Opening reception: August 29th (Fri) 18:00-20:00

For example, I will never be able to know the taste of a cake if I choose to only appreciate its surface beauty. By the time I have had enough of a look at it and finally decide to eat it, it would already have lost its freshness. Such dilemmas confronts us from time to time and keep tormenting us. At the very moment we gain something important, we lose some other thing that is equally important. Knowing this, we still eat whatever is in front of us, being unable to fight against hunger, nor to suppress our greed. This exhibition is entitled "Mimi" (meaning 'taste and body'). The concept of the exhibition, 'personal taste for people', is strongly related to this greed. Stories are formed inside a person based on his or her own experiences over a passage of time. These stories then sink deeper within us and get precipitated, resulting in the formation of unknown tastes. Ayako Suwa combines bodily elements and cooking ingredients together, exciting a sense of greed in the beholder and extracting new "flavors" from him or her. Muga Miyahara turns his attention to the minute conditions of body and food with his stoic, monochrome gaze, and with his imaginative capacity for appetite and sexual desire, creates work that is not only to be looked at, but also to be tasted. Director of Gallery Point: Shinya Furui [Image: "Untitled" (2008) gelatin silver print 20×24inch]

Showa Yonju-nen-kai, or "The Group 1965" is an artist group whose members were all born in 1965 (Showa 40). Team leader Hiroyuki Matsukage, and members Makoto Aida, Sumihisa Arima, Oscar Oiwa, Tsuyoshi Ozawa, and Parco Kinoshita are all turning 43 this year. It is a bit too early to say that it is time for them to wrap up and look back on the past, but one could assume that it is about the time when their visual art and music, as well as ideas and feelings should all naturally come together. The city of Tokyo, which these artists often have a love/hate relationship with, appears endlessly in their work. The scenery of Tokyo, including people, things, environments, and scenes that one sees while taking a walk, or that one takes a glimpse of in between job meetings, are a source of their inspirations. This Tokyo Guide, which is uniquely different from each of their own individual works, reflects sentiments of these relaxed, matured men. Fragments of thoughts that randomly appear in their minds are depicted in each of these artists' writings and depictions which deal with a specific place and incident taking place in Tokyo. Commemorating the publication of the compilation of writings that these artists produced one by one in past three years, this exhibition presents original posters that represent six variations of Tokyo Guide. These posters are available in editions. The book is available at Nadiff bookstore, and the exhibition is on view on the basement level. [Image: (c) The Group 1965, photograph by Shigeo Anzai (2008)]

Miyuki Akiyama was born in Okayama Prefecture in 1980. This young artist has shown at various exhibitions including Roppongi Magical's "Worm Hole Episode 2" in 2006, group shows at Tokyo Wonder Site, Hiromi Yoshii, and Yugishitsu in Mito. Her work also gained attention at art fairs, "Liste 07" and "101 Tokyo," for her overwhelming power of expression and vivid color usage. In her works, animals and forests are often depicted as to symbolize the distance between herself and these motifs. They portray her ambiguous relationship with those images. Magical, Artroom will hold the solo exhibition of Miyuki Akiyama "Micro Macro Monochrome Color" from August 5 to September 6, 2008. Mobility and physicality are the important components of her work. She tries to be conscious of the fact that she is standing on the earth while she faces her canvas. Ryo Sawayama once defined her works as "an experimental site to make things evolve," and the artist Akiyama as "experimenter." Her act of painting seems like a means of exploring the space between herself and the world. Magical, Artroom also exhibits the works of Yosuke Uchimi at their small gallery space. He won the second prize at the Art Award Tokyo 2007, and gained a good reputation at "Tokyo Eye" held at Daimaru Tokyo. Opening Reception: August 5th (Tue) 19:00 [Image: "Sky Diffuse Light" (2008) Acrylic, oil on canvas 145.5 x 112.1cm]

