Takashi Murakami X Colin Liddell
In numbers of eyeballs on artworks Tokyo is the unchallenged World capital of art. Also, September is the month in which the art calendar kicks back into high gear, following the Summer lull. So here is Tokyo Met's "return to the museums and galleries" look at what's on this September.
Primitive Landscape A (1987), The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, photo: Otani Ichiro
TATSUOKI NAMBATA
Not everybody likes abstract art, but if you do, the show now on at TOKYO OPERA CITY ART GALLERY should be worth checking out. Focusing on the long career of Tatsuoki Nambata (1905-1997), it shows the artist's progression from more conventional art, through various styles of abstraction, to decentred works characterised by organic textures. With around 100 works.
Now - 2nd October.
PRICE: ¥1,600.
Li Jingyu, Ground-Zero, 2022, private collection
ATOMIC BOMB X ART
Japan will always be processing the fact that it, and it alone, was the target of nuclear bombing. To mark the 80th anniversary of this ultimate act of war, the show at the TARO OKAMOTO MUSEUM OF ART KAWASAKI presents art from contemporary artists and Hiroshima high school students, alongside Taro Okamoto's own artistic response to the threat of nuclear annihilation "The Myth of Tomorrow" painted in 1968, with Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and the nuclear tests on Bikini atoll in mind.
Now - 19th October.
PRICE: ¥1,o00.
Aki Sasamoto, Still from Point Reflection (video), 2023 🄫Aki Sasamoto. Courtesy of Take Ninagawa, Tokyo
AKI SASAMOTO'S LIFE LAB
Veering between what seems like stand-up comedy, improv, street dancing, and odd "science" experiments with everyday objects, Aki Sasamoto is one of the more offbeat and interesting contemporary artists out there. Her latest show at the MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART TOKYO is a kind of homecoming for the 45-year-old artist, who has been based in the USA for the last 20 years or so. She has also lived in England. Much in her "Life Lab" might baffle, bore, or seem banal, depending on tastes, but this is brave and gritty art about getting a better grip on all the weird stuff that clutters up our lives.
Now - 24th November.
PRICE: ¥1,500.
EKIN: A GENIUS PAINTER AT THE END OF THE EDO PERIOD
Hirose Kinzō (1812–1876), known as Ekin, was a Japanese painter of the late-Edo and early-Meiji periods. Due to his strong connections with remote Shikoku, his art has been neglected here in Tokyo, but thanks to the efforts of the SUNTORY MUSEUM OF ART, an impressive show of his vibrant and colourful art is about to change that. This is the first large-scale exhibition of his work here in half a century, and features folding screens, ema lanterns, and festival banners, all in his lively and exuberant style.
September 10th - 3rd November.
PRICE: ¥1,600.
JAPAN UNIFORM CHRONICLE
Following 2018's "Sailor Suit and Female Student" exhibition and 2019's "100-year history of Japanese uniforms" exhibition, the YAYOI YUMEIJI MUSEUM (located in the shadow of Tokyo University) is holding the third instalment of its school uniforms series! This time the focus is on how students wore and customised their uniforms, both to fit in and to stand out. Included are the extreme styles of the 1970s~80s, like tsuppari & sukeban, along with the 1990s ganguro & loose socks look. Prepare to be amazed!
Now – 14th September.
PRICE: ¥900
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L'Arbre Blanc (The White Tree) 2019 Montpellier, France, Photo: Iwan Baan
THE ARCHITECTURE OF SOU FUJIMOTO: PRIMORDIAL FUTURE FOREST
Sou(suke) Fujimoto, the architect behind the International Expo now under way in Osaka (until 13th Oct), has a keen understanding of how the modern game of architecture is played: come up with concepts that reference nature and ecology, while ensuring commercial interests are well served, and you can't lose. This has made him one of the "cutting edge" architects of today, whose thought and ideas will shape the cityscapes of tomorrow. So he is well worth paying attention to. The exhibition at the MORI ART MUSEUM is the first major survey of his work, and provides a comprehensive overview with installations and large-scale models, while also exploring Fujimoto’s vision of the city as a kind of forest.
Now - 9th November
PRICE: ¥2,500.
Promotion image
TOVE JANNSON AND THE MOOMINS
Moomin, the Finnish troll character that looks like a white hippopotamus is immensely popular in Japan, so the 80th anniversary of the publication of the first Moomin books was not going to go uncommemorated here. Accordingly the MORI ART GALLERY (the one just below the Mori Art Museum in the high-rise Mori Tower) has brought together 300 items, including oil paintings, original drawings and sketches, and favourite items by Tove Jansson, the lesbian creator of this compelling folklore-based Finnish cartoon character which has gone global.
Now - 17th Sept. PRICE: ¥2,300.
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