Among the kimonos at Michael Hoppen’s show is this 19th century indigo horse trapping with a resist design of prawns.
The show being staged under that name is something a little different for the gallery, which has long been primarily associated with photography, and also aims to portray Japan in a new light - neither through Ukiyo-e woodblock prints nor Hello Kitty-type kitsch, which may be more familiar to most viewers.
Running until June 30, the exhibition features vintage textiles, avant-garde theatre posters, woodblock shunga prints as well as unusual objects including netsuke, harigata, and grotesque masks.
These are featured alongside a wide selection of works by photographers such as Eikoh Hosoe, Masahisa Fukase, Daido Moriyama and Gen Otsuka.
After many years in Jubilee Place, Chelsea, Hoppen opened the Holland Park space earlier this year (see ATG No 2608) to showcase a wider variety of his interests than he had done at the more traditional gallery space.
Included among the many photographs at Michael Hoppen’s show is Eikoh Hosoe’s Kamaitichi #8, 1965.
‘I was blown away’
His interest in Japan was sparked when he first saw Japanese photobooks in the 1970s.
After first visiting 20 years ago, he says: “I was completely blown away by its energy and diversity. While photography was, and remains, my key passion, I was enthralled and seduced by almost everything I laid eyes on.”
Works in the show range in price from £500-28,000.
