Night Market returns to celebrate the opening of Traditions Transfigured: The Noh Masks of Bidou Yamaguchi. This festive, family-friendly night of tasty treats, local vendors, and Japanese crafts will offer a free first look at the artwork.

Vendors include Brazos Bookstore, Little Soya, Path of Tea, Orchid Obsessions, and Texas T Kobe Beef along with food trucks Dough Maker Doughnuts, Foreign Policy, Miso Yummy, and Muiishi Makirritos. There will be a live Ikebana floral arrangement demonstration by Ikebana International and delicious sake courtesy of the Consulate General of Japan in Houston, plus free sushi compliments of Sushic - The Sushi Company. Texas Thai Sport Massage will also be on hand to help guests relax. Guests will be entertained by the sounds of Houston DJ and Soular Grooves radio host DJ SUN. New this year are languages classes from Japan America Society Houston, mask-making, origami, and traditional Japanese ink brush painting. Artist Bidou Yamaguchi will also be on site to participate in the celebration.

Come join the festivities, rain or shine! Additional parking will be available at the Clayton Library on Caroline Street.

About the Exhibition

This exhibition focuses on recent sculptures by Bidou Yamaguchi that apply the forms, techniques, transformative spirit, and mysterious elegance of Noh masks to iconic female portraits from the European art historical canon, and to Kabuki actor prints of Sharaku, Japan’s enigmatic 18th century portrait master. These works radically extend Noh’s transformation of souls across time and space, projecting them into new cultural and physical dimensions. Traditions Transfigured includes educational and interactive components that show a set of masks displaying the carving process, a video explaining mask-making, and a secured mask that visitors can handle, try on, and photograph themselves wearing.

Related Links

Enormous Crowd Electrifies Night Market Atmosphere
My Table: Food and Art Mingle at Asia Society’s Night Market
Houston Chronicle: Night Market to Highlight Asian Artisans' Work
CultureMap: Your Weekly Guide to Houston: Five (Plus) Don't-Miss Events
Houstonia Magazine: A Taste of Southeast Asia at Upcoming Night Market

Night Market at Asia Society Texas Center is generously funded by American First National Bank.

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