Monet was deeply moved by the drum bridge depicted in Hiroshige’s “Inside Kameido Tenjin Shrine" from the 100 Famous Views of Edo. So much so, in fact, that he built a real drum bridge in his own garden at Giverny—and painted it repeatedly. It was as if he received a divine revelation: “You have no choice but to actually build this thing!” That intense drive—the compulsion to recreate what he had seen in ukiyo-e as physical reality and then paint it repeatedly—was a testament to the sheer power of inspiration he drew from Japanese prints. It was the same kind of fervor that led Van Gogh to believe he had to become a monk to truly channel the spirit of Japanese art! I visited Monet’s garden myself more than a decade ago. Although it’s about an hour from Paris, the expansive grounds were packed with tourists. And understandably so—it felt like paradise on Earth. It was breathtakingly beautiful. In this exhibition, I have displayed my version of Monet’s painting side by side with my version of Hiroshige’s "Inside Kameido Tenjin Shrine” that inspired it. In Hiroshige’s composition, a tree or something cuts through the foreground, splitting the image vertically. Interestingly, Monet doesn’t seem to have had the courage to include that element—he focuses solely on the drum bridge as the main subject. As for my own reinterpretation... Reproducing Monet’s brushstrokes using my squeegee techniques was quite a challenge. I also added my self-portrait in the lower right corner—though it looks like I’m drowning. Interestingly enough, Monet’s painting of the drum bridge was eventually acquired by a Japanese museum (the Pola Museum of Art). It’s as though it completed a full circle—returning to the tastes of the Japanese audience, the very source of its inspiration. A mysterious and poetic connection, one might say. ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ Gagosian, West 21st Street, New York JAPONISME → Cognitive Revolution: Learning from Hiroshige May 8–July 11, 2025