Bröhan-Museum. Have you ever heard from this museum? I havn’t. But I think it’s a mistake. It’s a special museum about art nouveau, art deco and functionalism. Since 1983 the private collection of the founder Karl H. Bröhan is part of the charlottenburger castle. A wonderful historical place in Berlin.

For over 1000 years, the Kimono has been the traditional garment of Japan. The simple and straight cut of the robe with its collar and wide sleeves has barely changed during this time. In Japan today, the Kimono is mostly worn only on special occasions, like weddings or tea ceremonies. Nonetheless, the garment is still an important part of the Japanese identity. The Kimono-artist Fukumi Shimura even calls it the “spiritual shape of the Japanese people”.

The exibition “KIMONO. Fukumi and Yoko Shimura | Japonismus” presents contemporary kimonos. The artist Fukumi and her daughter Yoko Shimura belong to the important kimono designers in japan. They connect tradition and modern lifestyle. Their designs are made by silk and other natural fibers. This process results in unique designs with individual, mostly abstract patterns.

For many artists and designers of the Art Nouveau period, Japanese art was an important source of inspiration. The influence can be seen in the adoption of motifs, elements of style and techniques. The exhibition presents objects, photographs, paintings and graphic art that reflect this Japonism in order to connect the Kimono by Fukumi and Yoko Shimura with the museum´s collection. By combining Art Nouveau objects and contemporary Japanese textile art, a dialogue is created.

Around the year 1900 innumerable artists were fascinated by Japan, but only a few had seen the country with their own eyes. The Bohemian painter and graphic artist Emil Orlik (1870-1932) was one of them. He took his first journey to Japan in spring of 1900. On this trip, he studied the art of Japanese woodcut prints and created numerous drawings capturing his travel impressions, which later influenced his 16 piece graphic portfolio “From Japan”, published in 1904.

#exhibition | Kimono. Fukumi und Yoko Shimura I Japonismus

#museum | Bröhan-Museum

#until | 6. September 2015