Report from the Exhibition “Miysaka Ryōsaku ART 75” (Echigo-Tsumari Satoyama Museum of Contemporary Art MonET): “Agriculture” Accelerates the Avant-Garde in Art
The retrospective exhibition “Miysaka Ryōsaku ART 75” at MonET highlights how agriculture, central to the artist’s identity, fuels his avant-garde practice.Summary
The exhibition “Miysaka Ryōsaku ART 75” is currently on view at the Echigo-Tsumari Satoyama Museum of Contemporary Art MonET in Ōgata Village, Niigata Prefecture, running until June 14. Curated by art critic Noi Sawaragi, this is the 10th installment of MonET’s consecutive project series and functions both as a retrospective and as a presentation of new works alongside the origins of Miysaka’s practice. Born in 1950 in Suwa, Nagano Prefecture, Miysaka graduated from the California Institute of the Arts in 1974. Upon returning to Japan, he continued farming and real estate business in his hometown while actively engaging in local cultural preservation and community development, all while maintaining a consistent artistic practice. His career as an artist began in 1971 as a student in the first cohort of塾 (Juku), a study group led by artist Takamatsu Nijū. In 1972, he moved to the U.S. to pursue contemporary art and studied under Allan Kaprow, whose pivotal question—“What is your starting point?”—led Miysaka to define his foundational identity as a *farmer*. This self-identification became the cornerstone of his artistic ethos. The exhibited work *What is your starting point?* (2022) visually embodies this epiphany: layered paint textures are overlaid with wooden cut-out letters spelling the question, inviting viewers to reflect on their own points of origin. The exhibition underscores how Miysaka’s deep integration of agriculture into his life and practice has continuously propelled the avant-garde potential of his art.
(Source：美術手帖)