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Print, paint, sculpt, assemble, carve…

The creative journey goes on and on.

This exhibition is the biggest showcase to date of works by Kiyoshi Hamada (1937-), an artist from Kuroshio Town in Kochi Prefecture. While fulfilling his daily duties as a teacher at an elementary school in Nerima, Tokyo, Hamada observed the rapidly transforming Japanese art scene after the war – with styles and movements like Informalism, Anti-art and Mono-ha among others – from the outside, and continued to pursue his creative work without ever compromising his own original style.

Deeply impressed by a work that Yoshishige Saito (1904-2001), a leading figure among the Mono-ha artists, had made by “painting” on plywood using a power drill, in 1975 at the age of 38, Hamada made a visually impactful painting with sharp, contrasty lines on plywood. The image became more widely known when it was presented as a print once again in ’77. Revolving around a central axis of two-dimensional expression, Hamada’s work from there expanded to involve such operations as printing, painting, sculpting, carving and assembling. This is how he continued to explore a unique and original style of abstract art that is charged with a palpable sensation of accumulated time.

Hamada generally does not depict any concrete motifs in his works. Nonetheless, the lines that he draws are filled with a refreshing sense of tension that exudes the warmth of manual work, and project at once the artist’s memories of the place where he was born and raised. Following the minimalistic forms and subdued colors that appear in Hamada’s works, the viewer eventually arrives at the sights and sceneries of his hometown Kuroshio on the Pacific coast: vermillion sunsets, deep-black seas at night, and horizons as far as the eye can see.

Through a total of approximately 60 items ranging from works that date back from around 1975, the year that marked a stylistic turning point in the artist’s career, to his latest ones made in 2024, this exhibition invites visitors to join Hamada on his ongoing creative journey, and “live with him” through the 50 years that he has spent breaking new ground in art.

Artist Profile

HAMADA Kiyoshi 浜田 浄

Born 1937 in the Hata District of Kuroshio Town, Kochi Prefecture. Graduated in Oil Painting from Tama Art University in 1961. Presently lives a works in Tokyo. Participated in group exhibitions such as “Japanese Prints” (1985, Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts), “Line in Contemporary Art – The Destination of Eyes and Hands” (1991, The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama), and “Prints in the 1970s” (1996, The Shoto Museum of Art) among others. Solo exhibitions include “The Legacy of Kiyoshi Hamada – Paintings of Layering and Erasing” (2015, Nerima Art Museum).

Related Events　＊Japanese only

01. Opening Talk Session　
Time: February 8 (Sat), 13:30-14:30
Place: Lecture Room (1F)
Panelists: Kiyoshi Hamada (exhibiting artist), Atsuo Yasuda (Director, The Museum of Art, Kochi)
Capacity: 60 visitors (admission free)
Call 088-866-8000 to make your reservation, and please understand that registration will close once capacity is reached.

02. Saturday Lecture “The Originality of Kiyoshi Hamada” (tentative title)
Time: March 15 (Sat), 13:30-14:30
Place: Lecture Room (1F)
Lecturer: Mari Tsukamoto (curator in charge of this exhibition at The Museum of Art, Kochi)
[Admission free, no reservation required]

03. Gallery Talk Session with the Curator in Charge
Time: February 23 (Sun), April 6（Sun）13:30-
Place: Kiyoshi Hamada exhibition space (2F)
[Entry with exhibition ticket, no reservation required]

04. Teachers’ Week
For the duration of this event, teachers in Kochi Prefecture (also in fields other than art or design) will be invited to visit this and the museum’s collection exhibition free of charge. Please feel free to contact us also regarding visiting the museum with school classes etc.
Time: February 22 (Sat) - 28 (Fri)
[Reservation required] Call 088-866-8000 to make your reservation by February 15.