This encyclopedic exhibition introduces the selected works from the collection of Anno Mitsumasa Municipal Museum, Tsuwano: picture books, book designs, and posters from his early days to the present.
Making a successful debut into the field of picture books with Mysterious Pictures in 1968, Anno Mitsumasa has been widely active as a painter, writer, and illustrator of picture books, designer and binder for books, and a designer in general. He has received various honors and prizes inside and outside of Japan, including the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1984.
Anno’s works are known for the carefully drawn, meticulous details with a bird-eye view composition as if he is sketching the daily activities of people in his hometown Tsuwano, Shimane Prefecture from the surrounding mountains. Anno cherishes the memories of his childhood days in Tsuwano and projects those images on his works for children’s books. His books have been charming many people for years with the remarkable friendliness and richness of nostalgia.
While being best known for his picture books, Anno’s profound knowledge is not limited to the domain of art, but also in mathematics and literature. His remarkable intelligence and imagination add a taste of mystery and puzzle in his works. Rich in surprises, the joy of discovery is surely an important component to the attractiveness that his picture books have.
Besides creating picture books, Anno provides the cover designs and illustrations for various literature and mathematics books, while also publishing a number of his own essays.
This exhibition introduces the multifaceted activities and works of Anno: the original copies of illustrations and paintings, picture books, book bindings designed by him, and posters from his earliest work to his present work, all of which compose the fantastic Anno world.