Mini Exhibition: “People Who Draw Shells”

Exhibition Period: Saturday, September 19, 2026 – Sunday, January 31, 2027

Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Closed: Thursdays (except during the year-end and New Year holidays)

Admission: Free (separate admission fee for permanent exhibitions)

Site: The Seashell Gallery Multipurpose Room

●Exhibition Concept

At the Sea Gallery, since Kazuo Kurohara—who built the museum’s core collection—was a Western-style painter, we exhibit not only shell and coral specimens but also paintings.

In keeping with this tradition, this mini-exhibition introduces “Artists Who Depict Shells” from the Meiji period to the present.

In the early 20th century, Yoichiro Hirase and Ernst Haeckel depicted shells as natural history illustrations aimed at the general public.

In the 1930s, Le Corbusier and Kotaro Mikishi chose shells as motifs as they sought to move beyond modernization and the Machine Age.

And in the present day, Izumi Kato incorporates marine life into his unique worldview.

Furthermore, we will display shell illustrations featured in our museum newsletter, “Umi Galla NEWS LETTER,” as well as shell-themed works submitted through an open call for entries.

The motivations for depicting shells are diverse, and the expressions are truly rich.

We hope that by engaging with these works and the thoughts of their creators, this exhibition will provide an opportunity to reflect anew on the existence of shells—creatures that are so close to our daily lives.

● Major Exhibited Works

Kazuo Kurohara: “Ode to Shells,” “Sea Score,” “Illustrated Guide to Mollusk Ecology”

Yoichiro Hirase: “A Thousand Species of Shells”

Ernst Haeckel: “Spiral Shells” and “Bivalves” from The Wonders of Organic Form

Le Corbusier: Sketches from the exhibition Le Corbusier: Synthesis of the Arts, 1930–1965

Kotaro Migishi: “Butterflies and Shells” and “The Sea and Ray of Light” from the “Kotaro Mikishi: 100th Anniversary Exhibition”

Izumi Kato: “Untitled”

A painting given to Kazuo Kurohara by a friend

Submitted Works

THE SEASHELL GALLERY News Letter

The exhibited works include reproductions.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)