Animals, Animals, Animals

Yes, hundreds of them! The National Museum of Modern Art's Crafts Gallery does its best Noah's Ark impression this spring, when textiles, ceramics, lacquerware, woodwork and many other types of crafts – all decorated with animal motifs – from the gallery's permanent collection are put on display through May 21. In the past, animal themes were employed in Japan to reflect the hopes and desires of the craftspeople themselves, with cranes and turtles symbolising long life, clams standing for ample harvests and dragonflies for luck in battle. Modern artists may have departed from such simple symbolism, but continued to incorporate creature motifs – often by playing with materials and techniques to come up with new forms of expression. 'Animals, Animals, Animals' explores both of these tendencies, and should be a fascinating experience for visitors both young and old.