Makoto Fujimura: Water Flames

Saturday, January 13–Sunday, March 31, 2024

Keynote Lecture: Thursday, January 18, at 5:30 PM in Stauffer Chapel
Opening Celebration: Saturday, January 20, from 2 to 5 PM at the Weisman Museum

Makoto Fujimura has earned an international reputation for his beautiful, deeply moving abstract paintings made using traditional Nihonga materials with delicate washes of natural pigments. Makoto Fujimura: Water Flames brings together a number of his major paintings of the last 20 years, focusing on the poetic paradox between the elements of water and fire, which symbolize, in Fujimura’s words, art’s power to “[turn] the flames of destruction into the flames of sanctification.”

Makoto Fujimura: Water Flames was curated by Weisman Museum director Andrea Gyorody in close collaboration with the artist.

 

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Makoto Fujimura (b. 1960) is a leading contemporary artist whose work has been featured in galleries and museums around the world, including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, Huntington Library in California, Tikotin Museum in Israel, Belvedere Museum in Vienna, C3M North Bund Art Museum in Shanghai, and Pola Museum in Japan. His process-driven, refractive “slow art” has been described by David Brooks of the New York Times as “a small rebellion against the quickening of time.” 

Fujimura is the author of four books: Art+Faith: A Theology of Making (2021), Silence and Beauty (2016), Culture Care (2014), and Refractions (2009). He is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2023 Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Theology and Public Life and the American Academy of Religion’s 2014 “Religion and the Arts” award. From 2003 to 2009, he served as a Presidential appointee to the National Council on the Arts. He has received notable recognition as a speaker, with one address selected by NPR as among the 200 “Best Commencement Addresses Ever” and by CNN as one of the top 16 “Greatest Commencement Speeches of All Time.” Fujimura has also been the recipient of honorary degrees from Belhaven University, Biola University, Cairn University, and Roanoke College. 

 

PUBLIC PROGRAMS

Keynote Lecture

Thursday, January 18, at 5:30 PM in Stauffer Chapel

Join us for a talk by internationally-renowned artist and writer Makoto Fujimura, on the occasion of his solo exhibition at Pepperdine’s Weisman Museum of Art. His talk, “Water Flames and Sea Beyond,” will be followed by a short film and presentation by his wife, lawyer and CEO of Embers International, Haejin Shim Fujimura, who will speak about their transformative work integrating their Christian faith. After a Q&A, guests will be invited to join a public reception. No registration required. 

This event is co-sponsored by the Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts, Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, Chaplain’s Office, and the Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion & Ethics at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law.

Opening Celebration

Saturday, January 20, from 2 to 5 PM at the Weisman Museum

Join us to celebrate the opening of our spring exhibitions, Makoto Fujimura: Water Flames and Jeni Spota C: Encore! on Saturday, January 20 from 2 to 5 PM, with complimentary refreshments and kid-friendly art activities in the courtyard. Artist Jeni Spota C. will be in conversation with Weisman Museum director Andrea Gyorody at 4 PM in the galleries; seating for the conversation is limited and will be first come, first served. Registration for the reception is recommended but not required at the link at the top right.

 

 

Image credit: Makoto Fujimura, Water Flames — Doe of the Dawn, 2021, mineral pigments, gold, and silver on canvas. Collection of the artist. Image courtesy of the artist © 2024 Makoto Fujimura