“Nikolai Astrup: The Creative Garden” at Tokyo Station Gallery from November 21, with Gardens and Woodcuts

“Nikolai Astrup: The Creative Garden,” an exhibition of the Norwegian painter Nikolai Astrup (1880–1928), will be held from Saturday, November 21, 2026, to Sunday, January 31, 2027, at Tokyo Station Gallery by the Marunouchi North Exit of JR Tokyo Station. Astrup grew up in Jølster (now Sunnfjord), a lakeside village in western Norway, and based himself there all his life, painting nature changing with the seasons and weather and the lives of its people. The museum positions the exhibition as the first major retrospective in Japan, introducing woodcuts and textile designs in addition to oil paintings.

Background to the exhibition

Astrup was 17 years younger than Edvard Munch and was active in the same era.

The museum explains that large-scale solo exhibitions toured in Norway and abroad in 2016 and again in 2021–22. Planning cooperation is by KODE Bergen Art Museum and special cooperation by the DNB Savings Bank Foundation, and many of the main works on display are from the collections of the two.

Highlights: Two gardens, woodcut and oil, and textiles with his mother

Painter and gardener

Astrup had an extraordinary passion for plants, acquiring all kinds of seedlings and repeatedly experimenting with cultivation in his own garden. The exhibition shows groups of works depicting two gardens: the garden at Ålhus, where the parsonage of his childhood stood, and the garden at Sandalstrand, which he cleared from scratch and which became his final home. The museum explains that the “garden,” which produced food and also became a place of creation, became a motif embodying his art. Footage of the four seasons shot on location for the exhibition is also shown at the venue.

The crossover between woodcut and oil

Influenced by Japanese ukiyo-e prints, Astrup made woodcuts using techniques that combined oil and woodblock, such as adding handwork to each print or using both block printing and hand painting on canvas, moving back and forth across the boundary between woodcut and oil painting. Because he lived far from big-city workshops, he had to carry out every step himself and ended up creating the techniques themselves. The exhibition shows woodcuts and oil paintings together with their woodblocks. Highlights of ukiyo-e and ukiyo-e exhibitions to see in Tokyo this autumn and winter are summarized in our beginner’s guide to enjoying ukiyo-e.

Art, upbringing and daily life

Astrup’s mother was a textile artist who played a leading role in the community. Astrup himself designed weavings based on local plants before seriously pursuing the path of a painter, and textiles woven by his mother from those designs won awards at exhibitions in Norway. The exhibition introduces this work and examines the influence on his creation of a home environment steeped in handcraft.

What can visitors see? Midsummer bonfires, rhubarb and marsh marigold nights

The flyer introduces Astrup as a painter of Midsummer festivals under the midnight sun, interiors with crafts, and the fruit trees and rhubarb he grew himself. Main works listed include “Midsummer Eve Bonfire” (1915), “Rhubarb” (1911–21), “Foxgloves” (c. 1920), “Spring Night and Willows” (between 1917 and 1927), “June Night in the Garden” (between 1909 and 1927), “Blossoming Apple Tree” (1926–27) and “Mountain” (1905–06). The color woodcut “Marsh Marigold Night” (between 1915 and 1927), “March Morning” (1920), which combines oil and woodcut, and “Interior with a Large Blue Pot” (1921–22), from a private collection, are also on display.

The number of works and chapter structure had not been announced as of October 20. The flyer quotes Astrup’s words (1908): “I am probably one of the most deeply rooted painters in this country.”

Tickets and prices

Admission for adults is ¥1,800 on the day and ¥1,600 in advance, and for high school and university students ¥1,300 on the day and ¥1,100 in advance; junior high school students and younger are free. Visitors bringing a disability certificate or similar pay ¥1,300 (¥1,100 in advance) for adults and ¥1,100 (¥900 in advance) for high school and university students, with one companion admitted free. Advance tickets are on sale online from October 15 to November 20, and same-day tickets can also be bought at the museum’s 1st-floor entrance. Students must show a student ID.

Opening hours, closing days, access and the opening symposium

Opening hours are 10:00–18:00, until 20:00 on Fridays (last entry 30 minutes before closing). The museum is closed on Mondays (open on November 23, January 11 and January 25), Tuesday, November 24, the year-end and New Year holidays (December 28 – January 2) and Tuesday, January 12. The venue is in front of the Marunouchi North Exit ticket gates of JR Tokyo Station. The museum is showing “Water Margin” until November 8. Western art exhibitions are introduced in our guide to Western art exhibitions.

On the opening day, Saturday, November 21, from 14:00 to 17:30, an opening symposium will be held at JP Tower Hall & Conference on the 4th floor of KITTE. Speakers include the exhibition’s supervisor, Susanna Pettersson (CEO of the Finnish Cultural Foundation), Tove Haugsbø (senior curator at KODE Bergen Art Museum) and curators in charge at the Japanese touring venues. Participation is free, with advance registration for 150 people. How to apply will be posted on the museum’s website. The touring venues in Japan were not listed on the exhibition page as of October 20.

Overview

Name: Nikolai Astrup: The Creative Garden
Dates: Saturday, November 21, 2026 – Sunday, January 31, 2027
Hours: 10:00–18:00, until 20:00 on Fridays (last entry 30 minutes before closing)
Closed: Mondays (open on November 23, January 11 and January 25), Tuesday, November 24, the year-end and New Year holidays (December 28 – January 2), Tuesday, January 12
Venue: Tokyo Station Gallery
Address: 1-9-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda City, Tokyo (in front of the Marunouchi North Exit ticket gates, JR Tokyo Station)
Admission: Adults ¥1,800 on the day / ¥1,600 in advance; high school and university students ¥1,300 on the day / ¥1,100 in advance; junior high school students and younger free
Organizers: Tokyo Station Gallery (East Japan Railway Culture Foundation), The Sankei Shimbun
Special cooperation: DNB Savings Bank Foundation
Planning cooperation: KODE Bergen Art Museum
Supporter: Royal Norwegian Embassy
Sponsors: T&D Insurance Group, DNP Dai Nippon Printing, Koyama Medical and Welfare Group Ginza Clinic
Production cooperation: S2
Inquiries: 03-3212-2485
Official website: https://www.ejrcf.or.jp/gallery/exhibition/202611_astrup.html
*Information as of October 20, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Nikolai Astrup, “Midsummer Eve Bonfire,” 1912–26, National Museum of Norway. A different work from the one in the exhibition (public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on materials from Tokyo Station Gallery (the exhibition flyer) and information on the official website.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team