Kawagoe City Art Museum Guide For English

Kawagoe CityArt Museum Guide

About the KawagoeCityArt Museum

Kawagoe City Art Museum was opened on the 80th anniversary of the city (Kawagoe Citizens' Day), December 1, 2002.
Since the art museum is on the former site of Kawagoe Castle, the building was designed in harmony with the remaining historic buildings, and the city museum next door. In addition, the building's architecture expresses local culture by resembling a typical merchant house of "Kurazukuri" style. The building is set at a slight angle to the city museum to simultaneously express its cooperation with the city museum and its independence.

Exchanges

The City Art Museum introduces mainly artists and works related to the city, and aims to enable art exchanges among the region's citizens. It provides a chance to experience quality art, and to support the creation and expression of art in public life.

Aihara Kyuichiro Memorial Gallery

An artist of poetic sentiment who drew nature scenes throughout his life
Aihara Kyuichiro (1918-99) was a Western-style painter who spent his whole life in Kawagoe. He harmonized the concrete with the abstract in painting Hokkaido, creating a unique style of landscape painting. There followed a period when he went alternately overseas and to Hokkaido to paint. From around 1980, his work was mainly done in Hokkaido. His work expresses poetic sentiment with subdued color tones.
Aihara Kyuichiro Memorial Gallery was created to honor Aihara Kyuichiro, Kawagoe's famous son, for his development of Kawagoe culture.

Chronology

• 1918　born in Kawagoe
• 1948　studied under Inokuma Genichiro (1902-93)
• 1961　began painting landscapes of Hokkaido
• 1980　landscapes of Hokkaido became the main motif of his work
• 1992　received Hatsukari Culture Award
• 1996　made an honorary citizen of Kawagoe
  Aihara Kyuichiro Art Museum was opened in Nakasatsunai Village, Hokkaido.
• 1999　passed away at the age of 80

Aihara Kyuichiro collection

Landscape with a Railroad 1956,Landscape 1961,Poem of a Walleye Pollack, Nosappu 1964,House at a Cape 1967,Village Square- Honfleur　1971,Spring Thaw 1975,Village in Early Spring 1981,A Road Covered with Snow Seen in the Distance 1987,A Virgin Forest Comes into Bud 1994,The Foothills with a Snow Haze 1997

Basement Floor

Collections of the Kawagoe City Art Museum are placed on display in the Permanent Collections Gallery. Exhibits are rotated about 4 times a year. Special Exhibitions are expected to be held about 4 times a year.

First Floor

The work of Aihara Kyuichiro, an artist of Western-style painting and an honorary citizen of Kawagoe City, is on display in the Aihara Kyuichiro Memorial Gallery. In addition to the Public Gallery are the Touch Collections where one can enjoy art by other than the sense of sight. The Art Information Corner has information on the art museum's collections, and art in general.

Second Floor

This multi-purpose hall is for lecture meetings, classes, films and exhibitions.

Studio (annex)

A room provided for making sketches, oil paintings, watercolor paintings, woodblock paintings, and copperplate engravings (2 press machines). Classes for sketching, copperplate engraving, and so on are held in the studio. Available for public use when museum not using. Reservations required.

General Information

Hours

09:00 am - 05:00 pm (No entry after 04:30 pm)
Closed　Mondays (Except for National Holidays)
The day after a National Holiday (Except for a Saturday or Sunday)
December 28 - January 4　Maintenance Day

Admission

Permanent Collections Special Exhibitions
General ￥200（￥160） Varies for each exhibition
High School and College Students ￥100（￥80）
Elementary and Junior High School Students Free

＊Permanent Collections= Exhibitions of Permanent Collections Gallery and Aihara Kyuichiro Memorial Gallery
＊Special Exhibition= Exhibition of Special Exhibition Gallery
＊The admission in ( ) is for groups of 20 or more.

KAWAGOE CITY ART MUSEUM
2-30-1 Kuruwamachi, Kawagoe City, Saitama, 350-0053, Japan
phone　049-228-8080　facsimile　049-228-7870