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Exhibition

Arita. Paintings by Debora Makkus

10 September t/m 27 November 2016

From 10 September to 27 November Japan Museum SieboldHuis will take a contemporary look at a traditional Japanese subject.  In the exhibition: ‘Arita’ Paintings by Debora Makkus’, realistic still life works will be displayed together with authentic porcelain artefacts that served as a source of inspiration for the paintings.

This year the porcelain industry in Arita is celebrating its 400th anniversary.  The elaborately decorated Edo period* Japanese porcelain that was brought to the Netherlands by the VOC served as  the stimulus for the series by Debora Makkus (1972) that was commissioned by Japan Museum SieboldHuis for this exhibition.

Exclusive objects from the Siebold Collection, the Museum for Ethnology, the Rijksmuseum and the Princessehof Museum for Ceramics were selected by the artist and are the focal point in her realistic still life works.   Whereas the light effects in the works resemble 17th century painting, the composition itself is contemporary.  On occasion the artist has omitted or modified a detail  if it intensifies the suspense or harmony in the painting.  A special film has been made for this exhibition highlighting the artist’s methods and technique. Authentic masterpieces of Arita porcelain and several objects from Hirado will be displayed in this exhibition together with the paintings.