Art, exhbition, event, Design, Designart Tokyo 2022 merci team Art, exhbition, event, Design, Designart Tokyo 2022 merci team

Today marks the unveiling of Designart Tokyo, which will take place on October 21 - October 30, 2022

At DESIGNART TOKYO, one of Japan’s largest design and art festivals, leading creators in various genres (art, design, interior design, fashion, etc.) converge in Tokyo, one of the world’s most culturally diverse cities, to hold exhibitions across the city. The entire district will be turned into a museum, bridging invaluable encounters and inspirations through interaction with creators. With “TOGETHER” as this year’s theme, DESIGNART will continue to promote design and art from Tokyo to the rest of the world as an international event.

Leading creators from all genres (art, design, interior design, fashion, etc.) converge in Tokyo, one of the world's most cosmopolitan cities, to hold exhibitions across the city during DESIGNART TOKYO. Through interaction with creators, the district will be transformed into a museum, connecting valuable encounters and inspirations. DESIGNART will continue to promote design and art from Tokyo to the rest of the world with "TOGETHER" as this year's theme.


NEXT  CIRCULATION - Sustainable & Technology

Participating creators : Taiwan Design Research Institute, Landloop × GELCHOP / BCXSY, Orna Tamir Schestowitz, Yuma Kano, Ryuichi Kozeki, OKURAYAMA STUDIO × KAARON STUDIO, Hiroto Yoshizoe, 3710Lab × Sae Honda, Satoshi Itasaka

Manufacturing and sustainability initiatives are being proactively taken worldwide in various fields to achieve the SDGs toward a sustainable society. In addition to developing materials and technologies, building relationships with partners and educating the next generation are likely to be the keys to producing high-demand, popular products. Considering this, DESIGNAT TOKYO 2022 will present the NEXT CIRCULATION, a sustainability- and technology-themed exhibition, featuring initiatives by leading corporate brands and creators, as well as a selection of inspiring exhibits that contemplate “beyond” recycling and upcycling. Satoshi Itasaka, a designer in the fields of architecture, product, and art, who also works on upcycling, will take charge of the spatial design.

COOPERATION:
NOMURA MEDIAS Co.,Ltd. PANECO® (WORKSTUDIO Corporation), Musashi Paint Holdings Co.,Ltd.(Bio Based Paint), GLORY CO., LTD., remare,inc.

The “Printed Sculpture” art project of LAND LOOP, a brand known for its naturally derived plastics developed by Toyoshima & Co. Ltd., will feature work by GELCHOP and BCXSY. The Taiwan Design Research Institute (TDRI), Taiwan’s design promoter, will present a special edition of “the SP!RAL” for DESIGNART TOKYO. Israeli designer Orna Tamir Schestowitz designed organically shaped ceramic vessels, and superimposed on the manmade object photographic images of the bounty of the Israeli earth. She has transformed the age-old medium of ceramics by an inspired application of modern techniques. Spatial designer Hiroto Yoshizoe will exhibit “Orbit,” a new lighting work first presented in Milan, which features shades made from 100% recycled glass of waste CRTs and fluorescent tubes.

DESIGNART GALLERY at Hz SHIBUYA : New Platform with Asian Design

Participating creators : messagingleaving(UNDER 30), Karyn Lim(UNDER 30), SDANLEY DESIGN WORKS, quantum × Stratasys Japan, ADAM from SOZAI CENTER( KOMORU Ltd. ・M&T)

DESIGNART believes that the time has come for Asia, with its strong economic growth rate and emerging cultural center, to take the lead in terms of creativity as well as technology. To this end, this year we will present DESIGNART GALLERY, a collective exhibition focusing on Asian creators, as a steppingstone to a new platform for building more friendly and progressive relationships with other Asian countries. The exhibition will be held at the newly established Hz, an event space with an eye-catching glass facade in the cultural hub of Shibuya.

The Taipei-based creative practice messagingleaving, led by Chialing Chang (UNDER 30), will present the lighting and mirror collections that uncover diverse expressions of brass and stainless steel. Karyn Lim (UNDER30) will be exhibiting Transformation Bags, a play on geometry to create sculptural forms that can transform into a flat object. In "mitate" project by quantum × Stratasys Japan, images of unique bowls were generated by seeing everything as a bowl with an AI, we then designed 3D data of bowls based on the images and 3D printed. Interior products made by new material “ADAM”, established by KOMORU Ltd. and M&T, a product design studio, utilizing apple pomace from the apple juice and cider.

