On view March 26–July 16, 2023

BOSTON (March 8, 2023)—Thanks to the popularity of the instantly recognizable Great Wave—cited everywhere from book covers and Lego sets to anime and emoji—Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) has become one of the most famous and influential artists in the world. Organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence takes a new approach to the work of the endlessly inventive and versatile master, pairing more than 100 of his woodblock prints, paintings and illustrated books from the MFA’s renowned collection with more than 200 works by his teachers, students, rivals and admirers. These unique juxtapositions demonstrate Hokusai’s impact through the centuries and around the globe—seen in works by, among others, his daughter Katsushika Ōi, his contemporaries Utagawa Hiroshige and Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 19th-century American and European painters, and modern and contemporary artists including Loïs Mailou Jones, John Cederquist, Roy Lichtenstein and Yoshitomo Nara. Following the exhibition’s debut in Boston, Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence will travel to the Seattle Art Museum, where it will be presented from October 19, 2023 through January 21, 2024.

“Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence” is sponsored by UNIQLO USA. Generously supported by the MFA Associates / MFA Senior Associates. Additional support from the Jean S. and Frederic A. Sharf Exhibition Fund, the Museum Council Artist in Residency Program Fund, the Dr. Terry Satsuki Milhaupt Fund for Japanese Textiles, the MFA Associates / MFA Senior Associates Exhibition Endowment Fund, the Patricia B. Jacoby Exhibition Fund, and the Alexander M. Levine and Dr. Rosemarie D. Bria-Levine Exhibition Fund.

“The MFA is home to one of the largest and most significant collections of Hokusai’s works in the world, making us uniquely positioned to tell the story of his enduring appeal and his impact on other artists,” said Sarah E. Thompson, Curator of Japanese Art. “We hope visitors enjoy this new look at the legacy of the ever-popular painter, book illustrator and print designer.”

Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence is organized thematically, with sections focused on Hokusai’s teachers and students, surimono (privately commissioned prints), the origins of Japonisme, landscapes, nature studies and depictions of heroes and monsters. The largest section, located at the center of the exhibition, is dedicated to Under the Wave off Kanagawa (The Great Wave) (1830–31). The print is presented alongside works that riff on or directly cite Hokusai’s iconic image, from John Cederquist’s How to Wrap Five Waves (1994–95) and Roy Lichtenstein’s Drowning Girl (1963, Museum of Modern Art, New York) to Andy Warhol’s The Great Wave (After Hokusai) (1980–87, The Andy Warhol Museum) and a Lego recreation (2021) by Lego certified professional Jumpei Mitsui.

Additional artwork highlights include:

• Hokusai’s famous Fine Wind, Clear Weather (also known as Red Fuji) (about 1830–31), shown alongside the surimono print Mount Fuji (Edo period, 1820s) by Totoya Hokkei, his most successful student, and Yoshitomo Nara’s humorous parody White Fujiyama Ski Gelände from the series In the Floating World (1999, courtesy of the artist and Pace Gallery)
• Japanese Waterfall (1925), a watercolor design for a fabric pattern that Loïs Mailou Jones based on two of Hokusai’s prints from the Waterfall series: Yoshitsune’s Horse- Washing Falls at Yoshino in Yamato Province (about 1832) and Falling Mist Waterfall at Mount Kurokami in Shimotsuke Province (about 1832–33)
• Robert Kushner’s White Cyclamen I (1999, courtesy of the artist and DC Moore Gallery, New York), which pays homage to Hokusai’s large flower prints
• Chemical Falls (2016, courtesy of the artist) by Merion Estes, who has looked to Hokusai as an ongoing influence throughout her career
• Chiho Aoshima’s A Contented Skull (2008), recently acquired by the MFA, featuring a looming figure reminiscent of Hokusai’s depictions of vividly imagined ghosts and monsters
• Judith Schaechter’s Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife (2004, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh), a reinterpretation of a famous illustration from Hokusai’s erotic book Kinoe no Komatsu (about 1814, Zach and Elizabeth Nelson Collection)
• Blue Surge (2023, courtesy of the artist), a site-specific installation by Taiko Chandler, made of many intricate, swirling prints on Tyvek—a durable synthetic material—and then installed in a swelling, rippling, scalloped form
• A large, immersive, multimedia installation by experimental ceramicist Linda Sormin titled Boru Sibaso Paet, on the foam of the primordial sea (2023), which includes found materials, sound and video elements, as well as many of the artist’s signature sculptural works niched in a monumental metal armature

The exhibition also introduces two groups of Hokusai-related works from the Museum’s collection that have received little attention until now: the extensive holdings of paintings by his students and a large group of drawings that purportedly came from the studio of Hokusen, one of his last living pupils. A grant from the Toshiba International Foundation supported the conservation and imaging of these previously unexplored works. Presented to the public for the first time, they advance scholarship of Hokusai’s influence, aiding in the understanding of how his characteristic style and techniques were passed down to later generations.

Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence is on view at the MFA from March 26 through July 16, 2023 in the Ann and Graham Gund Gallery. Member Preview takes place March 22–25. Timed-entry exhibition tickets, which include general admission, are required for all visitors and can be reserved in advance on mfa.org or purchased at the Museum.

Public Programs

The March 31 edition of MFA Late Nites, the Museum’s signature after-hours event, celebrates the opening of Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence with music, gallery talks by Lego master Jumpei Mitsui and a Hokusai tote-making activity co-presented by UNIQLO USA.

The Boston Festival of Films from Japan (May 11–20) returns to the MFA for the first time since 2019, presenting both new releases and classics including Plan 75 (2022), Miss Hokusai (2015) and a 35th-anniversary screening of My Neighbor Totoro (1988). The festival is sponsored by UNIQLO USA.

Additionally, the Museum is hosting the four-session course “Hokusai and Beyond” (Wednesdays, May 10–31), which delves deeper into topics explored in the exhibition, and the Rad Smith Program in Japanese Art featuring artist Tabaimo (June 4).

Partnership with UNIQLO USA

UNIQLO, the lead sponsor for Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence, began a 10-year partnership with the MFA in 2017, supporting a variety of programs that celebrate Japanese art and culture. Woodblock prints from the Museum’s collection, including Hokusai’s iconic Fine Wind, Clear Weather (“Red Fuji”) (1830–31) and Under the Wave off Kanagawa (The Great Wave) (1830–31), have been featured in several collections of UNIQLO UT Graphic T-shirts and are available both at the MFA Shop and UNIQLO stores.

Audio Guide

The exhibition audio guide features insights from curator Sarah Thompson and her collaborator Kendall DeBoer, Curatorial Assistant in the Department of Contemporary Art. Additional contributors include artists Taiko Chandler and Robert Kushner, scholars Susan Napier and Christine Guth, and MFA conservator Michiko Adachi. The tour is available for free on the Museum’s app, MFA Mobile.

Publication

Produced by MFA Publications, the new book Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence looks at Hokusai from the viewpoint of fellow artists who incorporated lessons learned from him into their own work, including his students, contemporary rivals and posthumous admirers working in a wide range of media, in Japan and around the world, from the late 19th century to the present. Lavishly illustrated and accompanied by illuminating and engaging texts, this publication invites readers to encounter the origins and enduring appeal of Hokusai’s delightful art.

About the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

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