My impressions of the “Footprints of Setagaya Art Museum – Between Life and Art: Special Museum Collection Edition, 40th Anniversary Celebration” exhibition, which I saw at the Setagaya Art Museum in April 2026.
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Table of contents
Exhibition Overview
- Footprints of Setagaya Art Museum – Between Life and Art
- ミュージアム コレクション特別篇 開館40周年記念
- Museum Collection Special Edition: 40th Anniversary of the Museum’s Opening
- February 21, 2026 – April 12, 2026
- Setagaya Art Museum, 1st & 2nd Floor Exhibition Rooms
- Admission Fee: 220 yen for general admission, one free entry with a valid Grutto Pass.
Photography is permitted in only one direction in the prologue room of this exhibition.
The exhibition is structured as follows:
- Floor 1
- Entrance
- Prologue
- Chapter 1: Beginning with the “Opening Exhibition: Art and Simplicity”
- Chapter 2: The Landscape of Tokyo
- Corner Exhibition: Shozo Uchii and the Setagaya Art Museum
- Chapter 3: Cultivating the Heart
- Floor 2
- Up the stairs, 2nd floor
- Chapter 4: Close to Life
- Chapter 5: From the Setagaya Studio
- Chapter 6: Schools and Museums
My Impression: “The brilliance of the collection and the reasonable admission fee.”
This exhibition features works from the museum’s collection and has an admission fee of just 220 yen for adults — a stark contrast to the high prices of recent years.
The most impressive works on the first floor were those by three Croatian artists — Ivan Generalic, Ivan Lackovic and Ivan Rebuzin — displayed in ‘Chapter 1: Beginning with the Opening Exhibition, Art and Naivety’. Like Rousseau, whose four pieces are displayed in this section, these artists are considered naïve and their works form a core part of the Setagaya Art Museum’s collection.
The latter part of the chapter showcases works by artists whose value has increased dramatically since acquisition, including pieces by Hockney, Basquiat (two pieces) and Lee Ufan.
‘Chapter 3: Cultivating the Heart’ features works by Japanese female artists whose work is undergoing re-evaluation: Yayoi Kusama, Shizuko Tomoto, Saori Masato (Akutagawa), Chikae Oyamada and Chiyuki Sakagami. Tsuyoshi Hisanaga’s ten works depict his experiences of Siberian internment. When researching his connection to Yasuo Katsuki, I discovered on the ‘Art Agenda’ website that he started depicting his experiences after encountering the ‘Siberia Series’.
The second floor features works by five artists in ‘Chapter 5: From the Setagaya Studio’, and I was particularly pleased to see that Shiori Horie’s ‘Outline #15’, a piece I have admired for a long time, was the final work on display.
- Yoshitatsu Yanagihara, “The Song of the Dog”
- Fumiaki Suita, “The Black Dog”
- Miran Fukuda, “3DS Green Giant”
- Tadanori Yokoo, “Blue Silence”
- Shiori Horie, “Figure #15”
Summary
It had been a while since I’d taken the time to thoroughly view the Setagaya Art Museum’s permanent collection, and I was once again struck by its excellence.
Since the museum is a bit out of the way from where I live, I regret that I didn’t visit until just before the exhibition ended. I think I would have understood the works better if I had visited once earlier and then returned for a second visit.
During the special exhibition period, the permanent collection is also on display on the second floor, so I recommend making sure to check out the permanent exhibition there as well when you visit.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Reference links
- Setagaya Art Museum
- “Yugoslavia: 11 Naive Painters”[Catalog / Published in 1986]
- The country is listed as Yugoslavia because the exhibition predates the country’s breakup.
- The War as Seen by Painters and Photographers—Saburo Miyamoto, Tsuyoshi Hisanaga, Junkichi Mukai, and Koji Morooka・ART AGENDA review
寄付のお願い・Request for donations
Affiliate links
- Setagaya Art museum・Ads by Amazon
- Tsuyoshi Hisanaga・Ads by Amazon
Photo Equipment
- SONY DSC-RX1
Update history
- 2026.4.9
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