Coinciding with the highly anticipated international contemporary art exhibition to be held this fall, the Yokohama Triennale 2008, we are hosting a total of 3 TAB Talks! Volumes 1 & 2 will be held at BankART Mini on the 1st floor of BankART Studio NYK, one of the venues for the Yokohama Triennale. TAB Talk Vol.2 takes as its theme contemporary dance, whose bodily expressions will also be one of the subjects of the Yokohama Triennale, bringing together various artists active in the contemporary dance scene. Joining us for Vol.2 will be Keisuke Sakurai. Sakurai has made a strong impact on contemporary dance with his unique concept of "kodomo shintai (child body)". He also organized "Azumabashi Dance Crossing", which introduces dance in a unique omnibus format that crosses this particular form of art with the latest modes of bodily expression taken from various other genres such as theater and music. Drawing on his wealth of video archive material, Sakurai will introduce the post-2000 Japanese contemporary dance scene while sharing his own thoughts on the subject with the audience. Anyone interested in contemporary dance and other forms of bodily expression, as well as those for whom this will be a tentative first exposure to dance at the Yokohama Triennale, are all welcome! The bilingual talk (Japanese/English) will last about 2 hours. Right after, we'll have a short segment called the 30-second Pitch. Several members of the audience will be invited to introduce themselves to the audience, promote a recent project, or announce a new product, website or company in under 30 seconds. If you're interested, please give your name and contact info at the reception table. Then for another hour, we'll have drinks, chatting, and networking among guests and audience members. Cooperation: BankART1929 Aid: Yokohama Arts Foundation Location: BankART Studio NYK 1F (BankART Mini) Keisuke Sakurai Musician. "Azumabashi Dance Crossing" organizer. Wrote "Nishi-Azabu Dance School" and "Dancing All Night", and produced the dance performance "Azumabashi Dance Crossing" among others. Has held lectures and workshops such as "Rediscovering Dance" and "Inventing Dance". Attempted to search for a more alternative approach to dance by tackling it as a dance competition judge, and also as a musician working collaboratively with choreographers.

Former editor of publisher Iwanami Shoten and also book maker Yoshiya Tamura (1923-2003) wrote in his book, "among editorial tasks, book binding is the final process and also the conclusion." In this exhibition, about 1400 books that Tamura handled bookbinding are showcased in an attempt to present his achievement as a bookbinder. It is an outstanding fact that Tamura was specialized in those two usually separated fields, editing and bookbinding. His immeasurable effort and passion devoted into bookbinding can be felt through his works, which are also results of collaborative effort of those who shared the same goal as Tamura. In Tamura's work, the lettering on the spines of his books are powerfully embedded. This is the part he payed the most attention to. It is hoped that viewers will enjoy the world that these letterings are inviting into. Gallery Talk Guests: Shoji Usuda (Design journalist), Michio Sakai (Professor at Musashino Art University) September 13th, 16:30

Who left the first trace? When the sumerians engraved cuneiform letters onto clay tablets 5000 years ago, the thoughts and feelings, art and science of humanity were imbued with eternal life.The arts and cultures born of 'writing', man's most pivotal invention, reveal traces of a transmission between the past to the future, the individual to the masses. The vestige on stage at 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT etch new traces onto the modern consciousness. After literally walking the earth, Katsumi Asaba invites us to be eyewitness to various shades of universal expression. Related events: "Whispered Prayers" pre-event June 28th (Sat) 17:00- Katsumi Asaba (Japanese) Opening・Relay Talk July 20th (Sun) 14:00- Katsumi Asaba, Jissei Omine, Kazunari Hattori and Naoki Ishikawa (Japanese) Special Talk August 3rd (Sun) 14:00- Katsumi Asaba and Seigow Matsuoka (Japanese) Workshop August 23rd (Sat) 13:00- Workshop by Katsumi Asaba (Japanese)

Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) was born in a small city called Delft located near Haag in Holland. He only produced about 30 works in his entire life. He is considered a "master of light" for his sophisticated skill in depicting illumination. Vermeer's paintings are rarely exhibited in Japan. This exhibition, consisting of masterpieces from the Dutch Golden Age, was made possible with the support of several European countries which all celebrate the 150th anniversary of their amity with Japan. Along with Vermeer's masterpieces, works by Delft painters, who represent the Dutch Golden Age, are gathered for this exhibition. A total of seven works by Vermeer are on display in this exhibition. The works include "The Girl with a Wine Glass," which beautifully depicts an interior space filled with light, one of the only two Vermeer landscapes entitled "the Little Street," "Young Woman Seated at the Virginals" which was acknowledged to be one of his works in recent years, "Art of Painting" which is known as his best work, "Christ in the House of Martha and Mary," "Diana and Her Companions," and "Woman with a Lute near a Window." In addition to Vermeer's works, 35 rare and highly reputable paintings created during the Dutch Golden Age are showcased, including works by Carel Fabritius (1622-1654) and Pieter de Hooch (1617-1683). This could be a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition where masterpieces from Delft are gathered for one exhibition. "Vermeer Exhibition Commemorative Symposium" August 2nd (Sat) 14:00-16:00 Panelists: Peter Sutton (Bruce Museum of Arts and Science) and others. Location: Museum Lecture Hall Capacity: 240 people Free admission. *Numbered tickets for the talk will be distributed from 13:00 in front of the lecture hall.

