Mary Reid Kelley & Patrick Kelley
Nobuyoshi Araki, Robert Colescott, William Copley, Carroll Dunham, Tracey Emin, Steve Gianakos, Robert Heinecken, Henri Matisse, Laurel Nakadate, Mary Reid Kelley, Zak Smith, Mickalene Thomas, John Wesley, Franz West, Kohei Yoshiyuki, Lisa Yuskavage and others
By the late 17th century, the city of Edo (modern-day Tokyo) had grown from a small provincial center into a metropolis of more than one million residents. In response to this expanding urban audience and its rising middle-class collector base, publishers and impresarios began commissioning some of Japan’s greatest artists to depict exquisitely seductive scenarios—images that served as vivid testimonials to the carnal culture flourishing within the “night-less cities” such as Yoshiwara. The result was an extraordinary art industry that produced accessible, affordable images of erotic beauty for the new chonin, or “city man.”
While Western art has historically taken a more restrained approach to the depiction of erotic engagement, many artists outside Japan have long drawn inspiration from the mastery of ukiyo-e: its fluid line, refined compositions, atmospheric flatness, and the sumptuous complexity of patterned textiles interwoven among reclining bodies.
This exhibition began as a discussion about the deep aesthetic connections between John Wesley and the tradition of Japanese erotic prints. That conversation expanded into a broader exploration of how these prints echo through modern and contemporary artworks—sometimes as direct catalysts, sometimes as unexpected touchstones. Images from a Floating World does not propose an academic taxonomy. Instead, it offers the curators an opportunity to play with reference, influence, analogy, and occasional mischievous association.
