Hokusai and Ukiyo-e coming to Chicagoland summer of 2025
The Cleve Carney Museum of Art and McAninch Arts Center, located at 425 Fawell Blvd on the College of DuPage campus (Glen Ellyn, IL), presents “Hokusai and Ukiyo-e: The Floating World, Artworks from the Chiossone Collection” May 31 through September 21, 2025. The exhibition brings 17th-century Japan to life through the artwork, meticulously crafted recreations, immersive experiences, hands-on activities and historical exhibits. This exhibition is organized by the Cleve Carney Museum of Art in collaboration with the Edoardo Chiossone Museum of Oriental Art of Genoa, Italy and with the support of MondoMostre.
The multi-faceted experience centers around the world-class presentation of a 70-piece collection making its U.S. debut, featured as “Museum Galleries – Chiossone Collection” in the exhibition. On loan from the Edoardo Chiossone Museum of Oriental Art in Genoa, Italy, the collection includes 53 woodblock prints and original paintings by leading artists of ukiyo-e — a major artistic genre that flourished during Japan’s Edo Period (1603–1868)—along with 17 handcrafted objects such as games, instruments and daily objects.
In support of the featured collection, “Hokusai & Ukiyo-e” immerses guests in historical Japanese culture through a variety of engaging, interactive exhibits spanning over 10,000 square feet, each created exclusively for the CCMA and MAC. Visitors will be transported to a time when the city of Edo (now Tokyo) flourished under shogunate rule as the cultural and economic heart of Japan, embracing the arts, nature and leisurely pursuits.
Widely considered as one of the most recognizable images in the world, the collection will feature Katsushika Hokusai’s iconic masterpiece, “Under the Wave off Kanagawa,” along with eight more of his original works. There will also be 15 works by Utagawa Hiroshige, particularly known for the “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo” series, along with works by 15 of their contemporaries.
“Japanese Art during this period had a massive influence on the development of Western art and culture,” CCMA Curator Justin Witte said. “200 years later, these images still feel fresh and innovative as they continue to inspire new generations of artists such as Takashi Murakami and Hayao Miyazaki, as well as creators of manga and anime.”
Hokusai is widely recognized one of Japan’s greatest artists, as he was instrumental in developing the genre of ukiyo-e and modernized traditional print styles. He transformed ukiyo-e art into a modern form of graphic art, covering several subjects from portraits of entertainers and Kabuki actors, to unique views of the natural world. His artistry brought the highest development of the ukiyo-e genre, spreading a newfound awareness of current subjects and tastes through the mass production of books, manga and manuals.
Hokusai’s work not only shaped the artistic landscape of the Edo Period and paved the way for Japanese art, but also had a significant influence on impressionists Edgar Degas and Claude Monet, and later Vincent van Gogh, during the Japonisme art movement that spread across Europe in the late 19th century.
The exhibition is organized by the Cleve Carney Museum of Art, with works from the Edoardo Chiossone Museum of Oriental Art of Genoa, Italy that was originally collected by Edoardo Chiossone (1833-1898), and whose collection is known worldwide for the quality of art and its remarkable state of conservation. The featured ukiyo-e collection on loan will be curated by professor and art historian Rossella Menegazzo of The University of Milan as part of the larger exhibition at the MAC, and the CCMA gallery will be curated by Justin Witte.
Exhibition Tickets
Ticket prices range from $12 to $32 ($12 tickets available Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 2 – 5 p.m.). VIP add-on packages start at $25 and include benefits such as audio tours, catalogs and exhibition merchandise. For tickets or more information visit Hokusai2025.org or call the MAC Box Office 630.942.4000.
Discounts are available for groups of 20 or more by contacting the group sales coordinator at 630.942.3026 or grouptix@cod.edu.
About the Museo d’Arte Orientale E. Chiossone of Genoa, Italy
Founded in 1905, the Museum is named after Edoardo Chiossone, a skilled Genoese engraver who lived and worked in Japan at the end of the 19th century. Chiossone is known throughout the world for having designed the first Japanese banknotes and securities. The Museum, in the city center and facing the sea, was the first museum dedicated to Japanese art to be founded in Italy, and houses the largest, most precious and most varied collection of Japanese art in Italy and one of the most important in Europe, donated to the city of Genoa by Chiossone himself.
About MondoMostre
MondoMostre is the world’s leading producer of exhibitions. Founded in Italy in 1999, it has successfully delivered critically acclaimed exhibitions for many of the most recognized museums internationally. As thought leaders at the forefront of cultural discourse, it offers unique insight and a distinct perspective that is helping to shape the future of the cultural sector. Through its exhibitions, it seeks to inspire audiences globally by making great works of art accessible to more people. MondoMostre champions the power of arts and culture to educate, build knowledge and reflect its shared humanity.
About the Cleve Carney Museum of Art
The late Cleve Carney provided a significant legacy gift to establish the Cleve Carney Art Gallery at College of DuPage. The gallery opened in February 2014 with its inaugural exhibition, “Selections from Cleve Carney’s Art Collection.” In fall 2019, the gallery was expanded to a 2,500 square-foot museum.
Funding for CCMA is provided by the Cleve Carney Endowment Fund, which supports vital programming including artist engagement opportunities for community members and students, gallery exhibitions, artist commissions, new acquisitions and other teaching and learning tools that foster cultural enrichment in our community.
More information can be found at www.TheCCMA.org.
About the MAC
McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage is located 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I355. It houses three indoor performance spaces (780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall; 186-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre; and a versatile black box Studio Theatre), outdoor Lakeside Pavilion, plus the Cleve Carney Museum of Art and classrooms for the college’s academic programming. The MAC has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 1.5 million people since its opening in 1986 and typically welcomes more than 100,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances each season.
For more information about the MAC, visit www.AtTheMAC.org.
