Bunmei Okabe's Circus Exhibition - 50 Years of Fascination and Pursuit -" will be held at the Museum of Modern Art, Saitama from July 23 to August 4! July 23-August 4 at the Museum of Modern Art, Saitama!

The exhibition "The Circus of Bunmei Okabe - 50 Years of Fascination and Pursuit" will be held at The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama from July 23, 2024 (Tue) to August 4, 2024 (Sun).

CIRCUS B OKABE THEATER (Clown Playing with Birds)" 130F, 2014

Outline of "The Circus of Bunmei Okabe

Name: Bunmei Okabe's Circus Exhibition - 50 years of fascination and pursuit

Dates: Tuesday, July 23, 2024 - Sunday, August 4, 2024, 10:00 - 17:30

　　　Open at 13:00 on the first day, closed on Monday, July 29

Place: The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama General Exhibition Rooms 1-4 (free admission)

　　　9-30-1 Tokiwa, Urawa-ku, Saitama-shi, Saitama 330-0061

Contents：Bunmei Okabe's circus and clownishness began in 1970 when he knocked on the door of Shun Kumashiro's atelier.

　　　A journey in pursuit of Bunmei Okabe's circus and clowns. While one theme,

　　　the paintings that continued to reflect his state of mind at the time and the various circumstances surrounding the world,

　　　The exhibition is arranged along eight series that have changed over the years. He consistently expressed his love and affection for the circus throughout his life.

　　　love for the circus and the clowns he fell in love with - a passion he never stopped seeking.

　　　The exhibition traces the artist's footprints through his passion for the circus. The exhibition includes 65 large paintings and 72 small works (oil, watercolor, acrylic, pen),

　　　acrylics, pen drawings), a total of 137 works will be exhibited.

Profile of Bunmei Okabe

Born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1948 (Died in 2020)

In 1965, while participating in the Gifu National Rugby Tournament, he was injured during scrum practice. After groping in the dark, he found direction in the world of painting and became a painter. Fascinated by the world of circuses and clowns, he began showing circus paintings in 1973. He traveled around the world visiting and interacting with circus performers, which became a lifelong theme for him.

In 1988, a large solo exhibition was held at the New Circus Theatre in Moscow, which traveled to various locations, followed by solo exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, Fuchu Art Museum, and Fukuoka City Art Museum from 1992 to 2006, then in 2011 at the Pataka Museum of Art, New Zealand, in 2012 at the Asuka Hall, Kakamigahara, and in 2019 at the Yokohama Red Fumiaki Okabe's exhibition was held at the Brick Warehouse No. 1 in Yokohama.

2013 Awarded the Special Prize of Gifu Prefecture Art and Culture Commendation

Received the Shibata Yonezo Prize at the 82nd Dokuritsu Exhibition in 2014.

Author of the book "Clown Forever" (Asabunsha) Picture book "The King Who Became a Clown" (Shogakukan)

Memoir "Clown Painter: Soul's Journey" (Shogakukan) Picture book "The Story of Bove and Ena, the Clowns" (Shoshikankanbo)