BRINDISI – Three hundred works by Japanese artists that become labels for a selection of bottles of extra virgin olive oil, produced by Masseria Monache specifically for the event.
On 19 and 20 December 2019 the city of Brindisi hosted, at Palazzo Granafei – Nervegna, the exhibition “Puglia oil meets Japanese art”.
Each of the exhibited works was created by a different Japanese master, and differs from the others in technique and inspiration. Looking at the exhibited works, you can see the characteristic aspects of the culture of the Rising Sun flow like in a film.
In some, the art of Japanese calligraphy stands out: it is not a simple exercise of beautiful writing, but an expressive form of the mood. In others, ink painting is the expressive medium used by the Japanese master, in still others photography, and Ikebana (the Japanese art of arranging flowers), traditional ceramics, Japanese Haiku poetry, Tanka poetry.
“For 15 years our association – explained Masamichi Shichi, president of the Japanese cultural association MYY Communication – pursues the goal of promoting Japanese art in the world. Here in Puglia, we carefully follow the production of extra virgin olive oil of which we appreciate the nutritional qualities and the millenary culture it represents here. The Japanese are convinced that it is an excellent product “.
The realization of the exhibition was possible thanks to the collaboration between the Japanese association and Masseria Monache, producer of extra virgin olive oil in the Brindisi area.
The Japanese masters who made the works come from all over Japan.
Shogetsu Murakami exhibited a work entitled “Drop of the tree”, a calligraphy in which the olive tree is represented.
Keiko Nishizato‘s work, “Maruia and the wave”, represents the legend of the spinner Maruia “, very popular in Japan.
Keiko Nishizato
Hisae Otsuka instead uses the Kirie technique on Uasci Japanese paper, in which the paper of the painting is superimposed on an initial sketch. In Japan it is famous for the landscapes created with this technique, on which a book has been written.
Hisae Otsuka
Haruki Kubo is a very old Japanese artist, his daughter thought about exhibiting his works: “My father reports in his works the religious visions that have accompanied him all his life. They do not concern a single religion, in his opinion all religions are one. ” At some point in his life he stopped working to devote himself entirely to putting his visions on paper.
The name of the brand chosen for the selection of extra virgin olive oil, “The Universal Genius”, is a tribute to Leonardo Da Vinci, in the year in which the 500th anniversary of his death is celebrated.
