Friday, February 20th at 6:00 PM, the collective exhibition A Space of Exchanges and Connections. Forms of Japanese Contemporary Art in the Italian Peninsula curated by Alberto Dambruoso and Mayumi Miyazawa will be inaugurated at the Crocetti Museum in Rome, featuring the participation of artists Nobushige Akiyama, Yuriko Damiani, Uemon Ikeda, Machiko Kodera, Hidetoshi Nagasawa, Kyoji Nagatani, Yoshin Ogata, Naoya Takahara, Sahoko Takahashi, and Kan Yasuda.

The exhibition project is part of the celebrations for the 160th anniversary of the start of diplomatic relations between Italy and Japan, and is dedicated to contemporary Japanese artists who have chosen Italy as a privileged place for training, research, and creative synthesis. The initiative offers the ideal opportunity to celebrate the deep cultural dialogue and artistic heart of the fruitful relationships between the two countries, in the name of art and aesthetic research, with the participation of ten internationally renowned Japanese artists who have built their path in Italy without ever severing the bond with their original culture.

The exhibition presents artistic practices ranging from painting to ceramics, from installation to performance and sculpture, including also large-format paper projects and works. It reveals a rich plurality of paths that traverse experimentation, memory, identity, and contemporaneity. The exhibition evokes the simplicity of existence: in the artists' poetics, creation does not reside in adding or subtracting, but in the power of contemplation, understood as an act capable of revealing the sublime not as a distant ideal, but as authentic presence.

The Venanzo Crocetti Foundation has established a deep connection with Japan, beyond time, rooted in the figure of the Master who gave it its name. Since the 1970s, Crocetti recognized in the Land of the Rising Sun a ground for stimulus and dialogue, exhibiting in Tokyo, Osaka, Sendai, Sapporo, and other cultural centers, consolidating lasting artistic relationships. Among the symbolic works of this dialogue is the large equestrian group  The Young Knight of Peace, whose international journey began in Hiroshima in 1989 as a message of concord among peoples. After Italy, Japan is the country that hosts the largest number of his works, preserved in prominent museums and public spaces.

The project was carried out by the Venanzo Crocetti Foundation with the contribution of the Ministry of Culture and the patronage of the Embassy of Japan, the Italy Japan Foundation, and the Japanese Institute of Culture in Rome. 

Exhibition: A Space of Exchanges and Connections. Forms of Japanese Contemporary Art in the Italian Peninsula

Crocetti Museum

February 20, 2026 - March 31, 2026 February 20, 2026 (Friday) 6:00 PM

At the Venanzo Crocetti Museum in Rome, the exhibition "A Space of Exchanges and Connections - Forms of Japanese Contemporary Art in the Italian Peninsula" will open. Curated by Alberto Dambruoso and Mayumi Miyazawa, the exhibition features the participation of Nobushige Akiyama, Yuriko Damiani, Uemon Ikeda, Machiko Kodera, Hidetoshi Nagasawa, Kyoji Nagatani, Yoshin Ogata, Naoya Takahara, Sahoko Takahashi, and Kan Yasuda. Held as part of the 160th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Italy and Japan, the exhibition focuses on contemporary Japanese artists who have chosen Italy as a creative base for training, research, and creative integration.

This project celebrates the rich relationship between the two countries nurtured through art and aesthetic exploration, highlighting the depth of cultural dialogue and artistic core. The exhibition features ten Japanese artists of international acclaim who have developed their unique creative paths in Italy while maintaining a connection with their cultural origins.

The exhibition showcases a variety of artistic practices ranging from painting to ceramics, installation, performance, and sculpture, including large paper works and projects. It reveals a rich trajectory of creative paths that traverse experimentation, memory, identity, and contemporaneity. The exhibition also evokes the simplicity of existence, where creation in the artists' poetics lies not in adding or subtracting, but in the power of contemplation - revealing the sublime as authentic presence rather than a distant ideal.

The Venanzo Crocetti Foundation has established a deep bond with Japan through the figure of the Master that bears its name. Since the 1970s, Crocetti recognized Japan as a source of creative stimulus and dialogue, exhibiting in Tokyo, Osaka, Sendai, Sapporo, and other cultural centers, fostering long-lasting artistic exchanges. One of the iconic works symbolizing this dialogue is the grand equestrian statue "The Young Knight of Peace." This work began its international journey in Hiroshima in 1989 as a message of peace among nations. After Italy, Japan is the country with the largest number of Crocetti's works, displayed in prominent museums and public spaces.

This exhibition was organized by the Venanzo Crocetti Foundation with the support of the Ministry of Culture, and under the patronage of the Embassy of Japan, the Italy Japan Foundation, and the Japanese Cultural Institute of Rome.