Designer SDANLEY SHEN, will be exhibited the "The Bender", made in collaboration with the warp of wood, which is the wood's natural state and people can feel more warmth of this work.

「KAISU」 Furniture by featured Creators

Participating creators : Ishinomaki Laboratory(Keiji Ashizawa, Kenji Ito, Wataru Kumano, Koichi Suzuno, Naoki Terada, Nicolaj Friis Nøddesbo, Shigeki Fujishiro)、Shinnosuke Harada/ Junichi Ishigaki/ Ryo Suzuki、NAMAIKI / Mai Suzuki

The exhibition will feature a collection of furniture works with innovative and adventurous designs at KAISU, a former Japanese-style restaurant in Akasaka, which has been renovated as a new space. In the last 11 years, Ishinomaki Laboratory, founded by architect Keiji Ashizawa, has gained recognition and its concept has spread throughout the world. This time, returning to its roots, seven architects and designers held a workshop with craftspeople in Ishinomaki, and designed unique pieces under the theme of Ishinomaki Home Base. The results of the workshop will be presented in the form an exhitibition of furnitures and products under the title “7 designers, 2 days at Ishinomaki Laboratory”.

Three tables, explored by three designers, Shinnosuke Harada/ Junichi Ishigaki/ Ryo Suzuki, are exhibited under the theme of an easily portable "ibasho". Mai Suzuki will exhibit innovative works that create undiscovered(MICHI) possibilities for the traditional craft of "Kumiko". Through a fusion of craftsmanship and technology, she transformed kumiko flats into a hemispherical. The café and bar at the venue will be a lively spot for creators to gather during the exhibition.   

Venue : KAISU 6-13-5, Akasaka Minato-ku, Tokyo

ITOCHU SDGs STUDIO: 「Regeneration and circulation」

Participating creators : Konel、Ao. 、Studio POETIC CURIOSITY

ITOCHU SDGs STUDIO will serve as a space which various NGOs, NPOs and other organizations involved with the SDGs can use to communicate information about their activities and as a space where individuals have the opportunity to engage with the SDGs in their own way, allowing various plans to unfurl and take shape.

This time, the artworks of three creators will be exhibited which are born from the concept of “Regeneration and circulation”. Konel will exhibit clogs made from discarded clothing. Even if the teeth wear out, they can be replaced and continue to regenerate semi-permanently. “Ao.” sustainable indigo-dyed furniture project will present “Ao.Re:,” furniture upcycled from discarded wooden furniture and solid wood lumber. With the theme of “regenerating touch and feel,” Studio POETIC CURIOSITY will showcase “Fabric Record,” a phonograph record made from used and discarded textiles to enjoy sounds made from fabric.

Venue:ITOCHU SDGs STUDIO

2-3-1,  Itochu Garden B1F, Kita-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Hibiya OKUROJI: Diverse works, from interior goods to cutting-edge art, under the 100-year-old viaduct

Participating creatorsTakaya Mic Mitsunaga (UNDER 30) ,   Nina Nomura (UNDER 30) ,   Sohma Furutate (UNDER 30),  nooca,  Maruhei Timber × tossanaigh

Hibiya OKUROJI is located between Hibiya and Ginza, where the impressive brick bridge arches are still in use after more than 100 years. The 300-meter-long space will host a variety of artworks, from interior design to works by cutting-edge artists. In a large space of approx. 130 square meters, the Berlin Wall online project, organized by DESIGNART TOKYO’s UNDER 30 artist Takaya Mic Mitsunaga, will appear under the title BERLIN WALL TOKYO. Another UNDER 30 artist, Nina Nomura, will exhibit Life Through Holes, a work that questions the true richness of the relationship between objects and people by filling the surface of objects with tiny holes. Sohma Furutate (UNDER 30), will exhibit the interior elements "MASS -2022-", seems to have an irregular appearance, but the forms that emerge by capturing all the elements of surface transitions , depth and shading are a more "human" way of seeing things as a sensual perspective.

