art. In 2000 he also created the new-style "Butouha" which resists the authoritative art system through his painting. In 2010 he proposed a new Japanese art scheme named "Basara" which is extravagant and extraordinary and embodies a

Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

aesthetic like "Basara" in the Nanboku dynasty era and

Kabuki-mono or were gangs of samurai in feudal Japan. First appearing in the Azuchi–Momoyama period (between the end of the Muromachi period in 1573 and the beginning of the Edo period in 1603) as the turbulent Sengoku period drew to a close, were ei ...

at the end of the

Sengoku era The was a period in Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the feudal system of Japan under the Ashikaga shogunate. Various ...

Neo Nihonga (Neo Japanese-style painting)

"Neo Japanese-style painting" is an art concept, founded by Tenmyouya Hisashi in 2001. It is the antithesis of a modern Japanese-style painting. He thinks a modern Japanese-style painting whose role as an opposite concept of a modern Western-style painting ended keeps to traditional painting materials such as mineral pigments, glue and ink. On the other hand, Neo Japanese-style painting uses modern media like acrylic paint while referring to some features of Japanese art such as a traditional line as well as its decorative, symbolic and playful ones. As for subjects, it quotes traditional Japanese essence to make real Japanese contemporary art. Neo Japanese-style painting is a suggestion, inspecting the concept of "modern Japanese-style painting" which was made and twisted artificially in the

Meiji era The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization b ...

. It offers yet another possibility for a Japanese contemporary art history. Moreover, in Neo Japanese-style painting, classic Japanese paintings and styles before the Meiji age are respected and modernized. In short, Neo Japanese-style painting takes the spirit of

Ukiyo-e Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surfac ...

and other Japanese classic painting and develops them further.

Basara

"Basara" is an art concept which Tenmyouya developed in 2010. The term "Basara" refers to the family of beauty that with innovative unprecedented beauty, includes the basara of the Nanbokucho Period, the kabukimono of the end of the

Warring States Period The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...

, the ukiy-o-eshi of the end of the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

and Japanese recent youth culture with bad and decorative (

kitsch Kitsch ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as naïve imitation, overly-eccentric, gratuitous, or of banal taste. The avant-garde opposed kitsch as melodramatic and superficial affiliation with ...

) tastes. He regards the culture as standing on the opposite end of the spectrum from wabi sabi and is incompatible with Otaku culture. Also with this aspect he aims to connect Japanese culture and history more directly to make an original Japanese art story. As for "Basara", he deliberately avoids being too introvert since he thinks of it as a weakness of Japanese art and often quotes Japanese historical elements. Indeed, Basara covers a wide range, referencing ancient culture, samurai culture and contemporary Japanese youth culture. Especially, Basara focuses on today's street culture as well as samurai culture at the end of the Warring States Period or the end of the Edo period which has been considered low culture for a long time.

Influences

Avant-garde artist, theorist and intellectual Tarō Okamoto (b.1911) once separated Japanese art into the two categories of "Yayoi-like" art characterized by grace and delicate features, and "Jomon-like" art characterized by dynamic and innovative features. The term "Basara" is an adopted and developed version of Taro's concept of "Jomon-like" art, which is excessive in beauty yet innovative. Implicitly Tenmyouya's art criticizes a conservative attitude which just receives an established value blindly and avoids taking a risk for new, unique things.

Publishing

Tenmyouya published an art book ''BASARA Japanese art theory crossing borders: from Jomon pottery to decorated trucks'', which has more details along with lavish photos and both Japanese and English texts.

Personal life

He currently lives and works in Saitama, Japan and is represented by the Mizuma Art Gallery in Tokyo.

