Fukuoka Asian Art Museum Best Collection Ⅲ
Breaking the Conventional: New Self-Portraits

Since its opening in 1999, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum has been systematically acquiring modern and contemporary artworks from Asian regions, forming a distinctively unique collection in terms of both quality and quantity.

This exhibition is the third chapter of the series “Best Collection,” which brings together selected masterpieces by prominent Asian artists among approximately 5,700 pieces in the collection. Primarily focused on the figures who became known during the 1980s to the 90s, the show features over 40 works by 11 artists.

During the 1980s and the 90s, when Japan experienced the rise and fall of its bubble economy, many other regions of Asia succeeded in achieving political liberalization and economic growth. At that time, Asian art leaped to new horizons, where unprecedented forms of visual expression emerged across Asia that were far from mere imitation of Western art or reiteration of the classics. Moreover, as the art world shifted to reconsider its Western-centric values, contemporary art scenes in Asia gained global recognition, leading to the continuous emergence of artists striving to make the world their stage.

The way each artist reflected on their own background and attempted to create art through such contemplations played a significant role when Asian art developed its particular characteristics. Reconsideration of the history, tradition, and culture that shape their own identities, as well as the circumstances in society that surround them and presenting them in forms that never existed before – in other words, such explorations to illustrate “a new self-portrait” – forged a new chapter in Asian art.

We are pleased to announce the opening of this show “Best Collection,” the largest in the series, where visitors are invited to a dynamic space of encounters with masterpieces created throughout the times when Asian art underwent great evolution.