Ежегодник Япония (Dec 2023)
Gekkōsō and Nakamura Yōko. Coin Shine Under the Moon: About the Gallery’s Activities and the Market for Soviet Art in Japan
Abstract
From the late 1960s to the mid-1980s, the Gekkōsō Gallery occupied a significant niche in the exhibition exchange between the USSR and Japan, organizing exhibitions of works from the collections of leading Soviet museums in Japan (the State Russian Museum, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, the State Hermitage, the State Tretyakov Gallery), as well as representing the work of individual artists (D. Nalbandyan, N. Romadin, T. Salakhov, Y. Pimenov, et al.). At the same time, the gallery was actively involved in the process of exporting paintings by Soviet artists, working with the Union of Soviet Artists and socio-political organizations. The vigorous activity of the gallery director Nakamura Yōko and her chosen promotion strategy demonstrated the complex process of presenting Soviet art to Japanese consumers, associated with an attempt to de-ideologize the artists’ work while at the same time making it attractive for the art market in Japan. The process of commercialization of Soviet artists’ works and the nuances of Nakamura’s relationships with the Soviet Ministry of Culture and related organizations associated with the desire to seek the highest monetary gain and public status eventually led to the demise of Gekkōsō and its subsequent bankruptcy. This article aims to outline the gallery’s phenomenon against the background of other actors of exhibition exchange between Japan and the USSR, showing the main milestones in the history of the gallery’s cooperation with Soviet institutions. Specific attention is paid to Nakamura Yōko’s image in Soviet periodicals, her business activities and personal contacts in the USSR, as well as her reputation in Japan. Materials for the article include documents from the State Archive of the Russian Federation (GARF), the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art (RGALI), the archive of the State Tretyakov Gallery (GTG), as well as periodical materials from the 1970s and 1980s that mention Nakamura and her gallery’s activities.
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