The Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art has a diverse collection of artworks
collected by DIC Corporation together with its affiliated companies.
In the current "Color Fields: from the Collection of Audrey and David Mirvish" exhibition, PIGMENT TOKYO was invited to showcase our color materials and provide limited-time summer workshops.
In this article, I am excited to report about the exhibition and the events we had.
Color Field is a movement of abstract paintings that developed mainly in the U.S. from the late 1950s to the 1960s. This exhibition focused on nine related artists and brought together many of their representative works for the first time in Japan.
These artists created fields of color on large canvases, using staining techniques to soak the canvas with paint and spray guns to vaporize the colors.
Museum view of "Color Fields: from the Collection of Audrey and David Mirvish" Exhibition
Photographed by Osamu Watanabe
Courtesy of the Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art
Museum view of "Color Fields: from the Collection of Audrey and David Mirvish
" Exhibition Photographed by Osamu Watanabe
Courtesy of the Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art
When it comes to coloring materials, one of the main ingredients is the natural pigments that are made by grinding and purifying ores or soils which have been used since ancient times.
Nowadays, it is said that there are more than 1000 kinds of pigments, including chemically synthesized pigments of natural materials.
PIGMENT TOKYO has a showcase of "A Rainbow of 400 Colors: The World of Pigments" to provide more insights about the pigments and art materials, which also allows the visitors to enjoy the exhibition from various perspectives.
We carefully selected 400 colors out of 4500 pigments from our store’s display, including traditional nature-origin materials such as earth pigments and mineral paints, and modern effect pigments manufactured with the latest technology. Moreover, the minerals and other materials that are used for producing these pigments are all on display too, so this sure is a rare opportunity for visitors to see them all in one place.
The showcase is exhibited in a gallery attached to the museum with a great garden view.
Admission to "A Rainbow of 400 Colors: The World of Pigments" is free and open to all.
Furthermore, as a collaborative event, PIGMENT TOKYO also provided a special workshop, "My Colors, Everyone's Colors," in the same showcase space.
In this workshop, participants can learn about the history of paints and have hands-on experience making watercolor paints by mixing pigments with a binder. After the paint-making, we asked our participants to color the square cards and paste them on a large canvas to create a mosaic work that looks like a huge color chart.
This workshop is a little different from our usual "Creating Original Paints" workshops which are held at PIGMENT TOKYO in Tennozu Isle, it is specially designed to relate to the concept of the “Color Fields” exhibition.
It’s lectured by Kei Saito, an art materials expert who also teaches at PIGMENT TOKYO.
The workshop starts with a lecture explaining the overall ideas about paints and their history with materials, then followed by a demonstration of how to make watercolor paints.
Once you have a better understanding of color materials, it is now time to make your original paints.
Participants can make two colors of original watercolor paints by kneading Suihi (tinted pigments) and gum arabic with a muller on a marble plate.
Since there are so many possibilities, such as creating vivid colors by only mixing Suihi pigments, lighter colors by adding white pigments or shiny pearlescent colors by mixing lots of mica, therefore, every color you’ve created is one and only.
It could be your favorite color or something you were looking for, in the end, the colors came from one’s imagination becoming the reality once painted on the white canvas.
Sometimes it takes a few experiments to truly find your own color and searching for the color you want by testing each paint you made on paper is very exciting too!
For this workshop, we provided two types of bamboo washi papers, so our participants can see how the colors spread differently on them and get to try the staining technique that is seen in the exhibited artworks.
After the workshop, participants can bring the paints home by putting them in a tiny container.
Isn't it charming to paint with your own handmade watercolor paints? 
The next step is to paint the palette cards with the color you made.
Whether you want it to be dark or bright, the way you apply and express through the colors also reflects your personality too!
The palette cards are made of bamboo washi papers for watercolor or Sumi ink painting, which are eventually used and turned into a huge color chart.
By the way, how the color changes from wet to dry is interesting too and you probably don’t want to miss it!
Once the participants decided where to place the card, we pasted the colored cards on a large canvas.
The blank canvas is now filled with "Everyone's Colors."
We are posting updates on Twitter to show how every participant’s "My Colors" fill up the canvas with each workshop and how these cards grow into "Everyone's Colors" that interact with each other.
I cannot wait to see how this artwork will turn out on the last day of the workshop!
There will be a few parts left as white even after everyone's works are up there, so that is another result we can look forward to seeing. Isn’t it exciting to know some part of the canvas will remain white yet most of the colors are created by complete strangers?
At the end of the first workshop (July 16th)
At the end of the sixth a.k.a. the final workshop (August 20th)
“Everyone’s Colors” is going to be exhibited until September 4th in the First Gallery.
Moreover, you can check our workshop views and the creating process of “Everyone’s Colors” from the link below.
Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art’s Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/kawamura_dic
PIGMENT TOKYO is also engaged in activities to spread knowledge of painting materials and techniques by collaborating with museums and exhibitions.
We engage to pursue our project to expand the possibilities of artistic expression beyond the boundaries of the field.
(Date of Visit: July 16, 2022)
Museum view of "Color Fields: from the Collection of Audrey and David Mirvish" Exhibition
Photographed by Osamu Watanabe
Courtesy of the Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of ArtExhibition Information
Exhibition: Color Fields: from the Collection of Audrey and David Mirvish"
Period: March 19th (Sat.) － September 4th (Sun.), 2022
Venue: Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art (631 Sakado,Sakura,Chiba Pref.)
Organized by DIC Corporation
For more information: https://kawamura-museum.dic.co.jp/en/art/exhibition-past/2022/color-fields/
Exhibition Co-organized with PIGMENT TOKYO "A Rainbow of 400 Colors: The World of Pigments"
Period: July 5th (Tue.) － September 4th (Sun.), 2022
Time: 11:00－17:00
※Open 13:00 every Saturday from July 16 to August 20 for the workshops.
Venue: First Gallery in the garden (free admission)
For more information: https://kawamura-museum.dic.co.jp/topics/2022/06-400color/
*This event has ended.
Find the latest information about our workshops here.
Summer Vacation Workshop - “My Color, Everyone’s Color”
Period: July 16th (Sat.), July 23rd (Sat.), July 30th (Sat.), July 30th (Sat.), August 6th (Sat.), August 13th(Sat.), August 20th (Sat.), 2022
Time: 10:30－12:00 (Registration starts at 10:00)
Venu: First Gallery in the garden
Fee: Supporters membership 4,000 yen / General 4,500 yen (cash payment on the day, museum admission ticket included)
Capacity: 8 people per workshop
For more information: https://kawamura-museum.dic.co.jp/topics/2022/06-minnanoiro/
PIGMENT TOKYO Art Materials Experts
Profile
Art Materials Expert at PIGMENT TOKYO
NATSUKO SHIRAISHI
Art Materials Expert at PIGMENT TOKYO Graduated from the Textile Design at Tama Art University. While she works as an art material expert at PIGMENT, she also continues her career as an artist of original paper, Japanese paper and calligraphy.
Art Materials Expert at PIGMENT TOKYO Graduated from the Textile Design at Tama Art University. While she works as an art material expert at PIGMENT, she also continues her career as an artist of original paper, Japanese paper and calligraphy.