Selected solo exhibitions

* " Japanese Spirit " at Harajuku Gallery, Tokyo, Japan, 2000 * " Tenmyouya Hisashi Exhibition " at PROGETTO (Tokyo, Japan), 2001 * " NEO Japanese Paintings " at Depot (Tokyo, Japan), 2002 * " Gakyo " at Nadiff (Tokyo, Japan), 2003 * " Tenmyouya Hisashi " at the reed spase.(New York, U.S.A), 2003 * " Kabuku " at Mizuma Art Gallery (Tokyo, Japan), 2003 * " Deceptive Spirits of the Mountains and Rivers "　at Mizuma Art Gallery (Tokyo, Japan), 2004 * " Bunshin " at Mizuma Art Gallery (Tokyo, Japan), 2005 * " MADE IN JAPAN " at Mizuma Art Gallery (Tokyo, Japan), 2006 * " NEO Japanese Paintings " at Roppongi hills art design store space A+D (Tokyo, Japan), 2007 * " Fighting Spirit " at Mizuma Art Gallery (Tokyo, Japan), 2008 * " FURYU - EXTRAVAGANT " at Mizuma Art Gallery (Tokyo, Japan), 2009 * " G-tokyo 2011" Mori arts center gallery (Tokyo, Japan), 2011 * " Rhyme " at Mizuma Art Gallery (Tokyo, Japan), 2012 * " Rough Sketch and Print " at TENGAI GALLERY (Tokyo, Japan), 2013 * " Process through to the original - Sketch" Roppongi Hills A/D Gallery(Tokyo, Japan),2014 * " Rhyme II " Mizuma Art Gallery (Tokyo, Japan),2014 * " Ippitsu-Nyuukon Exhibition" Parco Museum (Tokyo, Japan),2014

Selected group exhibitions

* " One Planet under a Groove : Hip Hop and Contemporary Art " Bronx Museum (New York, U.S.A), Walker Art Center (Minneapolis, U.S.A), traveled to Spellman College Art Museum (Atlanta, U.S.A), Museum Villa Stuck (Munich, Germany), 2001 * " Kyosai plus one, Kawanabe Kyosai and Tenmyouya Hisashi " Kawanabe Kyosai Memorial Museum (Saitama, Japan),2002 * " 6th Exhibition of the Taro Okamoto Memorial Award for Contemporary Art " Taro Okamoto Museum of Art, Kawasaki (Kanagawa, Japan), 2003 * " The American Effect - Global Perspective on the United States, 1990-2003 " Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, U.S.A), 2003 * " Japan : Rising " Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art (Florida, U.S.A), 2003 * " Astonishment house house exhibit space" PARCO Museum(Tokyo, Japan), 2004 * " Asian Invitationa " Frey Norris Gallely (San Francisco,U.S.A), 2004 * " GUNDAM, Generating Futures " Suntory Museum (Osaka, Japan), traveled to The Ueno Royal Museum (Tokyo, Japan), Sendai Mediatheque (Miyagi, Japan), traveled to Kawara Museum (Aichi, Japan), Museum of Contemporary Art, Sapporo (Hokkaido, Japan),Generating Futures " Kyoto International Manga Museum (Kyoto, Japan), 2005 * " MOT Annual, " Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo (Tokyo, Japan), 2006 * " Berlin - Tokyo " Neue Nationalgalerie (Berlin, Germany), 2006 * " HEROES IN WARRIOR PAINTINGS " Nagano Prefectural Shinano Art Museum (Nagano, Japan), 2007 * " neoteny Japan " Kirishima Open-Air Museum(Kagoshima,Japan), Museum of Contemporary Art, Sapporo (Hokkaido, Japan),Museum of Contemporary Art, Sapporo (Hokkaido, Japan),The Ueno Royal Museum (Tokyo, Japan),The Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art(Niigata, Japan), Akita Museum of Modern Art(Akita,Japan),Yonago City Museum of Art (Totutoriken, Japan), The Museum of Art, Ehime (Ehime, Japan), 2008 * " Go Game, Beijing! " German embassy(China,Beijing), 2008 * " Vision of East Asian 2008 " national library exhibition room in China(China,Beijing), Fine Art Hall of Henan Art Centre(China,Zhengzhou), 2008 * " AIDA Makoto＋TENMYOUYA Hisashi＋YAMAGUCHI Akira" Takahashi Collection Hibiya (Tokyo, Japan), 2010 * " 17th Biennale of Sydney " (Sydney,Australia), 2010 * " BASARA " Spiral Garden(Tokyo, Japan), 2010 * " TDW-ART JALAPAGOSU Exhibition " Meiji Jingu Gaien(Tokyo, Japan), 2010 * " SugiPOP! " Portsmouth Museum of Art(New Hampshire, U.S.A), 2010 * " Bye Bye Kitty!!! Between Heaven and Hell in Contemporary Japanese Art" japansociety(New York, U.S.A), 2011 * " Request top 30 — Step of the past 10 years " Takahashi Collection TABLOID GALLERY(Tokyo, Japan), 2011 * " ZIPANG " Nihonbashi Takashimaya(Tokyo, Japan),Osaka Takashimaya(Osaka, Japan),KyotoTakashimaya(Kyoto, Japan),The Nigata Bandaijima Art Museum (Nigata, Japan),Talasaki Museum of Art (gunma, Japan), 2011 * " Taguchi Art Collection GLOBAL NEW ART " Sompo Japan Museum of Art(Tokyo, Japan), 2011 * " JALAPAGOSU Exhibition " Mitsubishi-Jisho Artium(Fukuoka, Japan), 2011 * " TDW-ART ITO JAKUCHU INSPIRED " Meiji Jingu Gaien(Tokyo, Japan), 2012 * " Wonderful my art - Artists of the Takahashi collection " KAWAGUCHIKO MUSEUM OF ART(Yamanashi, Japan), 2013 * " Ikeda Manabu and Tenmyouya Hisashi " Chazen Museum of Art(Madison, U.S.A), 2013 * " Soccer exhibition - Whereabouts of the image" Urawa Art Museum(Saitama, Japan),2014 * " Taguchi Art Collection TAG-TEN" Matsumoto City Museum of Art(Nagano, Japan),2014 * " Garden of Unearthly Delights: Works by Ikeda, Tenmyouya & teamlab" Japan Society (New York, USA),2014 * " Winners of the Taro Okamoto Award for Contemporary Art" Taro Okamoto　Museume of Art (Ｋanagawa, Ｊapan),2014

