慶應義塾大学アート・センター　Keio University Art Center

“Your eyes, your hands, your breasts… / you are twins in yourself.”
Shuzo Takiguchi, Tezukuri-Kotowaza [Handmade Proverbs]:  For Joan Miró, Ediciones Polígrafa, 1970

In 1940, Shuzo Takiguchi published Miró (Seiyo-Bijutsu-Bunko 48, Atelier) , one of the earliest monographs on Joan Miró anywhere in the world. In 1958, Takiguchi traveled to Europe as Japan’s representative and a member of the jury at the Venice Biennale. Although he had hoped to meet Miró during this trip, the opportunity did not arise. Takiguchi nevertheless maintained a sustained interest in Miró, and the two finally met in 1966, on the occasion of Miró’s first visit to Japan. Their relationship subsequently came to fruition in two collaborative volumes of poetry and art: Tezukuri-Kotowaza: For Joan Miró (1970) and Miró no Hoshi to tomoni (1978). Through correspondences documenting the process of their collaboration, together with other related materials, this exhibition considers the concerns Takiguchi and Miró shared and the ways in which they inspired one another.

To mark the 120th anniversary of Shuzo Takiguchi’s birth, the Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art and Design and the Keio University Art Center, which share between them materials formerly owned by Takiguchi, have been jointly organizing exhibitions since 2023 as part of the museum’s collection exhibition program. This exhibition is the third in the series and marks the first joint project to bring together works and archival materials held separately by the two institutions.

This exhibition owes a great deal to the research on the Takiguchi–Miró correspondence conducted by Yuka Asaki, Ryoji Asabuki, Hiroyuki Kasai, and Kenji Matsuda (JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 19K00147). We would like to express our profound gratitude for their contributions.