Shofuso and Modernism: Mid-Century Collaboration between Japan and Philadelphia Virtual Exhibition
Shofuso and Modernism: Mid-Century Collaboration between Japan and Philadelphia Virtual Exhibition
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Shofuso Japanese Cultural Center
Lansdowne Dr & Horticultural Dr
Philadelphia,
19131
Free-$12
RSVP
Presented By
Shofuso Japanese Cultural Center, Photo: Elizabeth Felicella
Funded with generous support from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, Shofuso and Modernism: Mid-Century Collaboration between Japan and Philadelphia, an installed exhibition at Shofuso and a virtual exhibition online, celebrates the friendships and transcultural exchanges among Shofuso's Japanese architect Junzo Yoshimura (1908 – 1997, Japan), Japanese American woodworker George Nakashima (1905-1990, US), Swiss American designer Noémi Pernessin Raymond (1889-1980,Swiss French, born in Geneva) and Czech American architect Antonin Raymond (1888 – 1976), through their collaborative architectural projects, including their nearby Bucks County, PA studios. Shofuso was an internationally known result of these creative exchanges and Shofuso's 1954-55 exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York was a primary influence on mid-century modern architecture and design. The exhibit runs virtually and at the Shofuso Japanese Cultural Center from September 2 through mid-December.
The creative relationships which shaped and influenced the life of Shofuso's architect are explored through archival images, objects, and artifacts from Yoshimura alongside Nakashima and the Raymonds.
Raymond’s drawing of Japanese carpenters (Shokunin) working at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo in the 1920s, Yoshimura, Nakashima, and the Raymonds’ collaborative work from the 1930s, a toy chest Nakashima made for his daughter in the internment camp in Idaho in the 1940s, a series new photographs and family archive are presented in the house. In a comprehensive online exhibition, documentary video with family members and architectural scholars, virtual tours of George Nakashima Woodworkers (New Hope, PA), Raymond Farm Center for Living Arts and Design (New Hope, PA), and Shofuso will be digitally presented.
This exhibition is curated by Yuka Yokoyama and guest curator William Whitaker and is the first of its kind at Shofuso.
Major support for Shofuso and Modernism: Mid-Century Collaboration between Japan and Philadelphia has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.