Within the frames of the project “Hermitage 20/21” the amazing exhibition “Mono no aware” was opened in the hall-transformer of the General Staff Building. New exhibition space allowed to make acquaintance with the contemporary art of the country of the Rising Sun highly variable, combining installation, sculpture, video art, photography and painting.

At first glance, there is no place for traditional Japanese art with well-known exquisite engravings and sculptures netsuke, but the clue is in the title – Mono no aware – “Charm of things”.

This is a key concept of aesthetics of the Heian period – beauty with a hint of melancholy, “sad charm of things” due to the Shinto belief that every thing contains his deity – kami, its unique charm. If the piece of art doesn’t contain mono no aware, it is not genuine. One must possess a sympathetic heart to find and feel this charm, to see it even in ordinary subjects.

Thus, the soaring polyethylene was used as the material for one of the amazing exhibits, which keeps its shape with the help of hundreds of thousands of thin strands of hand-made glue. The huge maze laid out of ordinary salt surprises visitors at the entrance. Kengo Kito’s installation is composed of hoops. At the same time, it reminds a sculpture and a big painting with disconnected planes, elementary colors and perspective.

The exhibition is hold by the State Hermitage with support of Japan Embassy in Russia and ANO “International Festival of Arts “Diaghilev. P.S.”.