Poland - Japan Contemporary Art and Artistic Relations

Poland - Japan. Contemporary Art and Artistic Relations has been prepared in connection with the international conference Jikihitsu. The Signature of the Artist. The Presence of Japanese Tradition in Contemporary Polish Art organised by the Institute of Art Education of the Maria Grzegorzewska University in Warsaw, the Polish Institute of World Art Studies and the Association of Polish Architects in Warsaw in 2019. The volume is consists of 28 articles devoted to the contemporary interpermeation and mutual influence of Polish (European) and Japanese culture.

The publication features reflection on the nature of Polish(European)-Japanese relations today in an era of worldwide mobility, globalisation, transculturalism, new media, and new communication channels. It examines the phenomenon of the unwavering (since the second half of the nineteenth century) European and Polish fascination with the culture and art of the Land of the Cherry Blossom, the contemporary meaning of Japonism and japonaiserie, as well as the inspiration and influence of Far-Eastern art, philosophy and religion on the creative process of contemporary artists (in printmaking, sculpture, digital media, dance, etc.).

Contemporary Polish-Japanese relations are examined through the prism of meetings, cyclical events, thematic presentations, exhibitions, festivals, artistic exchanges and residencies as well as the ongoing presence of Polish artists and their works in Japan or of Japanese artists and their productions in Poland in addition to traces of Japan in Polish museum collections. The context of works by selected Polish artists active in France in ‘symbiosis’ with Japanese art and culture is also an important topic of discussion.