Cubism in Asia: Unbounded Dialogues
Exhibition


Started by Picasso and others, Cubism was a revolutionary art movement well known for paintings composed of geometric lines and planes. This series of exhibitions asked viewers to consider the impact Cubism had on Asian artists following the introduction of mainstream modernism from Western Europe in the early 20th century, and to reappraise what modern Asian art art ought to be.
Traveling from the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, to the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea, in Seoul and then to the Singapore Art Museum, the “Cubism in Asia: Unbounded Dialogues” exhibition aspired to re-examine Asian modernism through the transnational art movement of Cubism. Exhibited according to theme as opposed to nationality, the exhibition featured approximately 120 pieces of art from eleven countries (China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam), including Sri Lankan contemporary art, which had rarely been shown at museums in Japan.
Modern Asian art was reassessed through four sections or themes: a focus on still life in “On the Table”; thoughts on Cubism as a way to push forward the modernization of art in “Cubism and Modernity”; a collection of self-portraits in “Body”; and a look at how Cubism developed independently in each country in “Cubism and Nation.
Dates & Venue (Tokyo) |
August 9–October 2, 2005 |
---|---|
The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo | |
(Seoul) | November 11, 2005–January 30, 2006 |
The National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea (Deoksugung) | |
(Singapore) | February 18–April 9, 2006 |
Singapore Art Museum | |
Curators | Tatehata Akira (Director, The National Museum of Art, Osaka) Ushiroshoji Masahiro (Professor, Kyushu University) Hayashi Michio (Associate Professor, Sophia University) Matsumoto Tohru (Chief Curator, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo) Miwa Kenjin (Curator, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo) Furuichi Yasuko (Exhibition Coordinator, The Japan Foundation) Choi Eunju (Chief Curator, The National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea) Kim Inhye (Assistant Curator, The National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea) Ahmad Mashadi (Senior Curator, Singapore Art Museum) Joyce Fan (Curator, Singapore Art Museum) |
Artists | China Luis Chan, Huang Rui, Li Hua, Lin Fengmian, Pan Xuezhao, Pan Ye, Qu Leilei, Yun Gee, Zhao Shou India Narayan Shridhar Bendre, Ram Kumar, Rabin Mondal, Jehangir Sabavala, Fransis Newton Souza, K. G. Subramanyan, Gaganendranath Tagore Indonesia Ahmad Sadali, But Mochtar, Gregorius Sidharta Soegijo, Handrio, Mochtar Apin, Popo Iskandar, Srihadi Soedarsono, Sudjana Kerton Japan Fumon Gyo, Imanishi Chutsu, Kawaguchi Kigai, Koga Harue, Kuroda Jutaro, Migishi Kotaro, Mikami Makoto, Okamoto Toki, Sakata Kazuo, Satomi Katsuzo, Sumiya Iwane, Togo Seiji, Tsuruoka Masao, Yabe Tomoe, Yamada Masaaki, Yamamoto Keisuke, Yorozu Tetsugoro