Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum
About Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum
Art museum with a rotating exhibition of over 4500 pieces focussed around Hiroshima Prefecture, Japanese and Asian art and craft, as well as art created in the 1920s and 30s. Holds several special exhibitions throughout the year in a dedicated wing.
Renovated in 1996, Hiroshima Prefectural Art Mueseum (HPAM) is one of the largest art museums in Western Japan and houses over 4,500 works. These are are displayed in rotating exhibitions which change around four times per year.
Volunteer guides are often on hand to help explain the artwork to the uninitiated.
Focussing on art and artists with connections to the Hiroshima region, and includes Japanese Nihonga painting, traditional Asian art crafts, and art from the 1920s and 1930s. The full collection includes a variety of works, including pottery and porcelain, folding screens, sculptures, paintings, folk art, as well as metalwork, dying, and weaving. Notable works include Salvador Dali’s Dreams of Venus, along with works by Alexander Calder, Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, Carlo Carrà, Erich Heckel and Okada Kenzo, Giorgio de Chirico, Henry Moore, Isamu Noguchi, Lyonel Feininger, Max Ernst and René Magritte. Local artists in the collection include Ikuo Hirayama, Katsuzo Entsuba, Kibo Kodama, Okuda Genso.
The museum also holds several special exhibitions per year in a dedicated wing, including events such as lectures or concerts. In these past these exhibitions have offered a huge variety, ranging from fine art, works by Leonardy Da Vinci, ukiyo-e, through to detailed exhibitions of production materials from Studio Ghibli and TV show Shaun the Sheep.
The museum is located adjacent to the Shukkeien Garden and offers excellent views into the grounds. It includes a restaurant and cafe, both overlooking the garden.
Admission prices can vary depending on the special exhibition, or the main collection can typically be viewed even if the museum is changing exhibitions.