Shiseido Gallery is Japan’s oldest existing gallery established in 1919. Since its opening, the gallery has continuously provided opportunities for modern artists to introduce their works for presentation based on the philosophy of creating and cultivating new art. From 2006, the gallery has been hosting “shiseido art egg” to throw open its doors ever wider to the public by providing various support for holding exhibitions. Accordingly, Shiseido Gallery space is made available as a solo exhibition venue for three weeks free of charge to up-and-coming artists seeking a place to present their work.
Marking the third occasion of the event, Ms. Aiko Miyanaga, Ms. Kanako Sasaki and Mr. Kouseki Ono were the three applicants selected at this time among a total of 321 applications to respectively hold their solo exhibitions between January and March 2009.
At shiseido art egg, three judges who are taking active roles in various fields have selected one exhibition from among these three solo shows to which to present the shiseido art egg award. Shiseido Gallery will continue to support artists with a spirit of innovation in cultivating the next generation through “new beauty.”

voice

Shiseido Art Egg Award

The 3rd Shiseido Art Egg Award recipient

Aiko Miyanaga

I was very pleased that so many people came to see the exhibition and I got to spend time with the people involved in production. I even met two new colleagues at the event. I think that if any of these factors were missing the exhibition would not have been as successful.
I would like to consider this experience as an important first step in my career and make a greater effort to create an era of art.

shiseido art egg 3
Aiko Miyanaga Exhibition
“Mirage of Water”2009
Photography: Ken Kato

Since its founding, the Shiseido Gallery has pursued a consistent program of philanthropic activities under the philosophy of creating and cultivating new art. The institution continues to sponsor a variety of contemporary artistic activities, particularly modern art, but also drama, dance and other forms. Throughout all these initiatives, the gallery values bonds with individual artists and is proud to foster long-term relationships that stretch from support for their initial debut to follow-up assistance later on.
In the fiscal year ended March 2009, we actively supported leading roles of the 6th generation of members of the Tsubaki-kai, a series of exhibitions organized by the Shiseido Gallery since 1947.

Shiseido co-sponsored a solo exhibition of Naofumi Maruyama held at the Meguro Museum of Art, Tokyo. This exhibition featured approximately 20 years of his work, ranging from abstract in his early phase to recent works featuring the style of Southern Chinese painting. Mr. Maruyama was recognized through this exhibition and awarded the Art Encouragement Prize in fiscal 2008.

Shiseido co-sponsored a solo exhibition of Yasuko Iba held at the Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama. Ms. Iba is a painter who draws familiar items such as cushions and blankets, and is gaining attention with her drawing method that finely depicts details to enable viewers to distinguish even the coarse texture of felt. This exhibition displayed Ms. Iba’s world of microcosmos painting with a focus on her most recent work.

Shiseido co-sponsored a solo exhibition of Miwa Yanagi held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography. Ms. Yanagi is a writer who is taking an active role internationally such as participating as a Japanese representative at the Venice Biennale from June 2009. My Grandmothers is a realistic photographic work that uses special makeup to depict a young woman’s image of herself 50 years from now. At this exhibition, the entire body of her work produced to date was introduced.

The Hanatsubaki Prize for Contemporary Poetry was established in 1983 to support the writing of poetry, a type of literature with particularly pronounced artistic qualities, based on a desire to enhance one’s ability to communicate beauty.
Today as the award marks its 27th year, it has established a unique position as an honor that is not associated with a particular publisher or poetry group.
Award-winning works are introduced in Hanatsubaki, Shiseido's cultural magazine. Harumi Okuda's "Chameleon no Jikan" won the 26th Hanatsubaki Prize for Contemporary Poetry.

The HOUSE OF SHISEIDO, a facility devoted to communicating Shiseido's corporate culture and sense of beauty, opened in 2004. It features an Archive Table with pull-out drawers featuring the Company's essence, a library where visitors can learn about the history of Ginza and women's history, and exhibits of past commercials and artistic works collected as part of the Company's philanthropic activities.

Located next door to the Art House is the Shiseido Corporate Museum, which was established in 1992 on the occasion of the 120th anniversary of the Company's founding to preserve the Company's cultural assets in one location. These include product packaging, posters, and commercials, as well as documentary materials related to the Company's birthplace of Ginza that have been collected from the time of its founding in 1872 through to the present day. Part of the collection is on permanent display. The Museum also publishes a regular research bulletin entitled to publicize its research findings.

Founded in 1978 in Kakegawa City in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, the Shiseido Art House is home to a collection of about 1,600 paintings, sculptures, and crafts, many of which have been previously displayed at exhibitions such as the Camellia Club Exhibition and Exhibition of Modern Industrial Art at the Shiseido Gallery. In addition to holding a variety of themed exhibitions throughout the year, the facility loans works to museums throughout Japan. It also holds Children's Workshops to provide an opportunity for local elementary and middle school students to experience genuine art during their spring and summer vacations.

Shiseido's cultural magazine Hanatsubaki (Camellia) was founded in 1937. The magazine introduced a new format starting with the July 2007 issue and is now published alternately as Hanatsubaki: Look (odd months), consisting primarily of visual content related to beauty and fashion, and Hanatsubaki: Read (even months), featuring written content beginning with special features by a different writer for each issue. A limited number of copies of an annual summary entitled Hanatsubaki Comprehensive are also published.