Korea Byon Yeong-won, Gu Bon-ung, Ha In-du, Ham Dea-jung, Han Mook, Ju Kyung, Kim Ki-chang, Kim Sou, Kim Whan-ki, Park Re-hyun, Park Young-seon Philippines Ang Kiukok, Anita Magsaysay-Ho, Cesar Legaspi, Vincente Manansala, Galo B. Ocampo, Hernando R. Ocampo, Nena Saguil, Romeo Tabuena Singapore / Malaysia Chen Wen Hsi, Cheong Soo Pieng, Chia Yu Chian, Chuah Thean Teng, Ho Khai Peng, Latiff Mohidin, Lim Hak Tai, Syed Ahmad Jamal, Tay Hooi Keat, Tsai Horng Chung Sri Lanka George Keyt Thailand Thawan Duchanee, Fua Hariphitak, Tawee Nandakwang, Prasong Padamanuja, Sawasdi Tantisuk, Sompot Upa-In Vietnam Ta Ty |
Organizers | The Japan Foundation; The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; The National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea; Singapore Art Museum |
Sponsors | Singapore Japanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry Singapore Foundation |
Cooperation | Tokyo Japan Airlines Singapore MediaCorp TV12 Arts Central; Clear Channel; Helutrans Artmove; SMRT Media; Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Center |
Grants | Seoul The Korea Foundation |
Related Programs | Tokyo Talk Event August 27, 2005 / Lecture Hall, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo / Participants: Nakamura Kazumi, Matsumoto Tohru September 17, 2005 / Lecture Hall, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo / Participants: Kinoshita Nagahiro, Hayashi Michio Seoul International Symposium “Asian Art in the 20th Century” November 19, 2005 / The Korea Foundation Culture Center / Panelists: Joyce Fan, Patrick D. Flores, Agung Hujatnikajennong, Roobina Karode, Kim Young-na, Omuka Toshiharu Singapore Intrnational Symposium “Cubism in Asia: Unbounded Dialogues” March 25–26, 2006 / Singapore Art Museum / Panelists: Partick D. Flores, T. K. Sabapathy, Joyce Fan, Hayashi Michio, R. Siva Kumar, Ahmad Mashadi, Jim Supangkat, Ushiroshoji Masahiro, C. J. Wee Wan-ling |
Notes | Japan–Korea Friendship Year 2005 |
Catalogue (Tokyo)

Cubism in Asia: Unbounded Dialogues
Edited by The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; The Japan Foundation
- Publisher:
Tokyo: The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; The Japan Foundation
- Year:
2005
- Total Number of Pages:
296 (+Appendix)
- Size:
30 cm
- Language:
Japanese (jpn); English (eng)
- NCID:
BA72911834
[Contents]
p. 5 | Foreword | |
p. 10 | 序論アジアのキュビスム | |
p. 17 | 第1章テーブルの上の実験 | |
p. 18 | オン・ザ・テーブル─静物の実験 | |
p. 26 | Section 1テーブルの上の楽器 | |
p. 29 | コラム1「物語る」ための「フィールド」 | |
p. 30 | Section 2静物としての人体 | |
p. 32 | Section 3果物の歌 | |
p. 34 | Section 4–1キュビスムを通過して─グリッド | |
p. 36 | Section 4–2キュビスムを通過して─アラベスク | |
p. 38 | Section 4–3キュビスムを通過して─フィルター | |
p. 40 | Section 5新生活の象徴:中国の木版画 | |
p. 43 | 第2章キュビスムと近代性 | |
p. 44 | 「複数の近代性」の交渉─アジア美術におけるキュビスムとの出会い | |
p. 50 | Section 1「大都市(メトロポリス)」と「国際都市(コスモポリス)の理想」 | |
p. 55 | コラム2国際都市─東京・上海・シャンティニケタン | |
p. 56 | Section 2都市の碁盤目(グリッド)、新たな現実 | |
p. 59 | コラム3留学のかたち | |
p. 60 | Section 3機械時代(マシーン・エイジ)の反響 | |
p. 63 | テーマ1キュビスムと戦争 | |
p. 69 | 第3章身体 | |
