A special corner screens a video projection by artist and cellist, Su-Mei Tse from Luxembourg. “The Echo” (2003) frames the artist as a minuscule entity, playing the cello in the middle of the vast and still highlands. Her bright red dress and the glistening green meadow contrast vibrantly with the grimly shaded mountains. The sounds of her cello vibrate across the wild environment, establishing a dialogue between nature and humanity.

Su-Mei Tse, The Echo, 2003, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa © su-mei tse

A large section is devoted to the museum’s masterpieces by Monet, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Seurat, Signac, and Redon. While not necessarily mirroring images of Hakone, the works, nevertheless, manifest reconstructed waterside scenes, forests, and outdoor scenery that evoke the passage of history.

Anselm Kiefer, The Rhine, 2023, Private Collection, Photo: Nina Slavcheva © Anselm Kiefer

Finally, the exhibition concludes with later contemporary art and Neo-expressionism through the mesmerizing painting, “The Rhine” (2023) by German artist Anselm Kiefer, and two deer installations, “PixCell-Deer#72 (Aurora)” (2022) and “PixCell-Deer#74” (2024) by multidisciplinary artist, Kohei Nawa. Kiefer’s abstract landscape recalls Germany’s Rhine River and multi-layered history of Europe, embellished in oil paint, gold leaf, and other media, symbolizing the earth’s dynamic composition. One stares into the picture with a feeling of enigma and mystery.

Gallery view, Kohei Nawa, PixCell-Deer#72 (Aurora), 2022, Private Collection © Kohei Nawa / PixCell-Deer#74, 2024, Pola Museum of Art

Nawa’s sculptures, made of artificial crystal spheres, which he calls “PixCells,” are popularly linked with his identity. He associates the sacred animals’ spiritual significance with Japanese religion by using glass beads, which represent the sun, to reflect the boundary between the human and nonhuman worlds.

After surveying the exhibition, a pleasant stroll in the museum’s sprawling garden, dotted with sculptural artworks makes for a truly exhilarating spring experience.

SPRING RISING
Dates: December 13th, 2025 – May 31st, 2026
Opening Hours: 9:00 – 17:00 (Last admission 16:30)
Place: Pola Museum of Art
Address: 1285 Kozukayama, Sengokuhara, Hakone, Kanagawa, Japan
Tel: +81 (0)460 84 2111
https://www.polamuseum.or.jp