120th Anniversary of His Birth: Hasegawa Saburo and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

The National Museum of Modern Art (renamed the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo in 1967; hereafter “the museum”) opened in 1952 as Japan’s first national art museum. With finances still strained in the early postwar years, it began not in a newly constructed building but in a renovated former Nikkatsu film studio headquarters in Kyobashi, Tokyo. The term “modern” was included in its name to signal the expectation that it would function as a “dynamic museum,” engaging with contemporary art and helping to lead the cultural recovery of the postwar period. Hasegawa Saburo (1906–1957), recognized as a pioneer of abstract art in Japan, played a key role in the Abstraction and Surrealism exhibition (1953) and Abstract Art Exhibition: Japan and U.S.A. (1955), both organized in keeping with the museum’s guiding principles. Hasegawa has long been regarded as an artist whose practice encompassed not only painting but also criticism and thought, pairing “painting” and “writing.” Here, we also focus on his work as a curator. Marking the 120th anniversary of his birth, this exhibit traces Hasegawa’s path through his works and those of related artists, and through an introduction to his exhibition activities and the prolific body of writing he produced, illuminates his full presence as a multifaceted artist. We wish to express our deep gratitude to the Konan Gakuen Saburo Hasegawa Memorial Gallery and all who have lent their support for this exhibition.