Ayashii: Decadent and Grotesque Images of Beauty in Modern Japanese Art

The National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo’s “Ayashii: Decadent and Grotesque Images of Beauty in Modern Japanese Art” examines the influences and inspirations of the Modern art creative period in Japan. Through a series of paintings, illustrations, and prints from publications dating between the mid-19th century—around 1930, the exhibition focuses on themes of expression lying outside the stereotypical realm of beauty, like decadence, sensuousness, grotesqueness, and eroticism.