A Wave of Japanese Art and Culture Immerses College of DuPage in ‘Floating World’ Exhibition

Marc Vitali | June 27, 2025, 12:48 pm

Artwork on display in “Hokusai and Ukiyo-e: The Floating World” at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art. (Marc Vitali / WTTW News)

Enter the Cleve Carney Museum of Art this summer and you might imagine yourself in the Japanese city of Edo before it was renamed Tokyo in 1868.

The exhibition “Hokusai & Ukiyo-e: The Floating World” transports visitors to a time when Japan was emerging from the feudal era and modern cities were booming.

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Ukiyo-e is the Japanese phrase for “floating world,” a reference to the carefree spirit of urban lifestyle. The term emerged from the red-light district in Edo and suggested the conspicuous consumption of the newly wealthy merchant class.

Artists of the time found inspiration in the interests of the public. In woodblock prints and painted scrolls they depicted kabuki actors, courtesans and ordinary people. The images bring to mind the pictures of Parisian nightlife made by Toulouse-Lautrec 100 years later.

Katsushika Hokusai’s “Under the Wave Off Kanagawa” at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art. (Margo Hawk)

The artists created magnificent landscapes, like the ones made by the master Katsushika Hokusai in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Included is a print of Hokusai’s famous and influential work, “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa.”

The heart of the exhibit comes from the collection of Edoardo Chiossone, a 19th century Italian engraver who designed bank notes and postage stamps in Japan. The museum at the College of DuPage organized the show with the Chiossone Museum in Genoa, Italy.

Some of the centuries-old prints have never been seen in the United States, and they still look vivid and freshly printed.

“They’re so well-preserved, and the color is incredibly vibrant,” curator Justin Witte said. “And they use a visual language that feels contemporary. It seems fresh.”

Beyond the impressive selection of prints and scrolls, the museum presents the show in an immersive way. There’s an outdoor garden, rooms that explore manga and anime, and even a portion of an Edo village recreated in a small theater.

“Hokusai and Ukiyo-e: The Floating World” is at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art through Sept. 21. (Marc Vitali / WTTW News)

“We collaborated with the entire art center,” Witte said. “That Edo village was created by our theater set designers, and some of the costumes were made by our costume designers and students, so it was a way to engage the whole arts center.”

“It’s a nice balance,” he continued. “In museums now there seems to be an either/or approach — either people are doing fully immersive experiences that have little tie-in to actual work, or very traditional museum shows that are rich in content but maybe don’t meet the current audience where they are.”

One thing you won’t find in the exhibit is the Shunga art of the era — erotic works that graphically depict sexual relations.

“The artists were looking to make money and, for better or worse, there’s always been a market for content like that,” Witte said. “We don’t have any of that [Shunga] on display because we do want a broad audience, and we don’t feel that talks much about the story we’re telling. Our focus is on music, the performing arts, games, the pleasure district, and inside-the-city versus outside-the-city, which was a common theme.”

Inside and out, the ambitious Hokusai exhibition at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art presents a glimpse into the time when Japan was beginning its modern era.

Artwork on display in “Hokusai and Ukiyo-e: The Floating World” at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art. (Marc Vitali / WTTW News)