What is the Way, and where does it lead? Perhaps the answer is suggested in the mirrored-letter work by Indian artist Shilpa Gupta: "Sometimes I need to walk far away from where I am to see myself.”
The term "Way” (道)—Dao in Chinese and Dō in Japanese—is written with the same character and serves as the driving force of the curatorial framework. Daoist thought invites contemplation of the Way itself as a teacher, encouraging movement without effort, in natural harmony with constant transformation. In Japanese Dō, which developed through Zen Buddhism, the path of human cultivation is grounded in the full presence of body and mind, and in complete attentiveness to the action itself in the present moment.
The shifting perspectives offered by the artists along the Way allow us to observe and discern what had previously remained unseen, and to return our attention to the significance of the Way itself—especially in an era characterized by constant race and acceleration, when the sense of direction often appears to be lost.
The exhibition is presented across the galleries, each inviting the visitor on a different journey:
Seeking the Inner Path in Daoist and Zen Buddhist Traditions
This gallery presents traditional scrolls from the Itamar Procaccia Collection, including rare Japanese Zen paintings shaped by Chinese Daoist and Zen(Chan) visual culture. Alongside them is an original illustrated version of the Chinese parable The Ten Oxherding Pictures, intended to trace the spiritual path of the Zen practitioner.
Meditative Walking – Walking as Way and Artistic Act
The third gallery focuses on walking itself as an object of contemplation in contemporary works. In a period when the Way seems obscured, meditative walking offers a means of reorientation—a practice of attentiveness and the calming of the mind. In these works, walking becomes an artistic act with the potential to provoke reflection on the relationships between body and space, movement through time, and the impact of art on life.
On the Encounter Between Two Museums and Two Collectors – Wilfrid Israel and Felix Tikotin
From Dao to Dō – Spirit of the Way is presented as a collaboration between the Wilfrid Israel Museum of Asian Art and the Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art.
The conceptual map unfolding across the two exhibitions moves between traditional and contemporary works, between images and meanings, and seeks to engage with the spirit of the Way and its living core.
Within the joint exhibition, the paths of two exceptional collectors meet once again—Felix Tikotin and Wilfrid Israel. Both were born into affluent Jewish families in Germany and aspired in their youth to become artists. Circumstances did not allow them to pursue this path, yet their devotion to Asian art found expression through their art collections.
The collections they left behind, housed in the museums bearing their names, continue to echo a shared vision: to view art as a living bridge of understanding between East and West.
Shir Meller-Yamaguchi
Exhibition curator