AAPI Month: What's new at SAMA?
Celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander month at SAMA! If you haven’t been to the Museum in a minute, May is the month to stop by. Here’s what’s new with Asian art at SAMA: a gallery refresh, new acquisitions, and two special focus exhibitions.
The Exquisite Art of Shibata Zeshin: Lacquerwares and Paintings
Japanese Gallery
Shibata Zeshin, Japanese, 1807-1891, Still Life with Vegetables, 19th century, Colored lacquer and gold leaf on paper, 7 1/8 × 10 5/8 in. (18.1 × 27 cm), On loan from The Catherine and Thomas Edson Collection, L.2009.10.3
Japanese lacquerwares reached a pinnacle in the work of Shibata Zeshin, a multi-talented artist who learned traditional painting techniques but also was skilled in using lacquer.
Works on view include sake ewers, storage boxes for paper and clothing, writing boxes with inkstones and brushes, and lacquer paintings from the Meiji period (1868-1912).
The World of Irreversible Change
Contemporary II Gallery
teamLab, The World of Irreversible Change (detail), 2022, Interactive Digital Work, 6 channels, Endless, Sound: teamLab © teamLab, courtesy Pace Gallery.
teamLab’s The World of Irreversible Change resembles the format of historic Japanese screens such as Scenes in and Around Kyoto (Rakuchu Rakugai-zu), which presents a bird’s-eye view of the ancient capital city with major buildings and thoroughfares that are bustling with life. Presented across six monitors, the artwork changes in real-time with the seasons, weather, and the time of day of its location—in this case, San Antonio.
Samurai Spirit: Swords, Accessories, and Paintings
Japanese Gallery
Learn about the Japanese samurai and their appreciation of finely honed skills in forging and polishing steel to make weapons of lethal beauty.
Samurai Spirit features two fourteenth century swords—a wakizashi, a short sword signed by the maker, Yoshioka Ichimonji Sukehide, and a katana, a longer sword typically wielded with two hands—that were purchased with funds realized from the sale of the late Robert Clemons’s bequest to SAMA. Japanese swords are admired for the strength of the steel, which comes from heating and folding the metal many times and shaping it into a fine, sharp blade.
New Acquisition
The Sanno Festival at Hie Shrine, Japanese, Late 16th to early 17th century, Ink, color, mica, cut gold leaf and gold leaf on paper , Overall: 54 1/2 × 158 in. (139.5 x 402 cm) , San Antonio Museum of Art, gift of Leighton and Rosemarie Longhi in honor of Emily Sano, 2024.6
Joining SAMA’s permanent collection this year is The Sanno Festival at Hie Shrine, a late sixteenth-century Momoyama period Japanese screen. The piece was a gift to the Museum in honor of Emily Sano, Senior Advisor for Asian Art, Emerita.
