Tomokazu Matsuyama: Morning Sun : Edward Hopper House
Past exhibition
Overview
Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center is pleased to present Tomokazu Matsuyama: Morning Sun, an exhibition of paintings and works on paper by the contemporary Japanese-American artist Tomokazu Matsuyama.
The exhibition offers a contemporary tribute to Edward Hopper's iconic 1952 paintingMorning Sun (Columbus Museum of Art), delving into the complexities of solitude and life in a globalized, consumer-driven world-recurring themes in Matsu's work. To engage with Hopper's themes, Matsu intricately weaves together diverse visual references that reflect his cross-cultural background and observations of contemporary society. The exhibition will be on view from June 20 through October 5, 2025 with an opening reception on the opening day at 5pm.
The exhibition centers around Matsu's new large-scale painting Morning Sun Dance. Of the work that inspired his painting, Matsu says, "While Hopper's Morning Suncaptures a moment of introspective stillness within the psychological landscape of mid-century urban life, his treatment of solitude, light, and constructed space continues to influence my own approach to thinking about isolation as well as my approach to painting."
In Morning Sun, Hopper depicts a woman sitting on her bed in the sun, alone in an empty room, wearing a plain orange dress and a simple, contemplative expression. In Morning Sun Dance, Matsu paints a solitary woman with a similarly meditative demeanor. However, her environment is far more richly layered: the room is filled with personal artifacts-dogs, magazines, and a luxurious couch-reflecting contemporary material life. Notably, the presence of dogs, while suggesting companionship, also references historical depictions such as Toutou, le bien aimé by Rosa Bonheur (1885) and A Nurse and a Child in an Elegant Foyer by Jacob Ochtervelt (1663), in which dogs symbolized wealth and ownership. In Matsu's work, these animals subtly underscore solitude rather than alleviate it-suggesting not connection, but the heightened self-awareness of being alone.
The exhibition centers around Matsu's new large-scale painting Morning Sun Dance. Of the work that inspired his painting, Matsu says, "While Hopper's Morning Suncaptures a moment of introspective stillness within the psychological landscape of mid-century urban life, his treatment of solitude, light, and constructed space continues to influence my own approach to thinking about isolation as well as my approach to painting."
In Morning Sun, Hopper depicts a woman sitting on her bed in the sun, alone in an empty room, wearing a plain orange dress and a simple, contemplative expression. In Morning Sun Dance, Matsu paints a solitary woman with a similarly meditative demeanor. However, her environment is far more richly layered: the room is filled with personal artifacts-dogs, magazines, and a luxurious couch-reflecting contemporary material life. Notably, the presence of dogs, while suggesting companionship, also references historical depictions such as Toutou, le bien aimé by Rosa Bonheur (1885) and A Nurse and a Child in an Elegant Foyer by Jacob Ochtervelt (1663), in which dogs symbolized wealth and ownership. In Matsu's work, these animals subtly underscore solitude rather than alleviate it-suggesting not connection, but the heightened self-awareness of being alone.
Her clothing fuses Western and Japanese motifs-a William Morris textile layered with traditional patterns-while a Sports Illustrated poster of Muhammad Ali nods to her alignment with diversity, strength, and modern identity. In contrast to Hopper's figure, who gazes outward toward the cityscape, Matsu's subject turns inward, facing her domestic space. This shift in gaze implies a broader narrative: solitude, once externalized and meditative, is now negotiated through personal space and cultural consumption.
The exhibition will also feature Matsu's process drawings, which reveal how the artist engaged with Hopper's use of light, figuration, and abstraction. Two additional smaller paintings by Matsu also reinterpret Hopper's iconic figure in the orange dress-one from Hopper's original perspective, and the other from an external vantage point, as if observing the figure from the outside.
"This exhibition offers a fascinating dialogue between two artists from different eras, both grappling with the complexities of modern life and the experience of solitude," says Kathleen Motes Bennewitz, Executive Director of the Edward Hopper House Museum. "Matsu's vibrant and layered response to Hopper's work invites us to reconsider themes of isolation and introspection through a contemporary lens, highlighting the enduring relevance of Hopper's vision while embracing new perspectives."
Tomokazu Matsuyama: Morning Sun is made possible, in part, by funds provided by the New York Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
The exhibition will also feature Matsu's process drawings, which reveal how the artist engaged with Hopper's use of light, figuration, and abstraction. Two additional smaller paintings by Matsu also reinterpret Hopper's iconic figure in the orange dress-one from Hopper's original perspective, and the other from an external vantage point, as if observing the figure from the outside.
"This exhibition offers a fascinating dialogue between two artists from different eras, both grappling with the complexities of modern life and the experience of solitude," says Kathleen Motes Bennewitz, Executive Director of the Edward Hopper House Museum. "Matsu's vibrant and layered response to Hopper's work invites us to reconsider themes of isolation and introspection through a contemporary lens, highlighting the enduring relevance of Hopper's vision while embracing new perspectives."
Tomokazu Matsuyama: Morning Sun is made possible, in part, by funds provided by the New York Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
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