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Picks is a monthly sampling of Japan's art scene, offering short reviews of 20 exhibitions at museums and galleries throughout Japan over the past two or three months, with an emphasis on contemporary art by young artists. |
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Keiji Uematsu: Touch of Spiral
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17 March - 14 April 2007
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Nomart Contemporary Art
(Osaka)
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| The artist says of this exhibit: "I am presenting large sculptures and installations inspired by the structures of the cosmos. My motif is the spiral we see in the DNA molecule, the nautilus shell, the petals of flowers, and in galaxies like Andromeda and the Milky Way. The spiral is the wellspring, the curve of life, a symbol of infinity." |
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| Naoshima Standard 2 |
24 February - 15 April 2007
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Naoshima
(Kagawa) |
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| This huge exhibition occupies the entire Seto Inland Sea island of Naoshima. Works on the theme of "creating landscapes" are placed in natural settings or among old village houses; most have been created for this event. Artists include Shinro Otake, Tsuyoshi Ozawa, Tadashi Kawamata, Yayoi Kusama, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Yoshihiro Suda, Hiroshi Senju, and Ryuji Miyamoto. |
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| Yoshino Iida |
| 24 March - 21 April 2007 |
Contemporary Art and Spirits (CAS)
(Osaka)
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The show features photos and videos of the artist herself impersonating various imaginary characters, ranging from sexy pop idol "Mizuki Senba" to Kyoto mayoral candidate "Helen Momoyama." Iida says, "I want people to enjoy the gap between reality and these arbitrary images made by an outsider like myself."
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Yuki Tsukiyama: Tool Box
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21 March - 21 April 2007
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CAP House, Kobe
(Hyogo)
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"Athlete-artist" Tsukiyama is known for large three-dimensional works with sports motifs. Besides his wood and steel sculptures, he creates original furniture, writes a newspaper column, and designs T-shirts for people like pro wrestler Minoru Fujita.
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Terry Winters: Generation Systems
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31 March - 21 April 2007
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Tomio Koyama Gallery
(Tokyo) |
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U.S. artist Winters seeks out the intersections between art and natural history, ecology, technology and science. This show features four large paintings, ten graphite drawings, and his "Tokyo Notes" print portfolio.
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| Double Cast |
| 28 March - 22 April 2007 |
Tokyo Wonder Site Hongo
(Tokyo) |
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| Artists Masaru Iwai and Yukihiro Taguchi have created a temporary broadcasting station, "Double Cast," inside the exhibit space. Actual programs filmed and edited here will be broadcast from the studio via a special Website as well as YouTube in an attempt to explore new ways to present and view art exhibitions. |
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| Hiroshima Art Project |
1-22 April 2007
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Kyu-Nakakojo and Yoshijima, Hiroshima
(Hiroshima) |
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With the aim of converting an old waste incineration plant, the Kyu-Nakakojo, into an art center, this experimental art project has produced several events at the site and in the surrounding Yoshijima neighborhood, including "High Quality Dust", "Private Garden Public Garden," and "Geldscheisser in Vault."
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Eiko Tanaka: into the forest
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| 10-22 April 2007 |
Art Front Gallery
(Tokyo)
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Since her college days Tanaka has produced attention-getting lithographs and copperplate prints that depict everyday scenes with a unique sense of color and composition. The title of this show evokes not only an image of woods but Tanaka's "other world," in which the ordinary suddenly appears jarringly extraordinary.
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Takafumi Hara: Signs of memory pink windows
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| 20 March - 28 April 2007 |
Wada Fine Arts
(Tokyo)
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| Hara has undertaken large-scale projects in Singapore, Germany and Korea. This show features prints of the 60 pink panels from his installation for the 2006 Singapore Biennale, "Signs of Memory: City Hall Pink Windows," as well as paintings illustrating ideas for new projects. |
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Anton Henning
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24 March - 28 April 2007
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Taro Nasu Gallery
(Tokyo)
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This is German artist Henning's first solo show in Japan. Active and well-established on the Western art scene, Henning produces paintings, drawings, sculptures, videos, and large installations. This show focuses on his paintings and moving images.
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