Inspiring Japan

The Walter Gebhard Collection

With its new presentation of the East Asia Collection, the MK&G is celebrating the unbroken inspirational power of Japanese design. Now on display for the first time are paintings from the Edo period (1615–1868), Buddhist calligraphy and colour woodblock prints from the private collection of Walter Gebhard, acquired by the museum in 2021. The exhibition unfolds over two storeys: In the first part, the pictures enter into a dialogue with ceramics, lacquerware, bamboo baskets, metalwork and sword ornaments from the existing collection. In the second, paintings and graphic art provide glimpses of the lyrical aesthetic of East Asian renderings of flora and birds.

This exhibition kicks off a comprehensive reorganisation of the MK&G’s East Asian Collection. In future, visitors will be offered dynamic access to this collection through a series of innovative forms of presentation. Starting in May 2024, for example, art from China will be showcased on the second floor.