Kawai Kanjirō: House to House, Graphics

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Japan Society, New York City, 2025

Curated by

Michele Bambling, Senior Director, Gallery, Japan Society Tamae Sagi, Curator, Kawai Kanjiro House

Research Naomi Kuromiya

Exhibition Logistics Stefani Oh

Gallery Interns Camille Chang, Yeeun Joo, Yeonjoo Kim, Ren Yoshioka

Graphic Design Mohammed Juma

Lighting Design Takaaki Ando

Fabrication Isaac Dunne, Jake Reed

Installation & Art Handling WittsART

Vinyl Installation DaSign Guy

Kawai Kanjirō: House to House, is a solo exhibition celebrating the life and career of folk potter, poet, and artist Kawai Kanjirō (1890–1966) for the first time in the United States. Kawai is best known for his influential role in the mingei (folk art) movement in Japan, which he founded in the mid-1920s with his friends, the philosopher Yanagi Sōetsu and the potter Hamada Shōji. Showcasing representative works from Kawai’s personal collection that are rarely seen outside his former home (now a museum known as the Kawai Kanjirō House), the exhibition traces the evolution from the artist’s early functional ceramic ware to his late-career modernist wood sculptures.

The illustrations and graphics for this exhibition were preceded by an exploratory trip to the house museum in Kyoto. During the stay, a series of hand-drawn sketches and drawings were created, aimed solely at understanding the house and its spaces. However, these drawings were ultimately selected by the curator to become an integral part of the exhibition.