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Programs

THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ART,OSAKA

Nakanishi Natsuyuki: Devices for Gentle Gazing and Endless Lingering

dates
3/14 sat. - 6/14 sun.
※Closed days during the period: Mondays
※Osaka Art & Design 2026 will run from May 27th (Wednesday) to June 23rd (Tuesday)
hours
10:00-17:00
※Fridays only:10:00–20:00
※Entry is permitted until 30 minutes before closing time.
location
THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ART,OSAKA

Nakanishi Natsuyuki (1935–2016) was one of Japan’s preeminent contemporary painters. This exhibition marks the first retrospective of the artist’s work since his death ten years ago.
While tracing the trajectory of Nakanishi’s career back to the late 1950s, the exhibition primarily sets out to shed light on his unique view of painting. Nakanishi’s works are not necessarily depictions of a given subject, making it impossible to classify them as either figurative or abstract. To what extent does a picture inhabit the canvas? Or more to the point, where does it actually exist?
Nakanishi’s practice, in which he constantly returned to the basics, promises to provide us with useful insights as we reconsider the production of painting in Japan at this point in time.

TOP image:Compact Object, 1962, The National Museum of Art, Osaka

©NATSUYUKI NAKANISHI

Artist / Brand

Nakanishi Natsuyuki

Born in Tokyo in 1935. While he began his career in the late 1950s focusing on the human figure, by the early 1960s, he had distanced himself from the act of painting itself. As a member of the avant-garde collective "Hi-Red Center," he staged numerous events, and following a pivotal encounter with Butoh founder Tatsumi Hijikata, he actively pursued collaborations in the performing arts. It was not until the late 1960s that he made a full-scale return to painting. From then until his passing in 2016, through his creative practice, he repeatedly posed unique and fundamental questions regarding the very nature of painting.

 

Natsuyuki Nakanishi, who creates his works in his studio in Otsuki City, Yamanashi Prefecture.,2002　

Photography: Hironobu Ishikawa; Photo courtesy of Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art

Gallery

THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ART,OSAKA

Located on the waterfront of Nakanoshima,Osaka, this is completely undeaground museum, which is unusual anywhere in the world. At the entrance, visitors are greeted by a unique object inspired by bamboo. With around 8,300 works, with a focus on contemporary art from Japan and overseas since 1945. In the collection exhibition, artists and works that are important in talking about contemporary art are introduced in attractive themes with a new perspective for each exhibition change.
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4-2-55 Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka

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