Calligraphy scrolls exhibition opens at Fine Arts Center

Shodo/Brush Writing: Calligraphy Scrolls from the BGSU Asian Studies Collection” will be on display through Nov. 15 in the Willard Wankelman Gallery in the Fine Arts Center. The exhibition features 30 calligraphy scrolls by contemporary Japanese masters of the traditional art.

The Consulate General’s Office of Japan donated the scrolls to the BGSU Asian Studies program in March 2014. Artists belonging to the Shodo Journal Research Center designed the scrolls, which were part of a five-year, 50-scroll exhibition in Detroit.

Imai was born and raised in Nara, Japan. She began her studies of calligraphy at the age of 4 at Baikou Calligraphy School. When she was 25 years old, she received a membership to the Tenshin Kai (calligraphy society) and her life as a calligrapher began. Imai progressed to the next level, becoming a member of the Cho-ko Guild, the most prestigious calligraphy society in Japan. During her apprenticeship, she taught calligraphy and studied the art of Japanese silk scroll making (hyougu) at Mizuno Hyougu-ten.

In 1998, Imai was awarded and currently holds a guild license called "Shihan" for teaching both calligraphy and instructing teachers to teach calligraphy. She is among the few to have won multiple category awards in national competitions in Japan. Her work has been displayed at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Osaka Municipal Museum Of Art, Nara City Museum Of Art and Kyoto Municipal Museum Of Art.

Imai arrived in United States November 2008, and currently teaches at her Swampscott studio and at the Kaji Aso Studio for Japanese studies. She has performed her calligraphy at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass., and the Prudential Center in Boston, and has given workshops at Harvard University, Montserrat College of Art, Northeastern University and other universities throughout New England.

Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 6-9 p.m. Thursdays, and 1-4 p.m. Sundays. Special arrangements can be arranged for groups. The gallery is also closed all university holidays. For further information, visit BGSU.edu/Arts.

The exhibition is funded in part by the Ohio Arts Council, along with the BGSU Asian Studies Program, Fine Arts Center Galleries and Ethnic Cultural Arts Program.