TOKYO ART PICKS (MARCH)

Fuchu Art Museum

In terms of the number of eyeballs on artworks Tokyo is the art capital of the World. So, what is on offer in our World beating galleries and exhibition spaces as Spring starts to bring its varied joys? Here are TOKYO-MET's art picks for the month of March. 

MACHINE LOVE: VIDEO GAMES, AI and CONTEMPORARY ART

It is the hope of mankind that we can live in peace and harmony with the artificial intelligence that we have recently unleashed upon the World. Maybe art will bring us together. This seems to be the basis of the latest big show at the MORI ART MUSEUM. The show presents artworks from 13 artists from around the world who use game engines, AI, and virtual reality. The art invokes a sense of artistic wonder, while also striving for a deeper insight into what is now, for good of bad, the cutting edge of culture. Most of them, I suspect, will finally end up in game design. 
Now - June 8th. PRICE: ¥2000. Read more here.  

Lu Yang DOKU the Self 2022

SOPHIE TAEUBER-ARP AND JEAN ARP 

The latest show at the very cool ARTIZON MUSEUM (see our piece on the museum and its architecture) features the work of Jean Arp, the German-French sculptor, painter and poet, and his better half, Sophie Taeuber-Arp. Jean Arp (1886-1966) started as a Dadaist (a precursor to Surrealism) but found his muse with Matisse-like graphics and fluid statuary that prefigured that of Henry Moore. The Missus, by contrast, was into textile art. The exhibition sets out to view their careers as a work of collaboration, with forty-five works by Sophie, thirty-six by Jean, and seven on which the couple shared the credits. 
Mar 01 - June 01. PRICE: ¥2,000 Read more here.

Left：Nic ALUF, Sophie Taeuber with Dada-Head, 1920, Stiftung Arp e. V., Berlin/Rolandswerth Right：Jean Arp with Navel-Monocle (photographer unknown) c.1926, Stiftung Arp e. V., Berlin/Rolandswerth ⓒ VG BILD-KUNST, Bonn & JASPAR, Tokyo, 2024 C4762

HILFA AF KLINT: THE BEYOND

OK, this is a little outside my comfort zone, but Hilma af Klint (1862–1944) at the MUSEUM OF MODERN ART TOKYO does look kind of interesting. Spurred on by a record-breaking show at the Guggenheim in 2018, this is the first retrospective of this major Swedish artist in Asia. Inspired by the "anthroposophy" of spiritualist Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), Klint went "full abstract" before better known contemporaries, like Kandinsky and Mondrian. She also liked to paint big and the show includes her signature series "The Ten Largest" (1907), a set of ten paintings over three meters high that abstractly riff on the different ages of man.
4th Mar - 25th Feb - 15th June 2025. PRICE: ¥2,300. Read more here.

The Ten Largest (1907), Guggenheim installation view

PREVIOUSLY RECOMMENDED BUT STILL RUNNING  

RYUICHI SAKAMOTO | SEEING SOUND, HEARING TIME

There is a problem with this show at the MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART TOKYO... It's less than 2 years since music legend Sakamoto died, so this major exhibition has become something of a homage-paying event. This means it can be quite busy, which is the last thing you want for the three-dimensional sound installations that make up the heart of this show. It is especially crowded on afternoons during weekends and national holidays, so best to visit on a weekday before noon to catch these experimental creative artworks at their best.   
Now - Mar 30. PRICE: ¥2,400 Read more here.  

Ryuichi Sakamoto with Shiro Takatani, IS YOUR TIME (2017/2023)

EYES ON MEXICO 

Mexican Art was a big hit in 1950s Japan, having a potent impact on some of Japan's most well-known artists, such as Ichiro Fukuzawa, Taro Okamoto, Mitsuto Toneyama, Saori Akutagawa, and On Kawara. The MUSEUM OF MODERN ART SAITAMA, for reasons best known to itself, has had a long-standing interest in contemporary art from South of the Rio Grande, building up a respectable collection. This exhibition will present the museum's Mexican collection and the history of its formation, focusing on the work of curator Masayoshi Honma, who worked to popularize Mexican art back in the day.

1st Feb - 11th May 2025. PRICE: ¥900. Read more here.

Deer (2023) by Isais Jimenez

BEARDSLEY, A SINGULAR PRODIGY 

Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898) died at the age of 25, in the process becoming the perfect symbol for sickly Victorian decadence that was to be swept away by the raucous vigour of the 20th century. Not unlike the MITSUBISHI ICHIGOKAN MUSEUM itself, I dare say. The Museum is a faithful 21st century rebuild of 19th century Josiah Conder building that was knocked down in the 1960s after surviving war and earthquakes. With 220 works sourced from London's V&A, Beardsley's elegant but eldritch "eroguro" art is definitely a snug fit here. Works include his illustrations for Mallory's "The Death of King Arthur" (1893-94), Wilde's "Salome" (1894), and Gautier's "Miss Maupin" (1897). 220 works. 
25th Feb - 11th May 2025. PRICE: ¥2,300. Read more here.

The Climax (1893), Aubrey Beardsley

LE CORBUSIER: THE SYNTHESIS OF THE ARTS 1930-1965

THE SHIODOME MUSEUM OF ART is one of the best run art museums in Tokyo and always presents well-put-together shows. This time they are focusing on Le Corbusier (1887-1965), the iconic modernist architect. Back in the day, the Frenchman was almost as well known for his art. But while his architecture focused on form from function, his art, represented here by several paintings and sculptures, expressed the cubism and surrealism in vogue at the time. The subtle ways this fed into his architecture is where the theme of this show comes from, as Le Corbusier saw architecture as the "synthesis of the arts." 

Now - Mar 23, 2025. PRICE: ¥1200. Read more here.

Le Corbusier "The Strange Bird and the Bull" (1957)