Exhibition

Cotton Fields
Photography by Osamu Nagahama
Sept. 5 - Oct. 2, 2020

The exhibition of "Cotton Fields," a collection of photographs of Bluesmen, taken by photographer Osamu Nagahama in the Southern United States. Nagahama started listening to American music at FEN (Far East Network, now AFN) when he was in elementary school, especially devoted himself to the goodness of the Blues. Since then, while shooting as a commercial photographer, his longing for Bluesman has been hard to break, and for four years since he was about 50 years old, he has traveled to the Southern United States for 10 times and photographed 70 Bluesmen, whom he met in the landscape of ghetto in the deep south, where almost no foreign people can enter. His passion resonates with the souls of the tough-looking Bluesman. We may hear the sounds from the portraits.
This exhibition settled commemorate with the publication launch of "Cotton Fields" on February 2020.

"A bond with Tomodachi"
Exhibition by Japan Disaster Recovery Support (JDRS)

March 7 - April 17, 2020 (Update as of April 3, 2020: extended period)

March 9 (Mon.) opening reception
19:00 - 21:00

To commemorate 9th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, we are exhibiting photographs selected from over 2,000 images taken in the devastated areas. These pictures are from the relief activities records of Japan Self-Defense Forces and U.S. Forces in Japan.

Through this exhibition, we would like to express our gratitude to those who joined the relief efforts and also as a reminder of the importance of disaster preparation in hopes of saving future lives.

We like to thank the US Embassy Tokyo, Reconstruction Agency, Cabinet Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Defense for supporting this exhibition.

"Mic Check"
Exhibition: Robert Gerhardt

February 8- March 6, 2020

Feb. 10 (Mon.) opening reception
19:00 - 21:00 VIP Room

I began making the photographs in this series in November of 2014 when a Grand Jury absolved a white police officer in the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Two weeks later, a second Grand Jury on Staten Island cleared white police officers in the killing of Eric Garner. The local protests that erupted in response to these decisions in Ferguson and on Staten Island spread to cities and towns across the country. People took to the streets to protest against both Grand Jury decisions, along with overreach, brutality and racism among police forces in general. And as more incidents occurred throughout the country, more protests happened, and people over and over again took to the streets.

"Mount Fuji Through the Seasons"
Exhibition: Katsura Endō (JP/ ENG event poster link)
January 11- February 7, 2020

I first remember becoming aware of Mt. Fuji during the summer festival when I was three years old and my family had gone out in a pleasure boat. I still have a vague memory of a firework display and a spectacular Mt. Fuji floating in the night sky. Every morning Mt. Fuji calls out to me, I awake, then go to see it.
I hope you will enjoy these images of a 'tranquil Fuji' under the sun of first year of Reiwa.

December Exhibition: CHARLIE COLE, "TANK MAN"

CHARLIE COLE Memorial Photo Exhibition: "TANK MAN"

Exhibition Dec. 7, 2019- Jan. 10, 2020

American photographer Charlie Cole won the World Press Photo of the Year in 1989 for his instantly recognizable "Tank Man" photo that depicted a lone protester staring down four tanks in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. He passed away at his home in Bali in early September after apparently suffering complications from a motorcycle injury he sustained in Japan in the late 1990s. The Texas native was 64 and is survived by his wife Rosa.

Kengo Kuma

Nov. 2 - Dec. 6, 2019

FCCJ is hosting an exhibition of my work that will be something of a departure from normal. My architecture is described as "world architecture," and I think this term is very appropriate. The early 20th century saw the emergence of what was called "international architecture," and in the 1980s we started to hear the term "global architecture." But I prefer the term "world architecture," with its connotations of world music. There are current projects involving more than 20 countries that really give me a feeling of being part of a world movement. And this is the spirit that I have tried to convey in my exhibition.

bio
Kengo Kuma & Associates has received prestigious awards, including the Architectural Institute of Japan Award, the Spirit of Nature Wood Architecture Award (Finland), and the International Stone Architecture Award (Italy), among others. Kengo Kuma & Associates aims to design architecture which naturally merges with its cultural and environmental surroundings, proposing gentle, human scaled buildings. The office is constantly in search of new materials to replace concrete and steel, and seeks a new approach for architecture in a post-industrial society.

