Hokusai at Grand Palais Paris, France

Hokusai’s exhibition opened at the Grand Palais in Paris on the October 1, 2014. The proposed scenography realises a strong atmospheric backdrop to the unique artworks of Hokusai, and commands a great reverence for his art. The seven named major periods on display of the great artist’s works are precisely delineated through the proposed partition of the exhibition. Each room size echoes on the duration of Hokusai’s activities. Its colors, alternating between a deep red and shades green, refer to the colors of the Edo period in Japan and mirror the range of the works displayed of Hokusai. In praise of a dim environment, the colors of the various spaces subtly darken as one moves through the exhibition reaching the last period ‘Gakyo Rojin’ where the gradation deepens allowing the works to float in a virtually undetectable effect.

This was the last and most comprehensive retrospective of Hokusai in Europe before the opening of a dedicated Museum in Tokyo the following year. More than 500 works were on display, and during the exhibition there were four rotations of artwork.

Awards

First Prize
International Competition - Paris, France

2014

Copyrights

Photos © Takuji Shimmura