The Library of Congress houses the largest collection of 17th to 20th century Japanese woodblock prints, drawings, and books outside Japan. The majority of the collection was donated to the Library almost one hundred years ago, and this exhibition was the first public viewing of this previously unseen collection. Our primary goal in designing this exhibition was to derive inspiration from the refined and elegant artistic vocabulary of the prints themselves and their cultural context, without overpowering them amid the richly ornamented exhibition environment of the North and South Galleries in the Jefferson Building. We utilized an existing modular wall panel system augmented with new cases that we designed specifically for this exhibition. The exhibition text panels, signage, and print materials were designed to reflect the character of Japanese scrolls. The exhibition's thematic areas were delineated with custom–built Japanese–style structural elements inspired by architectural details depicted in the Ukiyo-e prints. The exhibition was also arranged to create focal points and lines of sight to help orient the visitor to the thematic sections and foster connection between the North and South Galleries.

LOC EXHIBITION ONLINE