p. 70 | キュビスムにおける身体 | |
p. 76 | Section 1キュビスムの裸婦 | |
p. 80 | Section 2キュビスムの語法 | |
p. 84 | Section 3キュビスムと音楽 | |
p. 85 | Section 4ジョージ・キートの鏡の像 | |
p. 86 | Section 5キュビスムの女性像 | |
p. 89 | コラム4外国人教師 | |
p. 90 | Section 6キュビスムの自画像 | |
p. 91 | テーマ2母と子 | |
p. 97 | 第4章キュビスムと国土(ネイション) | |
p. 98 | ネイション─国民の創生 | |
p. 104 | Section 1歴史 | |
p. 106 | Section 2伝統的な形式とモダニズム | |
p. 108 | Section 3農村の暮らし | |
p. 110 | Section 4都会の暮らし | |
p. 111 | Section 5「ふるさと」を探して | |
p. 114 | Section 6土地固有の風物 | |
p. 116 | Section 7海の道 | |
p. 118 | コラム5ピカソ─1940年代から50年代のアジア諸国における受容 | |
p. 120 | Section 8キュビスム・抽象表現主義とカリグラフィ | |
p. 122 | テーマ3崇高なもの、神聖なものを案出する | |
p. 129 | キュビスム受容史(各国編) | |
p. 130 | 中国のキュビスム | |
p. 134 | アジアのキュビスム─インドの場合 | |
p. 138 | 自律性のイメージ─1950年代および60年代におけるインドネシアのキュビスム絵画をめぐる諸問題 | |
p. 142 | キュビスムと日本 | |
p. 146 | 韓国におけるキュビスム | |
p. 150 | 一見したところ、キュビスム | |
p. 154 | マレーシアとシンガポールにおける近代美術の展開とキュビスムとの関わり | |
p. 158 | スリランカ美術におけるキュビスムの記号/語法の「存在」 | |
p. 162 | タイのキュビスム─キュビスムから抽象美術へ | |
p. 167 | 作家略歴 | |
p. 187 | 用語解説 | |
p. 194 | Selected Bibliography | |
p. 202 | IntroductionCubism in Asia | |
p. 206 | Chapter 1On the Table | |
p. 206 | Experiments on Still Lifes | |
p. 210 | Section 1Musical Instrument on the Table | |
p. 211 | Section 2A Portrait Seen as a Still Life | |
p. 211 | Section 3The Melody of Fruit | |
p. 212 | Section 4–1Through Cubism—The Grid | |
p. 212 | Section 4–2Through Cubism—The Arabesque | |
p. 213 | Section 4–3Through Cubism—The Filter | |
p. 213 | Section 5The Symbol of New Life—The Chinese Woodblock Print | |
p. 215 | Chapter 2Cubism and Modernity | |
p. 215 | Negotiating Modernities: Encounters with Cubism in Asian Art | |
p. 218 | Section 1The Metropolis and the Cosmopolitan Ideal | |
p. 219 | Section 2Urban Grid, New Realities | |
p. 219 | Section 3Reflections on the Machine Age | |
p. 221 | Theme 1Cubism and War | |
p. 224 | Chapter 3Body | |
p. 224 | The Body in Cubism | |
p. 227 | Section 1The Nude in Cubism | |
p. 227 | Section 2The Cubist Idioms | |
p. 228 | Section 3Cubism and Music | |
p. 228 | Section 4The Mirror Image of George Keyt | |
p. 228 | Section 5The Female Image in Cubism | |
p. 229 | Section 6The Self-Portrait in Cubism | |
p. 230 | Theme 2Mother and Child | |
p. 232 | Chapter 4Cubism and Nation | |
p. 232 | The Birth of a Nation | |
p. 235 | Section 1History | |
p. 235 | Section 2Traditional Form and Modernism | |
p. 236 | Section 3Life in the Farming Villages | |
p. 236 | Section 4Life in the City | |
p. 236 | Section 5In Search of a “Spiritual Home” | |
p. 237 | Section 6Native Scenes and Manners | |
p. 237 | Section 7Sea Transport | |
p. 237 | Section 8Cubism, Abstract Expressionism, and Calligraphy | |
p. 239 | Theme 3Devising the Divine and the Sacred | |
p. 241 | Column | |
p. 241 | Column 1The “Field” for “Storytelling” | |
p. 241 | Column 2Cosmopolis: Tokyo/Shanghai/Santiniketan | |
p. 242 | Column 3Forms of Studying Abroad | |
p. 242 | Column 4Foreign Teachers | |
p. 243 | Column 5Picasso: Reception in Asian Countries in 1940s–1950s | |
