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“The Hiroshima Panels” will be exhibited in U.S. next year, marking 70th anniversary of atomic bombing

by Masakazu Domen, Staff Writer

“The Hiroshima Panels” is a series of epoch-making paintings by the late Iri and Toshi Maruki which vividly depict the tragedy of the atomic bombing. Plans are now underway to exhibit these paintings in Washington, D.C. next summer, the 70th year since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The paintings have toured the United States three times since 1970, but this will be the first time they will be exhibited in the capital. The organizers announced this exhibition at a press conference held on August 5 at City Hall.

Maruki Gallery for the Hiroshima Panels, located in Saitama Prefecture, holds the paintings and is planning the exhibition. It will take place next year at the American University Museum in Washington, D.C. from June 13 to August 14. Peter Kuznick, a history professor at American University, stressed the importance of the exhibition, saying, “These horrifying but beautiful paintings are important works of art for the human race. The exhibition will provide an opportunity to think about the truth of the war at a time when people in the United States will be celebrating the 70th anniversary of victory in World War II.” The possibility of touring the exhibition to other locations is also being considered.

The Hiroshima Panels consists of 15 paintings created between 1950 and 1982. Iri Maruki was born in today’s Asakita Ward, Hiroshima. He and his wife, Toshi, saw Hiroshima with their own eyes, several days after the atomic bombing. Among these works is an image of American prisoners of war who died in the atomic bombing. Including this piece, six paintings will make up the exhibition.

Because the Japanese side will bear the cost of about 10 million yen for shipping the paintings to the United States and preparing the exhibition, a drive to raise funds from the public is now underway. For more information, please call Maruki Gallery at 0493-22-3266.

(Originally published on August 6, 2014)

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