Shisei no sankyo by Morihiro Hosokawa
Tea house ‘A bientôt’ designed by Terunobu Fujimori
Exhibition Period: April 22th (Thursday) – July 19th (Monday), 2010
Mon–Sat 11:00–20:00 (Last entry 19:30); Sun 11:00–19:00 (Last entry 18:30)
Open Daily (Except Wednesday, May 19th), Free Admission
Venue: Maison Hermès 8th Floor “Le Forum”
（5-4-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo Japan TEL: +81-(0)3-3569-3300)
Organised by: Fondation d’entreprise Hermès
Maison Hermès 8th Floor Le Forum will celebrate its tenth year anniversary this year since opening its doors in June 2001. Having stimulated exchange for various kinds of creativity, Le Forum will continue to serve as a crossing for artistic expression that is not limited by boundaries of contemporary art.
Morihiro Hosokawa was born in Tokyo in 1938. He served as the 79th Prime Minister of Japan in 1993-1994. Since retiring from the political world at the age of sixty, Hosokawa has engaged in ceramic art along with other wide-ranging artistic production such as calligraphy, sumi-e (ink painting) and lacquer artwork at his residence Futô-an in Yugawara City, Kanagawa Prefecture. Although Hosokawa began making ceramics only after leaving political life, his works have won high acclaim and have been exhibited in a number of solo exhibitions across Japan.
This exhibition entitled Shisei no sankyo (Hermitage in the City) will center upon paintings that Hosokawa has been vigorously producing in recent years, installed as part of the landscape in which his tea bowls and ceramic Buddha sculptures will be exhibited. In his residence Futô-an, there is a studio and tea house called Ichiya-tei designed by the architectural historian and close friend Terunobu Fujimori. In the space of Le Forum, Fujimori’s tea house A bientôt will also greet our visitors.
Hosokawa’s deep understanding of art, which has been cultivated throughout the unique and relentless period as journalist and politician, continues to shine vibrantly now that he has retreated into a quiet and secluded life. As an artist who devotes himself to learning day by day, Hosokawa’s art will allow us to realize that everyone living in this contemporary society has the key to open the door to artistic activity.
【 Morihiro Hosokawa 】
Born in Tokyo in 1938. Graduate of Sophia University in Law. Having served as Asahi Newspaper journalist, member of the House of Councilors, and governor of Kumamoto, Hosokawa became Prime Minister of Japan in 1993. Since retiring from politics at the age of sixty, Hosokawa has been engaging in ceramic art in his home Futô-an in Yugawara, Kanagawa, as well as producing calligraphy, sumi-e (ink painting), chashaku (tea scoop), lacquer artwork and oil painting. Since his first solo exhibition in 2001, he has shown his works all around Japan every year. Abroad, Hosokawa has held exhibitions in Paris in 2003 and New York in 2007. He is also a board chairman of the Eisei Bunko Foundation.