This exhibition presents Takahashi's "Japanese Graffiti" series which started in 2000, centering on Art Gaia Museum Kawaguchi Lake giant mural project produced by Ypsilon Group and Across the World project. It's hoped that viewers will enjoy various works by Takahashi, an internationally renowned artist. [Image: "Adhesive Bangkok" (2008) 91 × 91cm]

Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum is pleased to present “Summer Villa: The Sculptures, Drawings, and Prints of Katsura Funakoshi in Art Deco Space.” Katsura Funakoshi was born in Morioka, Japan in 1951. He studied sculpture at Tokyo Zokei University and graduate school at Tokyo University of the Arts (the former name: Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music). In the 1980s he began carving human figures out of camphor wood and partially coloring them. After many domestic shows, his work appeared in major international exhibitions, including the 1988 Venice Biennale and Documenta IX in 1992, establishing a reputation both here and abroad for his fresh approach to figurative sculpture. Funakoshi went on to cultivate new territories of sculptural expression, partially deforming his figures in a solo exhibition of 2003-2004 and further developing these forms to create the enigmatic, androgynous Sphinx series, begun in 2006. This exhibition introduces the challenging Sphinx series, including new pieces, as well as a selection of the best work from each previous period of the artist’s career. To Funakoshi, drawings and prints are important modes of creative expression in their own right on the same level as his sculpture. His drawings are not just studies for sculpture but comprise a world that is complete in itself. In his prints, which he began making as a student in England in 1987, he employs a variety of techniques, including drypoint, aquatint, lithography, and woodcut, to produce freely expressive artworks that are not subordinate to the sculpture. This exhibition gives equal attention to all three forms of expression to provide a fuller understanding of the artist. A particular point of interest on this occasion is the encounter between the Art Deco space of the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum and the work of Funakoshi. The distinctively decorated rooms of the museum, quite different from the “white cube” galleries of most museums, will come together with Funakoshi’s sculptures, drawings, and prints to create a rich tapestry, a rare space and time that cannot be experienced anywhere else. The museum will be transformed into a summer villa filled with magical surprises.

"Annette Messager: The Messengers" is the first major solo exhibition for leading French artist Annette Messager to be held in Japan. Painting, photography, articles, objects assembled from found objects, words, stuffed animals, plush toys, fabrics, embroidery, thread and knitting: these and many other objects from everyday life have found their way into the art of Annette Messager since she began working in the 1970s. Keeping her work based firmly in everyday life, Messager explores the various dichotomies and contradictions inherent in the human condition: religion and secularity, humor and fear, love and pain, woman and man, animal and human, childhood and adulthood, life and death, surface and substance. Springing perhaps from meditations on impulsive collecting or the body, from games with plush toys, or from clever wordplay, Messager's art possesses both a childlike innocence and a brutality that afford multiple readings. With a flair for incorporating wry humor into even the most direct confrontations with negative aspects of human endeavor, Messager is able to move and delight people of all generations. Charming and fantastical, and at times taking strange and mysterious forms, Messager's art works are "messengers" that talk directly to our souls. This exhibition was originally shown at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and has toured to Finland and Korea. The roughly 30 works on show include Casino, for which the artist won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2005, and other important works such as articulated-disarticulated.