Other exhibitions include new flower vases and objects from the “form” collection of nooca, a brand launched this year. Maruhei Timber, which recovered from the 2011 earthquake with the help of many supporters, will display its Miyagi Terroir Kitchen created with the design unit tossanaigh to promote resource recycling, a pressing challenge faced by Japan‘s forestry industry. Visitors can also enjoy sales and events during the exhibition.

Perrier-Jouët & Garance Vallée - “Planted Air,” a collaboration artwork, will be exhibited in Japan ahead of the world

Perrier-Jouët, the French prestige Champagne house, releases the world premiere in Japan of a collaborative artwork, “Planted Air,” created for Perrier-Jouët with French artist, architect, and designer Garance Vallée.

This work expresses the dialogue between the two pillars that support the Maison Perrier-Jouët: art and nature. Reinterpreting the ecology of the Perrier-Jouët vineyard, the work's extensive use of curves and arabesques represents Art Nouveau from a contemporary perspective. The materials chosen are unique and artisanal, and the solid, hand-carved limestone blocks evoke the terroir of Champagne. The wrought iron, which was painstakingly forged by craftsmen, is reminiscent of the main gate of the Maison Belle Epoque in Epernay.

Venue:ISETAN SALONE   TOKYO MIDTOWN, Galleria

1F Promotion Space   9-7-4, Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Period:10/19(Wed.)~11/1(Tue.)2022

SANLORENZO JAPAN meets Kazuto Imura

Pre-launch of SANLORENZO JAPAN, the world’s leading Italian yacht brand by internationally renowned designers including Piero Lissoni

Coinciding with the pre-launch of SANLORENZO JAPAN, artist Kazuto Imura’s solo exhibition “Æ/æ” will be held at MA5 GALLERY, which will serve as a platform for SANLORENZO JAPAN’s Art & Design. For the first exhibition there, Imura has created mirrors that “do not reflect yourself.” Through examining materials and techniques that have been used in mirror production, he relives the history of the human-mirror association. The title “Æ/æ” was inspired by the technique he used with a focus on the mirror construction, where he superimposes the phenomenon caused by the materials’ composite nature during the mirror-making process onto a reflected image. Please enjoy this fantastic space formed by mirrors.

Material and technical cooperation : UNOU JUKU by AGC Inc.  Makership Inc.

Venue:MA5GALLERY by SANLORENZO JAPAN 

5-10-17, Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo Curated by DESIGNART

Period:10/21(Fri.)~11/28(Mon.) Closed on Wednesdays

teamLab, Continuous Life and Death at the Now of Eternity at VOLVO STUDIO AOYAMA

Volvo Studio Aoyama will display Continuous Life and Death at the Now of Eternity by the art collective teamLab. This will be exhibited in conjunction with another art exhibition by teamLab and sponsored by Volvo Car Japan, VOLVO teamLab: A Forest Where Gods Live. It is held at Mifuneyama Rakuen in Kyushu, where the vast forest, megaliths, caves, and other natural features of Mt. Mifuneyama, become art in themselves. The exhibition will allow visitors who are unable to travel to Kyushu to see this installation at Volvo Studio Aoyama, where flowers continuously bloom and perish, to experience the continuity of life seen over a long span of time.

Venue: VOLVO STUDIO AOYAMA 3-3-11, Kita-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo.

Period:7/15(Fri.)~11/6(Sun.)2022

teamLab, Continuous Life and Death at the Now of Eternity © teamLab

A space where fashion and art blend with each other

Prada presents the exhibition “Who the Bær”

Period:10/15(Sat.)2022 ~1/30(Mon.)2023

Venue:Prada Aoyama  5-2-6 Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 5th floor

Prada presents the exhibition “Who the Bær” by Simon Fujiwara, organized with the support of Fondazione Prada, at Prada Aoyama. “Who the Bær” is a cartoon character created by the artist that takes inspiration from fairy tales, fantasy literature, animation and the exhibition explores a plurality of topics belonging to different realms: from the climate collapse to cultural appropriation, from plastic surgery to Pop-art through the coming-of-age story of ''Who the Bær".