p. 246 | Reception of Cubism | |
p. 246 | Overview of Cubism in China | |
p. 248 | Cubism in Asia—The Indian Example | |
p. 251 | Image of Autonomy: Problems of Cubist Painting in Indonesia in the 1950s and 1960s | |
p. 254 | Cubism and Japan | |
p. 256 | Cubism in Korea | |
p. 259 | Apparently, Cubism | |
p. 261 | Modern Art Developments in Malaysia and Singapore and Engagements with Cubism | |
p. 263 | A Survey on the “Presence” of Cubist Sign/Idiom in Sri Lankan Art | |
p. 265 | Cubism in Thailand: From Cubism to Abstract Art | |
p. 268 | Biographies of Artists | |
p. 280 | Glossary | |
p. 286 | List of Exhibits | |
Appendix | Ajia no kyubisumu nenpu [Chronology of Cubism in Asia] |
Catalogue (Seoul)

Cubism in Asia: Unbounded Dialogues
Edited by Kim Inhye
- Publisher:
Seoul: The National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea
Tokyo: The Japan Foundation - Year:
2005
- Total Number of Pages:
288
- Size:
30 cm
- Language:
Korean (kor); English (eng)
Catalogue (Singapore)

Cubism in Asia: Unbounded Dialogues
Edited by Singapore Art Museum
- Publisher:
Singapore: Singapore Art Museum
- Year:
2006
- Total Number of Pages:
276
- Size:
30 cm
- Language:
Chinese (simplified, chi); English (eng)
- ISBN
9810551584
Symposium (Tokyo)
International Symposium 2005
Cubism in Asia: Unbounded Dialogues

By placing an importance on empirical art historical findings but expanding its scope, the style and philosophy of Cubism were re-examined over two days. Going beyond an introduction of the local stylistic developments of the Cubism movement, the social and cultural issues inherent in the background were discussed, along with examination of the reception of Western modernism in Asia from multiple perspectives. Bringing together researchers from nine countries including the United States and Mexico, the symposium was also an opportunity to gain a comprehensive view of modern art history, which until then had been done regionally.
Dates | September 10–11, 2005 |
---|---|
Venue (Tokyo) | The Japan Foundation Forum |
Organizers | The Japan Foundation |
[Program]
Day 1 September 10, 2005
10:30–10:40 | Opening Remarks | |
10:40–11:00 | Keynote SpeechWhy Cubism? | |
11:00–13:30 | Session 1Metropolis / Transnationalism | |
Presentations | 1. The Reputation of Cubism in 1930s Japan: Modernism, Academism, and America | |
2. Cubism in the Paris of the East | ||
3. The Discursive Space of “Asian Cubism” | ||
Discussion / Q&A | ||
14:30–17:30 | Session 2Postcolonial Situation | |
Presentations | 1. Art and Culture in the Third Space: The Case of Indonesia | |
2. Translucent Traces of People: Peasant and Proletariat in Philippine Cubism | ||
3. Nayang Modernism: Between Idealisms | ||
Discussion / Q&A |
Day 2 September 11, 2005
13:00–15:00 | Session 3Body / Gender / Color / Decoration | |
Presentations | 1. Representation of Women in “Cubism in Asia” | |
2. Representation of Women and Imaginary Power | ||
3. Asian Possessions of the Cubist Body: “Home from Home” | ||
Discussion / Q&A | ||
