'Shinkichi Tajiri: The Restless Wanderer', in collaboration with Bonnefanten, celebrates the centennial of our grandfather, the multidisciplinary Japanese-American artist Shinkichi Tajiri. The exhibition is the result of a two-year research into our family history and the impact of Shinkichi’s self-imposed exile on his life, work, family, and creative development. Through new material from our family archives, anecdotes, key pieces from his Warriors-, Seeds-, Machines-, and Knot-series, and works by close artist friends and sources of inspiration (a.o. Karel Appel, Isamu Noguchi, Constant), we aim to provide insight into how Shinkichi processed the separation from his homeland in his art and how he eventually found his home at Castle Scheres, the place where we spent our childhood and where three generations of Tajiri's have lived and worked.
"Curating this exhibition has given us an opportunity to re-examine our grandfather's life and reconsider his profound influence on us. We wish not only to pay tribute to our grandfather and his oeuvre but also to spotlight his role and significance as a father and grandfather. We believe that Shinkichi’s story will resonate with many. Themes of migration and exile are universal and carry a tragically current significance. We hope that this exhibition, initially born from displacement and exile, can ultimately serve as a platform that brings together people of various backgrounds and ages.”
- Tanéa & Shakuru Tajiri
'Shinkichi Tajiri: The Restless Wanderer' opens on December 2nd 2023. Read more about the upcoming exhibition here!
Press
NRC (★★★★)
Credits
Museum: Bonnefanten, Maastricht
Guest Curators: Tanéa & Shakuru Tajiri
Artistic Director: Stijn Huijts
Senior Curator: Paula van den Bosch
Project Leader: Madeleine van Daele
Project Assistent: Suzanne Wewers
Photo Impression
Installation view in Bonnefanten, 2023. ©Peter Cox
Publication
📖 An exclusive publication about the show, authored by Tanéa and Shakuru, is be available in both Dutch and English. The book Shinkichi Tajiri: The Restless Wanderer provides an overview of Shinkichi’s life and work, featuring many previously unseen photographs from the family archive. Through their essays, Tanéa and Shakuru offer insights into the experience of growing up in an artistic family.
Credits
Authors: Tanéa & Shakuru Tajiri
Graphic Design: Samet Oruç
Editor: Renée Schmeetz
Translator: Allison Klein
Print: Andi Smart Print Solutions
Publisher: Bonnefanten, Maastricht
Distribution: Waanders Uitgevers b.v.