“Visitors" by Chrisitan Hidaka & Takeshi Murata

Christian Hidaka (b. 1977, Chiba, Japan, lives and works in London, UK) and Takeshi Murata (b. 1974, USA, lives and works in Los Angeles) will hold the co-exhibition Visitors at Maison Hermes Forum in Ginza. Through the worlds of these two artists, who continue to create works that interrogate the space between reality and fiction, the exhibition will highlight the fictional structure seen in contemporary art through two narratives.

Period:10/21(Fri.)2022~1/31(Tue.)2023

Venue:  GINZA MAISON HERMÈS Le Forum 5-4-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo


Ayame Ono at PERVERZE THE EMBODIMENT STORE

Established in Tokyo in 2016 by an anonymous collective of young creatives, PERVERZE is both a fashion brand and a project, will have a collaborative exhibition with artist Ayame Ono at PERVERZE THE EMBODIMENT STORE, which opened in March 2022. While utilizing thestructure of the store, this exhibition will incorporate PERVERZE's archive of textile patterns and materials created up until now, forming a collage of works where various layers intersect.

Venue:PERVERZE THE EMBODIMENT STORE  5-5-1, Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo


Experience of Technology x Art

Metaverse Boundary 

The metaverse, such as digital twins, is a recent hot topic. What would people do if a metaverse city is shrouded in darkness? What is it like if a mirror exists physically at the boundary of the virtual and real? This is an experimental artwork by ExMetaClub x TV Asahi, which considers the viewer’s (avatar’s) experience and behavior in the metaverse space itself as the artwork. “The gorgeous and light-filled METAVERSE ROPPONGI” will be turned into the “Black METAVERSE ROPPONGI” for a limited time. This interactive artwork is simultaneously exhibited physically and virtually. *The exhibit will tour different locations.

Period:10/28(Fri.)~10/30(Sun.)2022  How to participate: Real Space /ANB Tokyo 3rd floor  5-2-4, Roppongi, Minato-ku Tokyo

Virtual space / METAVERSE ROPPONGI


MedicalArt Turning your Health Condition into Art from Medical Data

Medical Art is produced by five creators with diverse backgrounds (designer, planner, engineer, graduate school lecturer, etc.). The data they collected themselves (e.g., facial expressions, behaviors, and health information) are combined and redefined based on modern medical data to create an artwork of the inner self. “Medical Data x Art” will offer an opportunity to learn about the unknown inner self and to improve wellbeing. At the venue within patisserie UN GRAIN shop, renowned for MIGNARDISES (bite-sized sweets), visitors can purchase sweet treats while enjoying an artistic vibe.

Venue:UN GRAIN | Premiere Building 1F, 6-8-17 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo


This special venue happened to be decorated by Japanese creators, as Ambientec sponsored the adorning of the venue with 120 TURN+ lamps, designed by Nao Tamura, while plant artist Satoshi Kawamoto took charge of table-top decorations. Stemming from this, the first collaborative installation with Kawamoto will be exhibited in TOKYO. ( Directed by Nao Tamura, Venue provided by SEMPRE DESIGN)

INTERIOR

New collections and presentations by interior brands

Venue: FLEXFORM TOKYO  6-4-10, Minami-Aoyama Minato-ku, Tokyo

2022 NEW COLLECTION【AMBROEUS】

FLEXFORM 2022 NEW COLLECTION

In a relentless pursuit of the beauty that breathes in our everyday life, the 2022 NEW COLLECTION of FLEXFORM has further evolved through the refinement of its graceful sense of beauty, not being influenced by trends or self-satisfaction. The global flagship store FLEXFORM TOKYO in Minami Aoyama offers not only new products, but also sofas, armchairs, tables, chairs, cabinets, and other comfortable furniture for daily use.


FOCUS / YUJI OKITSU at ROYAL FURNITURE COLLECTION

Venue: ROYAL FURNITURE COLLECTION SHOWROOM  2-12-4 Sakamoto Bldg. 1 F Kita-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo

The lighting piece FOCUS, designed by Yuji Okitsu and commercialized by the French lighting brand DCW éditions PARIS, will be exhibited in the Tokyo showroom of the Royal Furniture Collection. The original FOCUS was exhibited by Yuji Okitsu for the first time worldwide at Milano Salone Satellite 2018 and domestically at AXIS during DESIGNART TOKYO 2018. It was presented as an interior object hung from the ceiling like a mobile, combining multiple thin and light flat lenses and LED lights. By re-focusing on and re-composing the existing elements such as light, air, and scenery, FOCUS continually creates a new scenery responding to subtle ambient changes in the space. This time, the details of "FOCUS" have been reconsidered and refined to create a new lighting work that is even more sophisticated and conceptual than the original.

