Rare art of Buddhist grand master to visit Chicago 

By Kay McKinlay Ford 

Prepare to be inspired, deeply moved, contemplative, and spiritually uplifted no matter what your faith with the arrival of The Vision and Art of Shinjo Ito at the Chicago Illuminating Company in the South Loop this month. On view until Thursday, May 1, this rare exhibition of sculpture by Shinjo Ito, a major Buddhist artist of Japan’s Showa Era (1925 to 1989) and founder of Shinnyo Buddhism, will leave the viewer motivated to see more.

            Chicago is the second stop in the show’s three-city U.S. tour commemorating the 100th anniversary of Ito’s birth. Chicago has the added distinction of opening the show on Tuesday, April 8, the artist’s birthday. The Vision and Art of Shinjo Ito met with rave reviews in five cities in Japan in 2006 and 2007 and captured the hearts of more than 310,000 people with more than 100 pieces of religious and secular artwork.

            “Our senses encounter Shinjo Ito through a passage with our feet as well as our hearts, which will allow us to open the eyes of our heart not only to the works but the beauty within,” said Patrick O’Connor, spokesperson for the exhibit. “That will spread to friends, family, work, home…to spread world peace.”

            A remarkable artist and religious leader, Ito fused faith with art to form fresh visual perspectives and powerful meditative tools. The exhibition’s showstopper is the Great Parinirvana Image, a reclining Buddha about to enter nirvana at the end of his life. Aside from its awe inspiring size—16 feet long—the figure’s serenity has amazed many viewers. Buddhists believe being in the presence of an image of the Buddha can be a reminder of one’s buddhahood—the potential for compassion inherent in all humans.

“The face looks young, not like an old, lined man at the end of his life,” O’Connor said. “Shinjo Ito was able to display this youthful and contented expression. The way it works is to make one reflect within and meditate on a good life [and then] extending it to society.”

            Besides spiritual images, Ito focused his art on beloved family members, friends, and senior priests of the order. Prominently featured are busts of Ito’s two sons, both of whom died young. Although Ito excelled in sculpture, his work also includes photography, engravings, and calligraphy.           

            “This important exhibition gives U.S. audiences a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gain insight into the heart and mind of a major Buddhist figure of the 20th century and one of Japan’s most revered spiritual leaders,” remarked Hiroko Sakomur, curator and general director of the exhibition.

Born in Yamanashi, Japan in 1906, Ito displayed artistic talent at an early age, winning many awards and much recognition. He began his career as an aeronautical engineer but later left the profession to answer a greater calling by entering the Daigo school of Shingdon Buddhism. Immersed in one of Japan’s oldest denominations, he earned the rank of grand master, later establishing the order of Shinnyo-en, where his art continued to play a prominent role in his religious pursuits.

The Shinnyo-en is an independent Buddhist order based on the teachings of the Nirvana Sutra, which emphasizes Buddhism for lay practitioners as well as monastics.  Founded on the commitment to universal truth, compassion, and service, Shinnyo-en teaches that all people carry the seed of enlightenment within them.

Since Ito’s death in 1989 at age 83, his daughter, Shinso Ito, has continued her father’s legacy in Elk Grove Village, IL. Master Shinso is the only woman today who leads a major Buddhist order, and she became the first woman to officiate at a service in the main hall of Kyoto’s temple of Daigo in its 1,100-year history.

            O’Connor invites all to “Open the eyes of our heart to find and cultivate the innate goodness within and create a dialog to be inspired ourselves,” through the work of Shinjo Ito.

            Chicago Illuminating Company is located at 19 E. 21st Street. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to The Vision and Art of Shinjo Ito is free, and the show runs until May 1, when it moves to Los Angeles.

 

ART

            Alfadena Gallery, 434 W. Ontario St., presents Yvette Kaiser-Smith’s Digits through Saturday, April 12. Call (312) 944-4340 or log on to www.alfadenagallery.com.

Architrouve, 1433 W. Chicago Ave., presents Genuine Object: W.K. Marhoefer from Friday, April 18, through Saturday, June 7. Call (312) 563-0977 or log on to www.thearchitrouve.com.

            Chicago Architecture Foundation, 224 S. Michigan Ave., presents Do We Dare Squander Chicago’s Great Architectural Heritage? Preserving Chicago, Making History, through April. Visit www.architecture.org or call (312) 922-3432.

            Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., invites all to view the Dean Sharp’s exhibition of Photographs of the Chicago Picasso, which chronicles the reaction in 1967 to the Picasso sculpture’s installation in what is now Daley Plaza. Visit www.chicagoculturalcenter.org or call (312)744-6630.

            Gallery 400 at the University of Illinois at Chicago, 400 S. Peoria St., features the large-scale installation Thread by Justin Cooper through April. Visit www.uic.edu, call (312) 996-6114, or visit www.feeltankchicago.net.

            Lloyd Dobler, 1545 W. Division St., 2nd floor, presents the group show Into the Mouth of the Wolf through Saturday, April 26, featuring work by Matthew Woodson, Helena Kvarnstrom, Dawn Kasper, Matt Carr, Brendan Larsen, and Xela. Visit www.lloyddoblergallery.com or call (312) 961-8706.

            Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave., opens Kelly Kaczynski’s show Olympus Manager II with a reception Saturday, April 26, 6 to 8 p.m. Admission is free. Call (773) 324-5520 or visit www.hydeparkart.org.

            Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, 756 N. Milwaukee Ave., presents 13 collage watercolors by Henry Darger in the Study Center Gallery through Saturday, June 28. Also see Least Wanted: A Century of American Mugshots, Mark Michaelson’s collection of mugshots from the 1870s to the 1960s, through Saturday, April 12. Call (312) 243-9088 for hours or visit www.outsider.art.org.