Awards

* 11th Japan Graphic Exhibition, Winning judge Prize, 1990 * JACA'97, Winning special prize, 1997 * URBANART#8, Winning Lichtex Prize, 1999 * 8th Lichtex Biennale, Winning encouragement Prize, 2001 * 6th Exhibition of the Taro Okamoto Memorial Award for Contemporary Art "Winning excellent prize, 2003 * The only Japanese artist selected for the FIFA World Cup Germany Poster, 2006

Public collections

* The Museum of Fine Arts（Houston, U.S.A）MFAH * Chazen Museum of Art（Madison, U.S.A） * Takamatsu city museum of Art (Takamatsu, Japan) * Takahashi Collection（Tokyo, Japan） * Taguchi Collection（Tokyo, Japan）

Books

* Tenmyouya Hisashi art catalog "Japanese Spirit" (Published by Gakken Co., Ltd.), 2003 * Tenmyouya Hisashi art catalog "Kabuki-mono" (Published by PARCO Co., Ltd.), 2004 * Tenmyouya Hisashi art catalog "Tenmyouya Hisashi" (Published by Kawade Shobo Shinsha, Publishers), 2006 * Tenmyouya Hisashi art catalog "KAMON TENMYOUYA HISASHI" (Published by KING OF MOUNTAIN), 2007 * Written by Tenmyouya Hisashi "BASARA Japanese art theory crossing borders : from Jomon pottery to decorated trucks"(Published by Bijutsu Shuppan-sha, Co., LTD), 2010 * Tenmyouya Hisashi art catalog "Masterpiece" (Published by Seigenshiya, Publishers), 2014

References

External links

Homepage of Tenmyouya HisashiMizuma art gallery artist page／Hisashi Tenmyouya
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hisashi, Tenmyouya 1966 births Japanese contemporary artists Living people People from Tokyo Street artists