Famed for its visual appeal and technical intricacy, Japanese design has a long tradition of using flora and fauna motifs, in both highly realistic forms and abstract patterns. The naturalistic sensibility is so deeply rooted in the DNA of Japanese design that it is transmitted down through generations. Reimagining traditional subjects in modern forms, early twentieth-century Japanese artists excelled in creating works that are at once Art Deco and Japanese, as seen in the special exhibition Deco Japan: Shaping Art and Culture, 1920–1945 on view at the Seattle Asian Art Museum from May 10 to October 19, 2014.

This installation includes two rotations, with different sets of paintings and textiles on view in each rotation: the first will be through August 3, 2014, and the second from August 16, 2014 through April 19, 2015.

–Xiaojin Wu, Associate Curator for Japanese and Korean Art

Matsugatani type flat dish with petal-shaped edges, early 18th century, Japanese, porcelain with polychrome, 1 1/16 x 5 in., L.: 6 3/8 in., Seattle Art Museum, Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection.