Tomokazu Matsuyama, Palimpsest: Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies | Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

In celebration of its 40th anniversary, RIJS hosted an exhibition of paintings by Brooklyn-based artist Tomokazu Matsuyama (b. 1976). Titled “Palimpsest,” after a parchment text that has been washed and reused, leaving traces of earlier writing underneath, this exhibition showcased a selection of paintings distinctive for their many layers of influence, from Japanese woodblock prints of the Tokugawa and Meiji periods to postwar Abstract Expressionism and late 20th-century American street art. Blending together traditional Japanese elements and contemporary Western themes, these works also reflected the artist’s own multicultural experience across Japan and the U.S.

Curated by David Howell, with Stacie Matsumoto.

— Curatorial text courtesy of Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies