 |
Picks is a monthly sampling of Japan's art scene, offering commentary by a variety of reviewers about current or recent exhibitions at museums and galleries around the country.
Note: Although Japan's state of quasi-emergency has been lifted, many museums and galleries still require reservations or have other anti-Covid measures in place. If you are planning a visit, please check the venue's website beforehand. |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
| Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser |
| 16 July - 10 October 2022 |
Mori Arts Center Gallery
(Tokyo) |
|
|
This show is obviously a must for any fan of the Alice books, amply illustrating as it does how Lewis Carroll's two classics, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, have influenced a mind-boggling range of artistic and cultural undertakings: literature, art, photography, film, drama, music, fashion, you name it. The current exhibition benefits especially from the priceless materials on loan from London's Victoria and Albert Museum, adding particular heft to the section on "The Birth of Alice,” which relates how Carroll's masterpieces came to be.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
| Alec Soth: Gathered Leaves |
| 25 June - 10 October 2022 |
The Museum of Modern Art, Hayama
(Kanagawa) |
|
|
If there were a tradition known as "American photography,” Alex Soth would surely be viewed as an exemplary heir. Practitioners in this category might be described as driven by a personal vision to wander across the country in search of something unknown, snapping what they see before them. Though photographers who, like Soth, embody this quality may vary in their individual styles, they share a desire to capture reality as it is, sensing as they do that it is illuminated by the poetry that lurks behind it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
| Finn Juhl and Danish Chairs |
| 23 July - 9 October 2022 |
Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum
(Tokyo) |
|
|
The exhibition begins with an overview of the history and social context of Danish furniture design, but the second section focuses on one of its greatest exponents, Finn Juhl (1912-89). Having never had the opportunity to view so many works in one place by the legendary designer, this reviewer was left spellbound. The high point of the show, however, turns out to be its final section, "Experiencing Danish Design,” where visitors can sit in any or all of the many chairs scattered around the gallery. Juhl's furniture is not only beautiful, one discovers: it is also deliciously comfortable, inducing a warm fuzzy feeling in the sitter.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
| The Power of Clothing: History of Cross-Dressing in Japan |
| 3 September - 30 October 2022 |
The Shoto Museum of Art
(Tokyo) |
|
|
The notion that human beings are divided into two very different sexes is deep-rooted -- yet people have always experimented with crossing the gender gap via the medium of clothing. What we wear serves as a means of enforcing this divide in the sociocultural sphere, but also enables us to become a different sex from the one assigned by biology. This fascinating look at Japan's cross-dressing tradition illustrates the many forms it has taken in the past as well as making some predictions about the practice's future.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Hosoya Gan: Beyond G |
| 5 September - 24 October 2022 |
Ginza Graphic Gallery
(Tokyo) |
|
|
Hosoya (b. 1935) has worked for the same company, Light Publicity, for an astonishing 69 years. But that's not the real point, as the gallery avers: "During that time, he has also been a leading figure at the forefront of advertising design in Japan as art director and graphic designer, and as chairman of the Tokyo Art Directors Club. This exhibition recalls masterpieces from more than half a century ago that constitute the design legacy of Hosoya Gan, which had fallen into oblivion. It is an opportunity to experience the concept behind the exhibition title: 'a power that pierces the veil and flows into a glittering new world.'”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
| D.T. Suzuki: Life=Zen=Art |
| 12 July - 30 October 2022 |
Watari-um
(Tokyo)
|
|
|
Known worldwide as Zen's greatest evangelist, D.T. or Daisetz Suzuki (1870-1966) forged a new path in modern Japanese thought by positing a concept of spirituality that "erases the difference between mind and matter,” according to critic Reiji Ando. "Suzuki's influence is vast, extending beyond distinctions between global and local or between different modes of expression. This exhibition is an attempt to explore that genealogy and its possibilities for the future.” Featured works range from Suzuki's own calligraphy to art by Shiko Munakata, John Cage, Nam June Paik, and Joseph Beuys.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
| Architectural Models: Historical Transition as a Medium of Architecture |
| 6 August - 16 October 2022 |
WHAT Museum
(Tokyo) |
|
|
In the words of the curators: "Throughout Japanese history, models have long been used in architectural development and are also a medium for conveying the architectural culture of their eras. Today they are not only a tool for experimentation and analysis but also for evolution in materials and engineering; they have come to influence architects' thoughts and expressions.” The 20-plus models on display include an ancient house-shaped Haniwa figurine, a wooden Edo-period model of a castle, and contemporary creations by Arata Isozaki and Hiroshi Sambuichi.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
| Nao Tsuda + Marihiko Hara: Torainoashioto |
| 27 August - 30 October 2022 |
Art Museum & Library, Ota
(Gunma) |
|
|
Photographer Tsuda and musician Hara collaborate in an installation themed on Gunma Prefecture's ancient burial mounds. Scrutinizing the mounds at both the macro and micro levels, they look for hints in the realms of the visible and invisible about the worldview of the ancients and their perception of time. Subtitled "Waves turned into rocks and came to a rest at mounds," their multimedia presentation of photographs, music and sound intuitively links the world of antiquity with the present, offering visitors an opportunity to experience the burial mounds -- relics of the past that survive today -- from a fresh perspective.
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
| Fumio Tachibana: Imprint/Impress -- It's Only a Paper Moon |
| 23 July - 10 October 2022 |
Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito
(Ibaraki) |
|
|
From the museum website: "This is the first solo exhibition at a museum by artist Fumio Tachibana (born in Hiroshima City in 1968), who makes works with materials and themes of letters, paper and books. Born into a family in the bookbinding business, he was surrounded by paper, printed matter and letters since childhood, and he started to make new forms through 'gathering' and 'connecting.' He was also active in going beyond different genres, being recognized for his superb graphic design for various printed materials ranging from postcards to posters and books. This exhibition offers an opportunity to come in close touch with Tachibana's thoughts related to printing/print and hieroglyphics (shapes/forms).”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
