Sumptuous and Sublime: Two Japanese Rooms

Sunday, October 7, 2001—Thursday, December 18, 2003
Japanese Galleries
Free Exhibition

On October 7, 2001, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts unveiled two historically based Japanese rooms: a formal audience hall (shoin) and a teahouse (chashitsu). Both structures are highly visible installations within the permanent galleries of Japanese art and serve to heighten awareness of the relationship between Japanese art and architecture. The rooms also address divergent aesthetic trends that arose during the 16th century in Japan: one that reflected the flamboyant tastes of Japan's warrior rulers, and the other that suggests the tea masters' admiration for the humble, simple, and rustic.

The rooms opened in a permanent installation called "Sumptuous and Sublime: Two Japanese Rooms," on Sunday, October 7. Gallery 222 houses the Audience Hall and 225 the Teahouse.

Organized by The Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

Construction of the teahouse is being made possible through the generous support of many, including the Friends of the Institute, the Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation, the Commemorative Association for the Japan World Exposition (1970), the James Ford Bell Foundation, Patricia M. Mitchell, and Jane and Tom Nelson. Support for the audience hall is provided by the Roberta Mann Foundation in memory of Ted Mann..