Marugame Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art (MIMOCA)
The Marugame Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art (MIMOCA) was opened November 23, 1991 as a project commemorating the 90th anniversary of the city of Marugame, Kagawa Prefecture and with the full cooperation of the artist Genichiro Inokuma, who spent his youth in and around Marugame. The beautiful station-front museum designed by architect Yoshio Taniguchi has a permanent collection introducing some 20,000 works personally donated by Inokuma and holds special exhibitions focusing primarily on contemporary art. A diverse program of lectures, concerts, and other events, including workshops to foster sensitivity and creativity among children, are part of the Museum’s dedication to education.
It was Inokuma’s fervent wish that MIMOCA be a facility for contemporary art that would actively introduce new art. The sunlight-filled and spacious spaces of the building fulfill the aspiration architect Taniguchi shared with Inokuma for beautiful spaces in an art museum. Inokuma also wanted to encourage opportunities to expose children to art, advocating free admittance to the Museum for children and proposing the establishment of the “Creative Studio” space for children.
Inokuma wanted the Museum to be a place people would visit frequently. The experience of beautiful spaces and the sight of quality works of art are the source, he believed, of the fresh and exhilarating stimuli that is healthy and energizing. He even thought of MIMOCA as a kind of “health resort for the spirit”.
photo by Yoshiro Masuda
photo by Yoshiro Masuda
photo by Yoshiro Masuda
photo by Yoshiro Masuda
Main works (stored items)
Genichiro Inokuma, Mademoiselle M, 1940
Genichiro Inokuma (1902-93) was born in Kagawa Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. After attending a local junior high school, he entered the Western painting department of the Tokyo Fine Arts School (now, Tokyo University of the Arts). While still a student, in 1926 he was selected for the first time to participate in the Imperial Art Academy Exhibition (Teiten), the most prestigious exhibition in Japan at the time, and for a while thereafter, the Teiten was his main venue for showing his work. In 1936, he established the New Creation Society (Shinseisaku-ha Kyokai) with his friends under the slogan "No involvement in government exhibitions in the spirit of anti-academic art," with the aim of "purely figurative pursuit. The association attracted attention as a group of young painters with a modern sensibility.
Two years later, in 1938, Inokuma went to France and finally fulfilled his dream of studying in Paris in his mid-30s. While in Paris, he received a great deal of inspiration and vigorously painted the city and its inhabitants. During his stay in France, he met Henri Matisse and had several opportunities to show his paintings. Matisse did not give him specific instructions, but simply repeated, "It's not bad," and pointedly said, "You like Picasso, don't you?” The most painful thing he said was, "Your paintings are too good," which Inokuma interpreted as meaning, "They are not yet your own work.”
Essentially, painting well is linked to thinking that you’d like people to think well of your paintings. It’s only natural that some people will be better than others. The most important thing is to paint what you set out to in an honest, unadorned style. *
Inokuma's stay in Paris was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II, and in May 1940, with German troops closing in on Paris, he completed his work Mademoiselle M just before returning home. The realistic depiction of the woman's eyes staring straight ahead impresses the viewer with her strong spirituality and draws the viewer's eye. The rest of the painting, except for the face, is executed with a quick and concise touch, and there is no hesitation or overt artifice in the brushwork. With this work, Inokuma said he was "satisfied" with his figurative expression.
*Excerpt from "My Resume: Genichiro Inokuma" (2003)
©The MIMOCA Foundation
Genichiro Inokuma, Landscape, 1972
After a wide range of creative activities in Tokyo, including wrapping paper design and mural painting, Inokuma moved to the U.S. in 1955 and was based in New York until 1975. Inokuma's work shifted from figurative to abstract as he interacted with many artists and became fascinated with the city.
In the 1972 solo exhibition at the Willard Gallery, approximately 20 works entitled "Landscape" were presented at once. The day before the exhibition, Inokuma wrote in his diary, "It's going to be wonderful. It's going to be the most fulfilling thing I've ever done.” When the exhibition actually began, it was well received by the public and critic, with a favorable review in the New York Times and one of the exhibited works being acquired by the Guggenheim Museum.
Inokuma said of his Landscape series, "It is not my intention to sketch, but rather, the plastic vein of the city itself naturally becomes a painting.” * New York City is characterized by its grid pattern of streets and skyscrapers. They began to be built in the 1930s, and by the time Inokuma came to the U.S. in the 1950s, many excellent buildings had been completed. Inokuma, who loved architecture, often visited the Lever House (completed in 1952) and the Seagram Building (completed in 1958) when he was tired of working on his projects.
A high beauty flowed through them, as if just staring at the magnificent formations that occupied a single space would sort out the confusion in my mind. **
Because Inokuma gained confidence in abstract painting through his work in New York, he was able to paint landscapes, which are neither realistic nor imaginary, as unique abstractions that capture the characteristics of New York despite their simple shapes, such as squares, circles, and fine bumps.
*Genichiro Inokuma and Kazuyoshi Yamazaki, "Healing from an illness, working on a solo exhibition with great enthusiasm," Nihon Bijutsu, May 1974, pp. 54-58.
** Excerpt from "My Resume: Genichiro Inokuma" (2003)
©The MIMOCA Foundation
