Acknowledgments

There have been quite a few key players in bringing this project to fruition. Some, I have never met. Dr. John Fong and Dr. Colin Johnstone, whose generous gift sparked this endeavor, credit the keen-eyed Alice Boney (1901–1988) as the instigator of their collecting journey. She was the first to introduce them to works by Japanese women calligraphers, painters, and ceramicists. Boney, an intrepid and adventurous art dealer, flouted all challenges and norms in her globetrotting through Japan, India, Thailand, Hong Kong, and elsewhere. Elegantly navigating a world dominated by men, she carved a space for herself in the art market of the 1930s and continued to dominate it for over six decades.

Patricia Fister has done the same on the academic stage, spearheading a field completely her own. This current project remains profoundly indebted to her robust research and groundbreaking 1988 exhibition, Japanese Women Artists 1600–1900, which laid the foundation for the study in the English language of art and gender in early modern and modern Japan. Her scholarship reverberates through every corner of the gallery. We owe Fister’s involvement to Andrew Maske (Wayne State University) and Tianlong Jiao (Hong Kong Palace Museum), then Joseph de Heer Curator of Asian Art at the Denver Art Museum. They proposed and facilitated the transformative Fong-Johnstone gift and initiated the exhibition. Maske’s groundwork, moreover, informs much of the exhibition text. We would also like to thank Sadako Ohki, Masato Takenouchi, and Shitong Jiao for their initial transcriptions and translations of the inscriptions on various art works as well as Professor Jia Chen of Jilin University for the transcriptions of Chinese calligraphic inscriptions.

Our secret weapon, Patricia Graham, researched the objects tirelessly and enlisted an army of specialists who, in turn, worked around the clock and around the world to make this exhibition possible, despite its demanding timeline. These formidable scholars include Paul Berry, Martha J. McClintock, and several anonymous contributors. I am indebted to Hollis Goodall, Yurika Wakamatsu, and Kit Brooks for their words of advice, direction, and support. We are humbled by the enthusiastic participation and encouragement of speakers in the forthcoming scholarly symposium (February 25, 2023), including Melissa McCormick, Marcia A. Yonemoto, Amy Beth Stanley, and Alison Miller, as well as Paul Berry and Patricia Fister, who will add their knowledgeable voices to the discourse. John Todd, Senior Associate at WOJR: Organization for Architecture, graciously offered his time and expertise, inspiring the design concept for the 2022 exhibition. A special thanks goes to the internationally renowned calligrapher Tomoko Kawao for the beautiful calligraphy that graces the exhibition design and for agreeing to start the North American leg of her global, multiyear Hitomoji Project: Women in Denver. Kawao’s stay is made possible thanks to the generous support of artist and activist Sammy Lee and Studio SML | k, which continues to push the envelope of how art can change us.

Now come those whom I have grown to know closely since joining the work on this exhibition. First and foremost is project manager and exhibition designer Eric Berkemeyer, who did not buck at any outlandish vision or bizarre pipe dream thrown his way. He made the impossible possible, translating impalpable notions into a mesmerizing gallery design and overseeing all the moving parts of exhibition planning. I am grateful for Christoph Heinrich, Frederick and Jan Mayer Director, and Chief Curator Angelica Daneo for their foresight and faith in this project and for the support of my wonderful department colleagues, Hyonjeong (HJ) Kim Han, Joseph de Heer Curator of Asian Art, and Douglas Wagner, Curatorial Associate. Interpretive Specialist Karuna Srikureja has taught me so much about the art of speaking to a diverse body of visitors. Lindsay Genshaft and Ariana Robles have made this exhibition relevant and fun for our youngest visitors. Clara Ricciardi’s translations continue to bring this material to a wider audience. The indefatigable editors, Valerie Hellstein and Leslie Murrell, separating wheat from chaff, crafted meandering sentences into cogent thoughts.

Arianna Flory, Curatorial Assistant at Large, has saved the day time and again. It seems like the mantra of our IT team, Derek Sava, Levy Smith, Cordelia Taylor, and Tim Taylor is forever “this has never been done before. Let’s do it.” Our talented photographers, Christina Jackson and Eric Stephenson, have brought out the beauty and captured the spirit of the artwork. McGinty Co.’s and Jenn Goodrich’s graphic design gave form to formless notions. The installation team has worked tirelessly behind the scenes. Without you, an exhibition is nothing more than some doodles in a notebook. Darcy Christ, Matt Popke, and the publications team have translated this complex and multifaceted enterprise into an arresting digital publication. Finally, I am grateful for my family, Dan and Damian, for their support and love.

This list is by no means exhaustive. Her Brush is the fruit of dedication and hard work of this extended family I am now fortunate to call my colleagues at the Denver Art Museum.