In terms of the number of eyeballs on artworks Tokyo is the unchallenged art capital of the World. So, what is on offer in its World-beating galleries and exhibition spaces as the cherry blossom month of April showers our city with its endless pink confetti? Here are TOKYO-MET's art picks for the month of March.
FUYUKO MATSUI: THE ERA OF DREAD
Matsui was once a "happening" Neo-Nihonga artist who took her foot off the pedal some years ago. This is her first show in around 12 years, so it's worth checking out for that fact alone. Although now out of fashion, her art still provides an intriguing and worthwhile alternative to mainstream contemporary art. Held at NAKAJIMA ART in Ginza, it has the added bonus of being totally free and they'll even show you the price list if you ask nicely. But be quick, it ends on April 5th! PRICE: Free. The show is reviewed here.
The Observed One by Fuyuko Matsui
SPECTRUM/SPEKTRUM
Hermès is obviously making so much money from their high end fashion goods (not really sure what they sell, is it bags or shoes?) that they can afford to put on fun exhibitions in the middle of Ginza totally for free. The latest show, held at the MAISON HERMES FORUM on the 8th and 9th floor of their flagship Ginza store is a lot of fun. Featuring works and installations by a collection of disparate artists (Kentaro Kawabata, Marie Laurencin, Motoyuki Daifu, and others) the show has been well woven together and is also designed to incorporate visitors into the show with a playful camera and mirror set-up by Michiko Tsuda. Now - June 29. PRICE: Free. Read more here.
Installation view
INOSUKE HAZAMA
Hazama (1895-1977) was a painter, ceramicist, translator, art professor, and curator, who promoted Western art, met and was inspired by Matisse, and translated and edited van Gogh’s letters. In other words, the ideal figure to provide a Japanese narrative to Western modern art who isn't Leonard Foujita (soon to be exhibited at the Sompo). Hazama also claimed Matisse as his "teacher." I am wondering how much the exhibition does to back up this impressive claim. Only one way to find out, I guess. The exhibition includes sixty works by Hazama, and fifteen works with connections to the artist from the ARTIZON's own collection of Western paintings. Now - 1st June. PRICE: ¥2,o00. Read more here.
Inosuke Hazama promo vid
TAPIO WIRKKALA: THE SCULPTOR OF ULTIMA THULE
Finnish designer Tapio Wirkkala (1915-1985) is considered a giant of the modern Scandinavian aesthetic that has now conquered the world (and especially Japan). His work encompassed glass, porcelain, silverware, jewellery, lighting, furniture, and graphics. With his wife, ceramic artist Rut Bryk, he was drawn to the condensed sense of nature characteristic of the frozen north, being inspired by Lapland in particular, as can be seen in masterpieces like his “Ultima Thule” series of glassware. The TOKYO STATION GALLERY presents 300 carefully selected objects, as well as photographs and drawings. 5th April - 15th June! PRICE: ¥1500. Read more here.
Chanterelle, 1946, Collection Kakkonen. © Rauno Träskelin
PREVIOUSLY RECOMMENDED BUT STILL RUNNING
BRITISH ART OF THE 1980s
The SETAGAYA MUSEUM OF ART in its parkland setting works extra hard keeping art "accessible" (i.e. cheap). The latest exhibition looks at British artists of the 1980s, including ladder-tree sculptures by David Nash, leaf-work by Andy Goldsworthy, and paintings by Anthony Green and others. Accompanying the artworks are photographs of past exhibitions at the museum and even a few pugnacious oil paintings by Winston Churchill. Now - Apr 6th. Price: ¥200. Read more here.
Sendai Nash (1984) David Nash
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. Now - 11th May 2025. PRICE: ¥900. Read more here.
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. Now - 11th May 2025. PRICE: ¥2,300. Read more here.
The Climax (1893), Aubrey Beardsley
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. Now - 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
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
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.
Now - 15th June 2025. PRICE: ¥2,300. Read more here.
The Ten Largest (1907), Guggenheim installation view
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