Shigeru Kashima Collection: Blooming Paris Moderne

About this event

This is an exhibition in Niigata unveiling for the first time the vast collection of rare Western books that French literature scholar Shigeru Kashima has continued to collect for over 40 years. It introduces the aspects of "moderne"—the sensibility of a new era that blossomed in early 20th-century France after experiencing rapid changes including two World Wars—from the unique perspective of the Shigeru Kashima Collection. Highlights of the exhibition include introducing how the modern sensibility that sprouted in the fashion world brought new blooms to glamorous fashion magazines with a gathering of leading Art Deco illustrators, shown through fashion plates drawn by Georges Lepape, Charles Martin, Georges Barbier, André Marty, and others. Additionally, the transition of graphic arts from illustration to photography is traced focusing on Lucien Vogel, the editor who founded "Gazette du Bon Ton," a monumental 20th-century fashion magazine. Amidst the turbulent era where the shadow of war also showed behind the glamorous Belle Époque, magazines expressing a sense of crisis and graphic magazines championing photojournalism during the rise of fascism in the 1930s are also presented, conveying another atmosphere of this period. In Niigata, works by Grandville and French picture books, which are particularly popular, will also be specially exhibited, allowing visitors to enjoy the world of the Shigeru Kashima Collection on an overwhelming scale.

Venue

Niigata Bandaijima Art Museum

Toki Messe Bandaijima Bldg. 5F, 5-1 Bandaijima, Chuo-ku, Niigata-shi, Niigata 950-0078