15:30–17:30 | Session 4Narrative / Myth / Religion | |
Presentations | 1. Asian Cubism and “Narrative” | |
2. Cubist Aesthetics and Narrative Strategies in Postrevolutionary Mexican Art | ||
3. Narrative Cubism | ||
Discussion / Q&A | ||
17:30–18:00 | Wrap-up | |
Report (Symposium: Tokyo)
International Symposium 2005 “Cubism in Asia: Unbounded Dialogues” Report
Edited by Furuichi Yasuko
- Publisher:
Tokyo: The Japan Foundation
- Year:
2006
- Total Number of Pages:
400
- Size:
21 cm
- Language:
Japanese (jpn); English (eng)
- NCID:
BA75577193
[Contents]
p. 5 | Cubism in Asia Project and the Symposium | |
p. 11 | Color Plates | |
p. 15 | Symposium | |
p. 18 | Introduction | |
p. 24 | Program | |
p. 29 | 基調報告なぜキュビスムか | |
p. 39 | セッション1メトロポリス / トランス・ナショナリズム | |
p. 40 | 1930年代日本におけるキュビスム評価─モダニズム、アカデミズム、アメリカ | |
p. 45 | 「東洋のパリ」のキュビスム | |
p. 54 | 「アジアのキュビスム」の言説的空間 | |
p. 65 | 討論 | |
p. 79 | セッション2脱-植民地化状況 | |
p. 80 | 第三の場における美術と文化─インドネシアの場合 | |
p. 91 | 人民の半透明な軌跡─フィリピンのキュビスムに見る農民とプロレタリア | |
p. 99 | 南洋(ナンヤン)モダニズム─複数の理想主義の狭間で | |
p. 112 | 討論 | |
p. 131 | セッション3身体 / ジェンダー / 色彩 / 装飾 | |
p. 132 | 「アジアのキュビスム」に見る女性の描き方 | |
p. 135 | 女性表象と、想像上の権力 | |
p. 141 | アジアによるキュビスム的肉体の獲得:「第二の故郷」 | |
p. 150 | 討論 | |
p. 165 | セッション4ナラティヴ / 神話 / 宗教 | |
p. 166 | アジアのキュビスムと「物語」 | |
p. 171 | 革命後のメキシコ美術に見るキュビスムの美学・叙述戦略 | |
p. 177 | ナラティヴなキュビスム | |
p. 180 | 討論 | |
p. 193 | 全体のまとめ | |
p. 201 | Keynote SpeechWhy Cubism? | |
p. 211 | Session 1Metropolis / Transnationalism | |
p. 212 | The Reputation of Cubism in 1930s Japan: Modernism, Academism, and America | |
p. 217 | Cubism in the Paris of the East | |
p. 226 | The Discursive Space of “Asian Cubism” | |
p. 236 | Discussion | |
p. 247 | Session 2Postcolonial Situation | |
p. 248 | Art and Culture in the Third Space: The Case in Indonesia | |
p. 258 | Translucent Traces of People: Peasant and Proletariat in Philippine Cubism | |
p. 266 | Nayang Modernism: Between Idealisms | |
p. 278 | Discussion | |
p. 295 | Session 3Body / Gender / Color / Decoration | |
p. 296 | Representation of Women in “Cubism in Asia” | |
p. 299 | Representation of Women and Imaginary Power | |
p. 304 | Asian Possessions of the Cubist Body: “Home from Home” | |
p. 312 | Discussion | |
p. 325 | Session 4Narrative / Myth / Religion | |
p. 326 | Asian Cubism and “Narrative” | |
p. 331 | Cubist Aesthetics and Narrative Strategies in Postrevolutionary Mexican Art | |
p. 337 | Narrative Cubism | |
p. 339 | Discussion | |
p. 350 | Wrap-up | |
p. 357 | シンポジウムを終えて | |
p. 358 | メトロポリス / トランス・ナショナリズム 私たちはキュビスムとどう出会ったのか | |
p. 360 | 脱-植民地化状況 | |
p. 363 | 身体 / ジェンダー / 色彩 / 装飾 | |
p. 365 | ナラティヴ / 神話 / 宗教 | |
Reflecting on the Symposium | ||
p. 368 | Metropolis / Transnationalism: “How We Encountered Cubism” | |
p. 370 | Postcolonial Situation | |
p. 373 | Body / Gender / Color / Decoration | |
p. 376 | Narrative / Myth / Religion | |
p. 384 | Panelists' Profiles | |
p. 393 | Cubism in Asia Project |
【PDF】
International Symposium 2005 “Cubism in Asia: Unbounded Dialogues” Report
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