ARIAKE with LE KLINT / Bang&Olufsen / BELAIR LAB

Venue: #103 4-1-15 Minami-Aoyama , Minato-ku, Tokyo

Ariake, a furniture brand founded by Legnatec and Hirata Chair, two factories from the furniture producing town of Morodomi in Saga prefecture, will present its new collection for 2022 in collaboration with LE KLINT, Bang & Olufsen and BELAIR LAB.


"DISSECT" Satoshi Kawamoto × Ambientec

Period:10/28(Fri.)~10/30(Sun.)2022 

Venue:LIGHT BOX STUDIO AOYAMA   5-16-7, Minami-Aoyama Minato-ku, Tokyo

This year's The Salone del Mobile.Milano’s Gala Dinner, celebrating the 60th anniversary, was held as a private dinner on the rooftop of Santa Maria delle Grazie, the church known for its depiction of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece "The Last Supper". This special venue happened to be decorated by Japanese creators, as Ambientec sponsored the adorning of the venue with 120 TURN+ lamps, designed by Nao Tamura, while plant artist Satoshi Kawamoto took charge of table-top decorations. Stemming from this, the first collaborative installation with Kawamoto will be exhibited in TOKYO. (Directed by Nao Tamura, Venue provided by SEMPRE DESIGN)


PATIO PETITE at GINZA innit

Venue: GINZA innit  7-10-1  2F, Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

A special outdoor furniture exhibition of PATIO PETITE will be held at “upstairs outdoor living,” a lifestyle store on the 2nd floor of “GINZA innit” run by Sugita Ace. On display will be the PATIO PETITE WA Series by TORAFU ARCHITECTS Inc., developed with Sugita Ace, and the PATIO PETITE MA Series by SUPPOSE DESIGN OFFICE. A variety of plants from FUGA will also fill the space


ART

Enjoy art in the city in autumn, from interactive installations to established galleries

FEEL HOTEL TOGETHER at all day place shibuya

Directed by A Green’s Scenting Designer MEGUMI FUKATSU, “FEEL HOTEL TOGETHER,” an installation themed on the merging and connection of the five senses, will be held at all day place shibuya. A diverse group of next-generation designers and artists will come together to create works of art. Besides exhibits at the reception and in guest rooms, there will be exhibition rooms for visitors to stay overnight. Experience of “sensory mariage” with professionals of taste will also be provided at coffee stand, beer bar and dining in the hotel. 

Venue:all day place shibuya  1-17-1, Shibuya, Shibuya-ku Tokyo

Rooms for exhibiting artworks (Open to the public): 1 room (12:00~19:00)

Rooms for exhibiting artworks (overnight stay possible, reservation required). :3rooms

Other exhibitions: hotel reception on 2F, café on 1F, restaurant on 2F. Accommodation reservations and other enquiries:https://www.uds-hotels.com/all-day-place/   

Julian Opie at  MAHO KUBOTA GALLERY 

MAHO KUBOTA GALLERY, located in Jingumae, an area of cultural crossover where Harajuku and Aoyama in Central Tokyo, will hold a solo exhibition of new paintings and new animations featuring  “Dance", by Julian Opie, one of the UK’s leading contemporary artists today. Opie uses pictograms and simple drawings and coloring reminiscent of anime to simplify the main artistic motifs of ancient times, such as landscapes and the human figure. This style of expression that employs minimal detail is continuing to garner support in both the art world and the broader cultural scene. Julian Opie will be visiting Japan for this exhibition.

Venue:2-4-7 Jingumae Shibuya-ku Tokyo Japan    Period:10/21(Fri.)~11/26(Sat.)2022

Julian Opie. Dance 1 figure 1 step 2. 2022.

