Kimura Kōsuke (b. 1936), Present Situation (Framing B) (detail), Japan, Shōwa era, 1971, screenprint and lithograph; ink on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Purchase and partial gift of the Kenneth and Kiyo Hitch Collection from Kiyo Hitch with funds from the Mary Griggs Burke Endowment, S2019.3.982, © Kosuke Kimura

Come see what’s new at the National Museum of Asian Art this summer! Opening June 21, Cut + Paste: Experimental Japanese Prints and Photographs showcases 17 artists from the museum’s collection who redefined printmaking and photography, blurring the boundaries of memory, reality, and perception. Then, on June 27, join artist Park Jinwoo for a talk on the history and modern evolution of Korean calligraphy, followed by hands-on workshops on June 28 and 29 where you’ll create your own expressive works using traditional materials. All events are free with registration.

Cut + Paste: Experimental Japanese Prints and Photographs
June 21 – November 30, 2025
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery | Gallery 25

Leave your assumptions about prints and photographs behind. In this exhibition, flat surfaces expand outward. Images aren’t simply printed—they are worked, reworked, and then reworked again. Paper artworks accumulate layers of unusual materials like plastic, foam, glue, and tape. In our era of media endlessly copied, reproduced, and loaded to screens, these photographs and prints beg to be viewed in person.

Cut + Paste showcases seventeen Japanese artists who pushed the limits of printmaking and photography. By combining techniques, these artists created multilayered images that challenge distinctions between mediums, art-making traditions, and notions of fine art and commercial design.

Spanning the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and drawn entirely from the museum’s collection, these works blur reality and memory, space and time—inviting you to look closer and experience each piece from your own unique perspective.

To learn more, click here.

Artist Talk: Korean Calligraphy, Past & Present
Friday, June 27, 2025, 12-1pm
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery | Gallery 27

Get a primer on Korean calligraphy, both traditional and experimental, from artisan Park Jinwoo. Delve into the history and practice of calligraphy as a long-standing art form in East Asia. Then learn about the artists in the field who are merging calligraphy with contemporary art, including Jinwoo himself! Want to put what you’ve learned into practice? Follow up with hands-on calligraphy workshops on June 28 and June 29 (see below).

To learn more and register, click here.

Artist Workshop: Korean Calligraphy
Saturday, June 28 or June 29, 2025, 1-3pm
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery | ImaginAsia Studio

In this workshop, you’ll learn how to use traditional calligraphy materials and create works that express your personal story. Calligraphy has been a medium for communicating one’s own story since ancient times, and some of the most famous calligraphic works in East Asia are examples of this: Wang Xizhi’s Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion, Yan Zhenqing’s Draft of a Requiem to My Nephew, and Kim Jeong-hee’s Sehando. Open to all ages, no experience necessary. Materials provided; space is limited.

To learn more and register, click here.