Catch the Wave

By Jen Banowetz
Appears in the June 2025 issue.

Admire the icon and ride the fun

Whether you realize it or not, you’ve seen the wave.

Or something inspired by Katsushika Hokusai’s 19th-century woodcut print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa. Maybe a poster or a cellphone case or a Google Doodle?

Now you can catch the real thing this summer at Hokusai & Ukiyo-e: The Floating World, Artworks from the Chiossone Collection, running through September at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art and McAninch Arts Center on the College of DuPage campus (425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn). This new exhibition showcases Japan’s Edo period (1603 to 1868), a time of cultural renaissance, an age of shoguns, samurai, kabuki actors, and, of course, art. “I think a lot of people know The Great Wave, but they don’t know who Hokusai is, they don’t know what the Edo period is,” says Diana Martinez, executive director of The MAC. “But they’ve seen The Great Wave—it’s one of the most iconic images that gets reproduced and changed—but we don’t all know the story behind the artist who did it.”

Now we will. The immersive experience centers around a 70-piece collection on loan from the Edoardo Chiossone Museum of Oriental Art in Genoa, Italy—which has never been seen in the United States before—featuring 53 paintings and woodblock prints by the masters of Ukiyo-e, including nine original works by Hokusai, 15 works by Utagawa Hiroshige, and works by 15 of their contemporaries, as well as 17 artifacts. “When when we started learning about the collection and the fact that it’s never been in the U.S. and the significance of Hokusai, it became really appealing because I think one of the things that worked so well with [COD’s 2021 Frida Kahlo exhibition] was the fact that there was such a rich culture behind the art,” Martinez explains. “[Edo] represents the last of the shogun era and the samurai era, so you’ve got the food and the culture and the beautiful story of the period—all of it starts to create a really intriguing experience because we do more than just put the art on the wall, we create all these original experiences that will never be anywhere else.”

Those unique elements created only for this exhibition include a historical Edo and Ukiyo-e display; a street walk-through with recreations of Hokusai’s home, a woodblock print shop, and a teahouse storefront; a Ukiyo-e imagination station for visitors to make their own digital works; a Samurai & Silk selfie photo station with mannequins in costumes on loan from Warner Bros.; a kids’ area with traditional books and toys, a Japanese wish tree, calligraphy, and origami making; and the outdoor Great Wave Gardens with a Japanese bridge, teahouse façade, and picnic area.

And you can’t miss the giant comic book. “Because Hokusai is the grandfather of manga [Japanese comics], we have an exhibit that shows the history of manga and anime from Hokusai to today,” Martinez adds.

Another display is Waves of DuPage: Beautiful Cities, Rich Lo’s Ukiyo-e-style take on iconic DuPage County landscapes, created for the public art project. “To me, we are the College of DuPage and we have this mission to educate and bring culture to the whole community,” Martinez says. “We asked every single city in DuPage that wanted to participate to identify their most iconic landmark or area that they would like done in an Ukiyo-e-like, Japanese-style wood block print image, and we commissioned an artist named Rich Lo. They’re really gorgeous.”

Organizers have even more plans to help create connections for DuPage County residents. “We try to make it so the whole community feels like it’s all of our exhibit and it helps all of DuPage; it’s not just COD’s,” Martinez says. “How do we help everybody share this? Different cities are doing different things.” Lisle is making a cherry blossom tree walk; Glen Ellyn has an origami scavenger hunt; Hanover Park is bringing taiko drummers to town. “It gets everybody on a theme, which is really fun,” she says.

Also on theme, the MAC is organizing a host of lectures, film screenings, classes, workshops, happy hours, and festivals (Hokusai Japan Fest on June 21 and Great Wave Print Fest on July 19).

For more information, tickets, and a complete event listing, visit Hokusai2025.org. Or call The MAC box office, 630-942-4000. Tickets start at $12, and group discounts are available.

Photo: Edoardo Chiossone Museum of Oriental Art of Genoa