コレクション· 縄文土器

Zenzaburo Kojima is an incomparable artist who boldly merged duality of cubic expression obtained in his studying days in Europe and Japanese flatness-expression in the same canvas. In particularly at landscape painting, he had achieved merger of flatness and cubic depth which Great Picasso had never achieved. And he also had succeeded in configurating compatibility of emotion and color. He applied these dynamics freely into still-life painting and flower― vase painting in his final years. The paintings were strictly configurated one by one, and they have been giving viewers still pleasure and satisfaction.

It was ear that chose me ──

Yotsuya Simon is a leading artist of ball-jointed dolls in Japan.
He was shocked when he saw Hans Vermeer's spherical jointed doll introduced by Tatsuhiko Shibusawa, and abandoned his previous doll making method and started to make spherical jointed dolls by himself, opening up a new horizon of doll expression.

Hiroki Oda painted unidentified European streets and ethnic women long before he went to France in 1960. He continued to paint those sceneries and figures during and after his multiple visits to Europe. Instead of depicting things as they are, the distorted representations in his works are rooted in imagination, and longings for unvisited streets and unencountered persons. Hiroki Oda once said that one of the most essential elements in his work is “crafting lies with imagination”. His works pay an ode to Paris and female figures dreamed for but never encountered.

Life and death, flowers, snow, Maiko (geisha)
──Existentialism and beaty of Decadence

In 1909, Tomita Keisen travelled to China and painted cormorant fishing by the Yangtze River and Chinese Mountain-water. Later, he painted many masterpieces depicting the four-seasons scenery of Kyoto.
Tomita is a friend of the France Ambassador Paul Claudel of the time, who was a poet. They collaborated to create poems and paintings.
Having attended the exhibitions of Japan Visual Arts Academy (Nihon Bijutsuin), the works of Tomita was highly regarded by other well-established Japanese painters including Yokoyama Taikan (a key figure in founding the painting technique of Nihonga), who said that Tomita Keisen is such a precious talent that only appears once in a hundred years.

Shofu Teshigahara is a visionary Japanese avant-garde artist whose philosophy transformed the post-war art scene in Japan. In addition to flower arranging, he creates sculptures, paintings as well as caligraphy.

The best pieces of Gallery KOJIMA's Japanese and Asian modern art collection.

JOMON DOKI collection by gallery KOJIMA.
The Jomon period is the time in Japanese history
between about BC14,000 to about BC300,
when the culture flourished,
people were so civilized than we imagine now,
and lived in peace with no war during such a long period.
The time is known for Jomon pottery with cord-marked patterns.
Their figure and the design have universal beauty.

"Mino - Rain Cape" and "Bandori - Back protector"
People used to create these things using materials that surrounded them such as rice and wheat straw, reed, bark, vines, and seaweed.
Bandori is a kind of "Se-ate" back protector for carrying heavy bundles. Especially Bandori was used when a man was introduced to a woman for marriage, appealing his personality through the Bandori that he had made, which was old custom in north east of Japan.

The "Fateful Woman" (femme fatale) appears in the midst of a sense of perpetual déjàvu is a peach-colored drowned body washed up on the sweet and barren shore of a timeless embryo." by Suehiro Tanemura

Ryuzaburo Umehara is recognized as a prominent figure in the Showa era Japanese Western painting scene, playing a crucial role in establishing Japanese Western art. His works are characterized by vivid, luxurious colors and bold styles, earning international acclaim. During his time in France, he studied under Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and while influenced by modern art, he incorporated elements of traditional Japanese aesthetics into his unique creations.