Unstoppale (No Barriers)

Her Brush: Japanese Women Artists from the Fong-Johnstone Collection Online Exhibition Guide
Small, double-sided table screen. Each face bears a sweeping, powerfully brushed Japanese character that occupies most of the paper ground. Small red seals punctuate it.

Murase Myōdō 村瀬明道
1924–2013
Mu (emptiness) and Kan (quietude)
Late 1900s
Ink on paper with wood frame
2018.154A-C

Each of the works in this gallery addresses the subject of perseverance, overcoming personal and societal obstacles, and shattering the glass ceiling.

These artists dared to leave their enduring mark through art.

A small frog leaps with outstretched limbs towards a delicately-brushed branch in the upper left-hand corner. Sprightly, cursive script occupies most of the paper ground, dwarfing the little frog.

Ōishi Junkyō 大石順教
1888–1968
Willow and Frog
Mid-1900s
Ink on paper
Gift of Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone, 2018.157

In this painting, Ōishi Junkyō borrows an anecdote from the life of the courtier Ono no Tofu (894–964) to express resilience and tenacity. Having failed to get a promotion seven times, the courtier was all but ready to quit. Dejected, he noticed a frog trying to reach a willow branch. Seven times, the frog leapt and failed. But then, mustering its strength, it jumped again—finally reaching the branch. Inspired, he persevered and on that eighth time succeeded, ultimately becoming an important statesman.

Two chrysanthemum blossoms in black ink in the upper right-hand of the frame rest atop a leafy stem that tapers to the bottom left. A signature and red stamp in the left-center.

Yamamoto Shōtō 山本緗桃
1757–1831
Chrysanthemums
Late 1700s–early 1800s
Ink, color, and gold on silk
Gift of Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone, 2018.216

Petal by petal, this blossoming cluster of chrysanthemums unfolds against a subtle ink wash on plain silk. In lyrical gradations, the monochromatic ink merges with the dabs of green and pools at the edges of the leaves, vesting them with grace and beauty.

Little is known of Yamamoto Shōtō’s background, but her enduring mark survives though her own art and her legacy: her children followed her path, and her granddaughter, Yamamoto Suiun (active 1800s), became an accomplished painter.

On the left, a stick-figure-like sketch of a sign, barely balancing on a wobbly post. To the right, four lines of unsteady-looking calligraphy at varying heights.

Takabatake Shikibu 高畠式部
1785–1881
Signboard
1863
Ink on paper
Gift of Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone, 2018.253

In Takabatake Shikibu’s time, signboards such as this commonly posted governmental edicts. In a veiled critique of unjust rules and restrictions, Shikibu asserts that nature and reason will ultimately prevail.

Flowering branches
must not be broken off.
So says the signboard.
But with whose permission
does the storm blow over it?

On the left, the moon looms large behind a Sakura branch rendered in soft ink and light ochres. On the right, a poem in thin calligraphy.

Ōtagaki Rengetsu 太田垣蓮月
1791–1875
Moon, Blossoming Cherry, and Poem
1867
Ink and color on paper
Gift of Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone, 2018.164

Being a nun, Ōtagaki Rengetsu could travel freely despite state-imposed restrictions on unaccompanied women travelers. Still, innkeepers commonly refused nuns lodging. The poem reflects her endurance as she found (and created) beauty despite the inn turning her away and having to spend the night unsheltered:

The inn refuses me,
but their slight is a kindness.
I make my bed instead
below the cherry blossoms
with the hazy moon above.

Her Brush: Japanese Women Artists from the Fong-Johnstone Collection is organized by the Denver Art Museum and made possible through the generous gift of the John Fong and Colin Johnstone collection. Support is provided by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, the Blakemore Foundation, the donors to the Annual Fund Leadership Campaign, and the residents who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). Promotional support is provided by 5280 Magazine and CBS Colorado.