THE PAPER for Art and Life
Artwork by Hiroshi Sunto

Oct. 5 - Nov. 1, 2019

Oct. 10 (Thur.) opening reception 19:00 -21:00 VIP Room.

I studied nihonga-style painting since I was young and a few years ago began experimenting with stiff oil painting brushes to make thick line portraits. With a background in designing magazines and record jacket covers, I enjoy creating images that are bold and graphic. I didn't have any particular plans for showcasing these paintings until a friend suggested making a large tabloid size free-paper and putting my artworks on the cover. I though it was fun idea to do something in printed media as so much of the work nowadays is shown digitally over the internet. The artwork in this exhibition is the process that led to the creation of the 'THE PAPER'

Hiroshi Sunto bio

SAMURAI SPIRIT - The Aesthetic of Bushidoh
Painting exhibition by Atsuki Settangeli
Sept. 7 - Oct. 4, 2019

"Pride weighs heavier than life itself" - As something we modern people have forgot, these words sound an echo in our hearts. Here is the way of life seeking true value in modern society dominated by capitalism. This is the reason why I paint the series SAMURAI SPIRIT. A pride that refers to a way of living and discovering a life in a sense of aesthetics. As a modern expressionist, I would like to live up to this aesthetics of myself.

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Asuki Settangeli Profile

NEOISM - A proprietary way to express past artistic works and combined with modern sense.

Focusing on the Italian Renaissance culture, which had an impact on art, philosophy and religion, particularly Leonardo da Vinci, whom I feel is greatest example on which to aim. Additional influences are Japanese "Bushido" and "Dandyism" as a basis for life perspectives along with 1970s culture, especially record album covers and movie posters.

Atsuki Settangeli official site -DRAGON RISING-
https://www.facebook.com/Settangeli/

Exhibition Committee

August Exhibition: "Lafcadio Hearn vs. Mokujiki Shonin" Kamikiri (paper cutting artwork) by Katsuyuki Yagi

Lafcadio Hearn vs. Mokujiki Shonin: The stories of two nomads
Kamikiri (paper cutting artwork) by Katsuyuki Yagi

Exhibition Aug. 3 - Sept. 6, 2019

Aug. 5 (Mon.) opening reception 19:00 - 21:00 VIP Room

Lafcadio Hearn, also known by his Japanese name Yakumo Koizumi, was a writer known for his books about Japan, particularly Yokai stories of supernatural monsters, spirits, and demons in Japanese folklore. Originally born in Greece, he was raised in Dublin, educated in England and France, and worked in United State before moving to Japan in 1890. In addition to Hearn's writings, he taught literature at Tokyo and Wasuda universities, influencing many well-known Japanese writers at that time.

The other subject of this exhibition is Mokujiki Shonin, a wondering monk and artist who traveled throughout Japan depositing his smiling Buddha sculptures at the sacred sites he visited. During his pilgrimage which took him from the northern part Hokkaido to the southern island of Kyushu, Mokujiki Shonin made over a thousand of "Min-gei" sculptures, the name that has been given to describe freedom and harshness of nature and the innocence of this artwork.

OYAKO (Parents and Children) Group Photography Exhibition

OYAKO (Parents and Children)
Group Photography Exhibition
July 8- August 9, 2019

photo by Eiichiro Sakata

Oyako Day is on the 4th Sunday of July and in celebration of that special bond, this month's exhibition is a group show featuring images of parents and children in Japan and overseas. Photographs from China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Mongolia, to Syria, Palestine, Ethiopia, Uruguay, United States, and under the sea are included in this show. The pictures were selected from a mix of 25 well-known and up-and-coming photographers who have focused their cameras on parents and children.