Contemporary Calligraphy Art Exhibition: “Listen to the Poetry of Calligraphy”

Contemporary Calligraphy Art Exhibition: “Listen to the Poetry of Calligraphy” ​
WATOWA Corporation Press Release: August 28, 2025 Contemporary Calligraphy Art Exhibition: “Listen to the Poetry of Calligraphy” Starting Tuesday, September 23rd (National Holiday) at WATOWA GALLERY / THE BOX TOKYO in Oku-Asakusa Art project collective WATOWA GALLERY will provide the venue and cooperate in the production and management of “Listen to the Poetry of Calligraphy,” a group show featuring postwar modern calligraphy (avant-garde calligraphy) and contemporary art, from Tuesday, September 23, 2025 (national holiday) to Friday, October 31, 2025.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/15900/94/15900-94-0988c1ebd8d49b6b0d2a0c33a22fc43c-2000×2001.jpg

Artist: Momotaro Nadaira 2011.11.20 This exhibition reexamines the history and discourse of postwar “avant-garde calligraphy” and, through the keyword “poetry,” seeks to present a new, expanded form of contemporary calligraphy expression. Throughout its long history, the art of calligraphy has always been associated with poetry. In calligraphy, poetry is literary, political, ideological, and philosophical. However, modern calligraphy has been unable to reinvent its concept of poetry. Instead, it has actively sought to modernize and contemporaryize by eliminating poetry. As a result, the
modernization of calligraphy has come to be seen as a break with poetry, and the process of eliminating poetry itself has come to be discussed as if it were the history of modern calligraphy. This exhibition reexamines the history of postwar calligraphy from a new perspective, uncovering new possibilities for calligraphy expression that have been overlooked in existing discourse. Furthermore, by using “poetry” in a broad sense as a point of contact and medium, it explores the connections and commonalities between calligraphy and “contemporary art.”
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/15900/94/15900-94-f74d937bec5bfc5b09638fcda7934241-1916×2700.jpg Artist: Kakishitaki Kanri Tate
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/15900/94/15900-94-b3a138f04a03b669eee78420057e7e5a-2433×1692.jpg Artist: Hirohiro Yamamoto PHOENIX
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/15900/94/15900-94-71de33e886e8f9bb2b1d6143d728d8e0-3900×2831.png Artist: Yuten Shimomura Re-touch #40
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/15900/94/15900-94-9941d5ef2689b4917bd0b4718ed34fee-2000×1333.jpg Artist: Fujishiro Uso. Notebook in the Off-street Event Overview Exhibition Title: “Listen to the Poetry of Calligraphy” Date: September 23rd (Tuesday/Holiday) to October 31st (Friday), 2025 *Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays (Closed on October 13th) Venue: WATOWA GALLERY / THE BOX TOKYO (3F, 1-2-10 Imado, Taito-ku, Tokyo) Admission fee: 1,000 yen (includes booklet, free for high school students and younger) Exhibition official website:
https://shonoutawokike.studio.site/ Related events Talk Event “Has Contemporary Calligraphy Been Criticized?” Date and Time: Sunday, October 5, 2025, 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM Venue: WATOWA GALLERY / THE BOX TOKYO Admission Fee: 1,000 yen Capacity: 30 people (advance
reservation required. Please apply through the exhibition’s official website.) Participating artists (in alphabetical order) Akiyama Aomo Udoyoshi Hiroyuki Oki Persimmon tree crown Hisashi Katata Ogi Taho Tatsuya Sato Yuten Shimomura Samurai Kuwafu Right Lord Teshima Hideki Nakazawa Uso Fujishiro Keita Fujiyama Momotarou Rinhira Yasushi Mori Hirohiro Yamamoto Filtered food 【Curators】 Yohei Kurose Tatsuya Sato (Curatorial Collaboration) What is WATOWA GALLERY WATOWA GALLERY is an art project/production group that provides a platform for art communication, focusing on young artists with a fresh sensibility that incorporates contemporary Japanese street culture and fashion, original and cutting-edge technology, and “Japanese philosophy.” We aim to create a society in which art becomes as accessible as fashion and is integrated into each individual’s lifestyle. We produce and direct innovative exhibitions and art projects, expanding the touchpoints for art. Many of the major art movements currently acclaimed both domestically and internationally have emerged outside of museums, through interactions between artists and supporters across diverse genres. Rather than having a specific art space, we view all spaces as galleries, opening art from the museum to communities, cities, and residential spaces. We also engage in cross-disciplinary art projects with professionals from various fields outside of the museum. Furthermore, we support the success of young Japanese artists and the entry of young Japanese collectors, promoting exchanges between artists and supporters. By fostering new communication and communities through WATOWA GALLERY, we aim to create a next-generation art scene and revitalize the market. Since 2019, we have been operating as a production collective without a specific location. In September 2022, we will launch WATOWA GALLERY / THE BOX TOKYO, the first WATOWA GALLERY base, in Asakusa/Imado. WATOWA Co., Ltd. Press Release List