The preview exhibitions for the Biwako Biennale 2025 international art festival are being held in Shanghai to bring Japanese contemporary art to Chinese art lovers and promote art exchanges between the two countries.
The prestigious Biwako Biennale was first held in 2001 in a bid to preserve traditional Japanese merchant houses and buildings. Its 11th edition is set to take place next year, showcasing art throughout the historic town of Omihachiman in central Japan.
In anticipation of the international contemporary art event, three preview exhibitions are being held at Huacui Contemporary Art Museum in Shanghai's Changning District, running consecutively until the end of this year.
The first section of the exhibitions, which runs from Sept 21 to Oct 13, is staged by Japanese artists Saiho and Sayuri Hayashi Egnell and includes an art installation named "Beyond the Ocean" that was originally made for the Biwako Biennale in 2020, during the pandemic.
The installation, which explores the feelings felt by many during pandemic era lockdowns and travel bans, features messages from artists and writers washed up in bottles on a sandy beach, originally recreated in the back room of an old sake brewery.
"That was the time everybody was struggling. We cannot see each other, but we may be able to understand each other, connect each other through our feelings," said Japanese artist Saiho.
Visitors enter the room with lanterns and hold the light up to the bottles to read the messages from the artists. They can also write messages to the artists who could not come to Japan or to someone important to them and leave them in a small glass bottle.
"They are not like a strong message or something. We would like actually the visitors to feel and then like touch to their heart like what they feel through the artwork," Saiho explained.
This installation, along with two others by the same artists, will be part of the Biwako Biennale 2025 next September.
According to Nakata Toko, the curator, the Biwako Biennale 2025 will be scattered throughout traditional Japanese houses and former factories, to highlight the beauty of Japanese architecture and bring the ancient buildings back to life.
About 70 artists and art groups from Japan and around the world will gather to present this fusion of Japanese architecture with contemporary art during the exhibition.
The preview exhibitions in Shanghai are being staged by three groups of Japanese artists under the theme of "Flux," with painter Yuta Ikehara exhibiting from Oct 19 to Nov 10 and photographer Kikoh Matsuura exhibiting from Oct Nov 16 to Dec 8.
"There are many great artists in Japan. Many people may be familiar with more traditional forms like Ukiyo-e, but there are many contemporary and young artists as well. That's why we wanted to come together in Shanghai and hold this special exhibition," said Yang Yijia, director of Huacui Contemporary Art Museum.
Preview of Biwako Biennale 2025 art exhibition opens in Shanghai
