Japanese Prints from the Burkart Collection Opening Reception

The Huntington Museum of Art will host the exhibit titled E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation Presents East to West: Japanese Prints from the Burkart Collection from March 26 through June 26, 2022. 

The opening reception for this exhibit is scheduled for April 26, 2022, at 7 p.m. as part of the 4^th Tuesday Tour Series at the Huntington Museum of Art, and will include demonstrations of origami and Japanese calligraphy.

Charles “Chuck” Burkart was a passionate collector of Asian art, military memorabilia, and books. Following his passing in 2019, the Huntington Museum of Art received an astounding bequest of more than 350 artworks, nearly all 19^th and 20^th century Japanese woodblock prints.

“The Huntington Museum of Art is extremely grateful to become the home of the Burkart Collection, and this is our first opportunity since receiving these beautiful works to exhibit dozens of the prints for everyone to see,” said HMA Executive Director Geoffrey K. Fleming.

This survey exhibition, E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation Presents East to West: Japanese Prints from the Burkart Collection, highlights 40 woodblock prints by 10 Japanese artists whose work captured Charles Burkart’s attention. “With a nod to West Virginia, the unlikely destination for this exceptional collection, this title evokes the cultural exchange that characterizes the history of Japanese woodblock printmaking,” said John Farley, HMA Senior Curator/Exhibition Designer.

HMA has partnered with Akiko Praylow, Japanese Outreach Coordinator for Marshall University, to present a community project, One Thousand Origami Cranes, in the Museum’s Education Gallery. The crane, an important creature in Japanese folklore, is said to live for 1,000 years. According to tradition, the gods will grant a special wish to anyone who folds a group of one thousand origami cranes (senbazuru). Praylow worked with Marshall University and the Huntington community to fold 1,000 paper cranes for this project. Japanese calligraphy made by students in MU alumna Emiko Hori’s calligraphy studio will also be featured in the display.

“The Education Department is excited to host the opening reception for this exhibit and to welcome demonstrations of Japanese calligraphy by Emiko Hori and origami by Akiko Praylow,” said Cindy Dearborn, HMA Education Director. “The display of ‘One Thousand Origami Cranes’ and Japanese calligraphy in the Education Gallery makes a nice counterpart to the exhibit of Japanese prints.”

This exhibit is presented by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation. 

 This program is presented with financial assistance from the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts. 

 For more information on exhibits at the Huntington Museum of Art, visit hmoa.org or call (304) 529-2701. HMA is fully accessible.