Vinyl on aluminium stretcher. 210 x 100 cm


The Future Eternal

A Lighthouse called Kanata, a contemporary art gallery that introduces Japanese artists to the world, is bringing together works by up-and-coming artists in The Future Eternal exhibition. Rather than following the transient trends of contemporary art, the highlight of the exhibition is the universal yet progressive abstract works that connect the past and the future. The exhibition will feature ambitious three-dimensional and two-dimensional works that combine materials and outstanding techniques to embellish contemporary spaces.

Venue:A LIGHTHOUSE CALLED KANATA  Kasumicho Terrace 6F, 3-24-20, Nishi-Azabu, Minato-ku Tokyo     Period:10/21(Fri.)~10/29(Sat.)2022

emergence by Osamu Yokoyama (2022)

OMOTESANDO REPLICA

松田優と谷雄一郎によるデザインスタジオ「UO」が、2022年8月10日AM10:48に、表参道ヒルズ前の歩道の植込み(35°39‘59.6“N 139°42’35.6”E)で拾った枝を、2000本に複製し連結したアート作品。無限の空間のほんの一点と、刻々と変化し続ける時間の一点との唯一性を極大化しているこのオブジェクトが、表参道ヒルズの本館 吹抜け大階段に出現する。

会場:表参道ヒルズ 東京都渋谷区神宮前4-12-10 本館 吹抜け大階段


Tokyo Midtown will exhibit works of two creator groups featuring

“Design for Sustainable Future”

Venue: TOKYO MIDTOWN, Galleria 2F

in front of Aēsop store

9-7-1, Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo

The series sea is an effort by ambi to realize the charm of STUDIO RELIGHT's activities through design, using recycled glass from waste fluorescent lamps that have been properly processed by STUDIO RELIGHT's parent company, Sawaya Co. The glass is molded from a lump of glass to maximize the uniqueness of color and bubbles of recycled glass. For some of the works, sand molds were used as casting molds, for texture, and to easily recycle after use. Each work represents different scenes of the “sea.”


“FLOW”- Fluid material cycle - by DAISUKE YAMAMOTO

Venue: TOKYO MIDTOWN, Galleria 2F in front of lucien pellat-finet, 9-7-1, Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo

This project began with the awareness that everyday recyclable construction materials are disposed then new construction begins, so-called “scrap and build”. In this situation, he shed light on the most used and at the same time disposed material, LGS( Lightweight Gauge Steel ).This product series “FLOW” came to life from this process, challenging in realizing fluid material cycle that prevents any kind of industrial waste disposal.


DESIGNART TOKYO 2022  OFFICIAL PARTNERS

Perrier-Jouët is the Official Champagne of DESIGNART TOKYO 2022

Pernod Ricard Japan K.K.’s prestige Champagne house, Perrier-Jouët, will be sponsoring DESIGNART TOKYO 2022 again as the official champagne. Planted Air, a commissioned artwork by Garance Vallée, a French artist who has attracted attention for her mysterious worldview, will be exhibited at ISETAN SALONE (Tokyo Midtown, 1st floor) during the event. The world premiere of the artwork will be accompanied by a limited-edition collaboration product, Perrier-Jouët Blanc de Blancs by Garance Vallée, which will be on sale at the venue. Union Square Tokyo (Tokyo Midtown B1F) will also host a by-the-glass fair for Perrier-Jouët Blanc de Blancs.


BLUE BOTTLE COFFEE 5 stores become Official Cafes of DESIGNART TOKYO 2022

The five BLUE BOTTLE COFFEE cafes in Aoyama, Roppongi, Ginza, Hiroo, and Shibuya, become official cafes where you can stop by during your stroll of exhibitions, of DESIGNART TOKYO 2022. If you show the official DESIGNART Instagram account at the cashier during the exhibition, you will receive a piece of "Blue Bottle Yokan," (Japanese traditional sweets by bean paste shop in Horikawa Sanjo, Kyoto for over 60 years) that goes well with coffee, for every drink ordered. You can take it home or enjoy it at the cafe while enjoying design and art exhibitions.

"Taroma," an aroma brand from Toyama Prefecture, and designer Ryuya Yamada will present a glass aroma diffuser at AOYAMA cafe. The exhibition Wind Whisperer: Confiding the Wind by Studio POETIC CURIOSITY will be held at Shibuya Cafe and Kitaya Park. Viewers can experience that the words of their thoughts and feelings whispered into this interactive work, will be transformed into bubbles and blown away. Roppongi Cafe will exhibit DIG-DUG, a new work by Atsushi Shindo, who is engaged in the design of commercial facilities as an interior designer while also presenting interior objects and artworks from his personal projects.