            National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W. 19th St., presents Horns, Hooves, Wings, Fins, and Tails through Sunday, June 8. Also showing is Chupacabras!, in which artists reinterpret myth, through April. Visit www.nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org or call (312) 738-1503.

National Vietnam Veterans Museum, 1801 S. Indiana Ave., features work by vets of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars throughout April in the show The Things They Carried. Call (312) 326-0270 or visit www.nvvam.org.

Judy A. Saslow Gallery, 300 W. Superior St., features work by David Lee Csicsko through Saturday, April 12. On Thursday, April 24, enjoy a champagne preview of the Intuit show and sale of folk and outsider art, self-taught art, art brut, ethnographic art, non-traditional folk art, and visionary art; the Intuit exhibit runs through Monday, April 28. Call (312) 943-0530 or log on to www.jsaslowgallery.com.

            Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, 618 S. Michigan Ave., presents The New Authentics: Artists of the Post-Jewish Generation, in which artists explore contemporary notions of Jewish identity. Also, opening Friday May 2, is Imaginary Coordinates, which juxtaposes antique maps of the Holy Land with modern maps of this region and adds objects of material culture and artworks that question national borders. Visit www.spertus.edu or call (312) 322-1700.

            Linda Warren Gallery, 1052 W. Fulton Market, shows Inflorescence by Carson Fox through Saturday, May 10. Call (312) 432-9500 or visit www.lindawarrengallery.com.

            Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, 2320 W. Chicago Ave., presents the world’s largest collections of Ukrainian and Ukrainian-American abstract and minimalist works from the 1950s through the 1970s. Call (630) 240-7112 or visit www.uima-art.org.

            Woman Made Gallery, 685 N. Milwaukee Ave., presents All Manner of Glass opening Friday, April 4, and running through Monday, June 19. See the work of glass artists using many hot glass techniques. Visit www.womanmade.org or call (312) 738-0400.

 

MUSEUMS

Chinese-American Museum, 238 W, 23rd St., presents Great Wall to the Great Lakes: Chinese Immigration to the Midwest, which traces the history of Chinese immigrants to the U.S, including exclusion laws and reasons for moving to various parts of the country. Mini replicas of a Chinese restaurant grocery store and hand laundry highlight early Chinese immigrants’ livelihoods. Call (312) 949-1000 or visit www.ccamuseum.org.

Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr., presents Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns, & Mermaids until September to examine the legend and the science behind these strange and wonderful beings. Call (866) Field-03 or visit www.fieldmuseum.org.

Museum of Science and Industry, 57th St. and Lake Shore Dr., presents Dinosaurs Alive, an adventure of science and discovery in a new giant screen film narrated by Michael Douglas. The show runs throughout April. Also see The Glass Experience throughout this month to explore glass’s many functional and decorative forms. For more information, call (773) 753-6230 or visit www.msichicago.org.

 

MUSIC

Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St, presents Classical Mondays at 12:15 p.m.; Jazz, Blues, & Beyond on Tuesdays at 12:15 p.m. in the Randolph Café at 77 E. Randolph St.; and classical music by young musicians on Wednesdays at 12:15 p.m. On Sundays at 3 p.m., enjoy more classical music with the Sunday Salon Series. Admission is free. Call (312) 744-6630 or log on to www.chicagoculturalcenter.org.

Chicago Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave., presents Zakir Hussain and the Masters of Percussion on Saturday, April 19, at 8 p.m., in a program that features a traditional North Indian classical repertoire coupled with contemporary and folk music.  Tickets are $20 to $45 and can be purchased by calling CSO ticketing at (312) 294-3000 or (800) 223-7114 or by visiting www.cso.org

            Pianoforte, Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 825. Listen to Di Wu on piano on Friday, April 11; Patricia Tao, piano, Marina Hoover, cello, and Jasmine Lin, violin, in the Schubert B-Flat Trio on Friday, April 18; and pianist Erik Liefrinck performing Bach’s French Suite and a Grieg piano sonata on Friday, April 25. Admission is free. Call (312) 291-0000 or toll free (888) 291-6880 or visit www.pianofortechicago/blog.com.

            Sherwood Conservatory of Music, 1312 S. Michigan Ave., invites all to a free recital on Sunday, April 27, at 3 p.m. featuring the Neptune Winds Saxophone Quartet. Call (312) 427-6267 or visit www.sherwoodmusic.org.

            Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, 2320 W. Chicago Ave., invites all to enjoy pianist Natalya Shkoda performing works of Villa-Lobos, Scarlatti, Brahms, Lecuona, and Kosenko on Sunday, April 13, at 2 p.m. Call (630) 240-7112 or visit www.uima-art.org.

 

THEATER

            Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 800 E. Grand Ave., presents The Comedy of Errors, directed by Barbara Gaines, in the Courtyard Theater starting Sunday, April 27. For seating and show times call (312) 595-5600 or visit www.chicagoshakes.com.

Merle Reskin Theatre of DePaul University, 60 E. Balbo Dr., will present The Giver by Lois Lowry, adapted for the stage by Eric Coble and directed by Ernie Nolan. The show runs through April and tells a story staged in a perfect world without pain, war, fear, or inequality in which a young man, Jonas, is selected as the Receiver of Memories and begins to learn some difficult truths. Call the box office at (312) 922-1999 or visit www.ticketweb.com for online orders. For information on other productions, visit www.theatreschool.depaul.edu.

            Redmoon Theater, 1438 W. Kinzie St. The Depression-era tale Boneyard Prayer runs through April and uses puppets, shadow images, and music to explore struggle, sorrow, and ultimate redemption. Tickets cost $15 to $30. For tickets or more information, call the box office at (312) 850-8440, x111 or visit www.redmoon.org.