Unrivalled Splendor: The Kimiko and John Powers Collection of Japanese Art June 10–September 23, 2012
Soga Shōhaku, Western Hunter, c. 1765–70, ink and color on paper, the Kimiko and John Powers Collection of Japanese Art. (photo: Hester + Hardaway)
Japanese, Seated Amitabha (Amida), c. 800, wood-core dry lacquer, with traces of gold leaf, the Kimiko and John Powers Collection of Japanese Art.
Japanese, Folding Screen with Equestrian Archery Drills (one of a pair), early 17th century, color and gold leaf on paper, the Kimiko and John Powers Collection of Japanese Art.
Japanese, Esoteric Buddhist Bodhisattva, c. 1131–74, color and ink on paper, the Kimiko and John Powers Collection of Japanese Art. (photo: Hester + Hardaway)
Japanese, Standing Avalokitesvara (Kannon), first half of the 11th century, cypress wood, with traces of gesso and paint, the Kimiko and John Powers Collection of Japanese Art.
Shokado Shojo and Hori Kyan, Crested Mynah on Oak Branch, 1637, ink on paper, the Kimiko and John Powers Collection of Japanese Art.
Ogata Kenzan and Ogata Korin, Small Incense Burner, c. 1711–16, stoneware, cream-white underglaze with black enamel, the Kimiko and John Powers Collection of Japanese Art.
Collectors Kimiko and John Powers began buying Japanese artwork in the 1960s. Over the next four decades they amassed 300 objects, building one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of Japanese art outside of Japan. The MFAH presents 85 selections from their holdings in Unrivalled Splendor: The Kimiko and John Powers Collection of Japanese Art. The last exceptional collection of Japanese art in private hands, the Powers Collection is renowned for its extraordinary scale and quality, and the exhibition provides a rare chance to see these remarkable examples in the Houston region.
Unrivalled Splendor showcases some of the earliest known examples of Buddhist art in Japan; narrative scroll paintings; beautiful examples of calligraphy; screens embellished with gold and silver; sketches; sculptures; and objects of lacquer, pearl, and silver. The wide array, from courtly to popular works of art, reveals overlapping themes in Japanese art.
These diverse and important objects tell the fascinating story of Japan's artistic development and its enduring cultural heritage. Accompanying the exhibition is an illustrated catalogue, published by the MFAH and distributed by Yale University Press.
This exhibition is organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Official Energy Sponsor:
General Electric
Additional generous funding is provided by:
Luther King Capital Management
Jane and Raphael Bernstein / Parnassus Foundation
To honor the memory and the legacy of Isabel B. Wilson
Macy’s
The Japan Foundation
Education programs for this exhibition are made possible by:
The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.