Studio POETIC CURIOSITY photo by Mina Asaba

※Please note that all other cafes are not eligible for this offer.

For more information about Designart Tokyo, please visit: https://designart.jp/

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Architecture, art, exhbition merci team Architecture, art, exhbition merci team

Odunpazari Modern Museum (OMM)

A major new museum designed by world-renowned architects Kengo Kuma and Associates, will open in Eskişehir, north west Turkey, in June 2019. The museum will provide a new home for a significant collection of modern and contemporary art which has been brought together by Erol Tabanca, an art collector, architect and businessman. OMM Founded by Erol Tabanca, an art collector and will welcome international audiences to discover its significant collection of modern and contemporary art spanning the 1950s to the present day.

With its distinctive stacked timber design by Kengo Kuma and Associates (KKAA), the 4,500m2 building draws inspiration from Odunpazari’s traditional Ottoman wooden cantilevered houses that are synonymous with the district, and pays homage to the town’s history as a thriving wood market.

Along with several other city museums in the surrounding area, OMM will create a museum square and public meeting place in the town. Split over three floors, visitors will journey through a variety of exhibition spaces, with the large spaces at ground level echoing the rhythm and scale of the surrounding townscape, and the smaller rooms on the upper levels providing a home for smaller-scale artworks. At the centre, a skylit atrium will allow natural light to permeate throughout the building.

Yuki Ikeguchi, Partner leading the project, and Kengo Kuma, Founder of Kengo Kuma and Associates, said: “At the heart of this project was a desire to create a link between people and art. We wanted the building to carry the history and memory of the town, to resonate both on a human scale and with the unique streetscape of Odunpazari, which passing through is a special experience in itself. We very much look forward to seeing the public enjoy and interact with the building.”

“We are delighted to announce that the museum will open in June and look forward to opening our doors”, said Erol Tabanca, founder of OMM. “It is my privilege to give this museum and open up the collection to visitors all over the world to enjoy. OMM will stand as a new landmark that reconnects the town with its history, and as a progressive cultural development for Eskişehir and the Central Anatolian region at large.”

Curated by Turkish curator, Haldun Dostoğlu, the museum’s inaugural exhibition will showcase a selection of around 200 works by 60 leading artists from Turkey including Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu, Canan Tolon, Erol Akyavaş, İlhan Koman, Ramazan Bayrakoğlu, Sinan Demirtaş and Tayfun Erdoğmuş. The exhibition will continue up to the present day with a new site-specific commission by Japanese bamboo artist, Tanabe Chikuunsai IV. His intricate installation, crafted from woven bamboo, will interact with and complement the architecture of the building.

Curator, Haldun Dostoğlu, said: “When curating OMM’s inaugural exhibition, I was inspired by three truths: Eskisehir will gain its first modern art museum, Erol Tabanca will fulfil his dream of sharing his art collection with the public, and this wonderful collection - much of which has been behind closed doors for a number of years - will be showcased in its entirety for the first time.”

The collection has been brought together by Erol Tabanca over a period of 15 years and features more than a thousand works of art spanning the 1950s to the present day, championing pioneering twentieth-century figures as well as the next generation of contemporary artists. The collection features works by acclaimed artists from Turkey such as Burhan Doğançay, Canan Tolon, Azade Köker, Nejad Melih Devrim, Erol Akyavaş, Haluk Akakçe, Taner Ceylan, İnci Eviner, Gülsün Karamustafa and Erdağ Aksel, alongside international names including Peter Zimmerman, Jaume Plensa, Marc Quinn, Robert Longo, Aron Demetz, Julian Opie, Sarah Morris, Stephan Kaluza, Hans Op De Beeck, Massimo Giannoni, Seon Ghi Bahk, Alfred Haberpointner. OMM’s multidisciplinary exhibitions – many of which will be produced in collaboration with leading curators and creatives – and permanent galleries will be complemented by a dynamic public programme, offering seminars, artist talks and workshops.

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