The Contemporary Art Center at Art Tower Mito (ATM) is delighted to announce the first large-scale solo exhibition in Asia by the British contemporary artist Julian Opie. Known especially in Japan for his series of portraits and figures with semiotic visual language ever since his early career, Opie has been creating experimental works to tackle various important issues in contemporary art, including the relationship between painting and sculpture, original and reproduction, art and design, commodity and artwork, beauty and the everyday. Absorbing important notions and formats of modern art such as conceptualism, minimalism and pop, Opie has developed his own unique style. Appropriating influences from old master's painting to street signs, Opie's style has continued to transform throughout his career. In recent years he has created works based on pictures that he himself has taken, then modifies them with his hands and by computer. As a result, the details of models and landscapes are abbreviated and simplified, with thick and round lines and vivid color; only the essence of the objects remain identifiable. Julian Opie was born in London, United Kingdom in 1958. Within three years since graduating from Goldsmiths (University of London) in 1982, he was featured in several notable exhibitions at art museums and galleries in Europe, thereby gaining international recognition. His works have also been included in the collections of major museums, including the Tate Modern in London, MoMA in New York, and the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo. He also received a prize in 2001 from Music Week CADS for his cover jacket illustration for the British pop music group Blur in 2000. Recently, he has been busy creating many public art projects in Europe, the United States and Japan. Opie's interests are not limited to Western art, but extend to Japanese art as well. He is well known as a collector of Japanese woodblock prints (ukiyoe) by Kitagawa Utamaro and Utagawa Hiroshige. In recent years, Opie has embraced the compositions and chromatic sensations of ukiyoe, transforming them into unique portraits and landscapes using contemporary devices for representation as well as computer and LED. At the ATM Contemporary Art Center, Julian Opie will present approximately 70 recent works, covering his major motifs, including portraits, figures, animals, swimmers, dancers and landscapes. The works are made from various colors, mediums and techniques, including animated films, silkscreen and stone sculpture, animating the white cubes of the gallery spaces. Throughout his body of works, the exhibition will show the whole range of Opie's oeuvre, which was previously only introduced fragmentarily in Japan. His sculptural works and LED animations will be installed in the public space of ATM, where they will welcome passers-by. This exhibition is one of the official events of UK-Japan 2008, and is organized by the British Embassy and British Council on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce. Related Event: Special lecture "Faces talk - Julian Opie's portrait" Lecturer: Tamaki Saito (Psychiatrist) Date: August 2 (Sat), 2008 Time: 2:00-4:00 p.m. (doors open at 1:30 p.m.) Venue: Workshop Room in ATM Contemporary Art Gallery Capacity: 80 seats Admission: Free (Exhibition ticket is required.) More talk events are scheduled for this exhibition. Please check out the museum's website for more information.

The environment, China, art. Is this how the earth is being laid to waste, or just the unfortunate footprint of human development and progress? Internationally-renowned photographer Edward Burtynsky's "Manufactured Landscapes" series has continued to train its lens on human "development" and the extreme changes wrought by industrial activity on our landscapes. The footage, although harsh, is at the same time overwhelmingly beautiful. Burtynsky visited China to film this startling documentary, with its eloquent portrayals of industrial landscapes that escape mainstream media attention. This much talked-about film, which garnered several prizes, questions the future of our ravaged environment. Featuring U2's Bono and artists who received the "Contribution to the Earth" award. Venue: 1st floor Hall Screening times: 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, 19:00 No 17:00 screening from July 18th - August 10th. Only 11:00 and 19:00 screenings on August 9th.

America has been a leader in the realm of photographic expression since the early days of the medium, especially throughout the 20th century - both as a fertile ground for creating photographic work and as the subject of its expression: for Americans certainly, but also especially for artists from Europe and Asia. This "Visions of America" exhibition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography is divided into 3 parts and eras, exploring the history of the medium from the days of the 19th century daguerreotype up until the present. Through a consideration of America as place and locale - including interpretations of that place through the eyes of non-Americans - this exhibition aims to reassess the notion of "America" through an examination of photography and photographic history in this country. In addition, the exhibition is not just a means of reading the history of America since its founding, but also a way of interpreting the multi-layered global-local character of American culture. In short, "Visions of America" is a prime opportunity for one and all, not just photography buffs, to rediscover works and photographers already familiar to Japanese audiences through this approach.

Expression, background, movement-the Layout is the blueprint for the animation film, showing all instructions. In the first endeavor of its kind in Japan, Studio Ghibli will join MOT in exploring the power and fascination of the anime movies of Takahata and Miyazaki through some 1,000 layouts for films ranging from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind to their new film scheduled for release this summer, Ponyo on the Cliff by the sea.

Can fiction become fact? French artist Hugues Reip invites you on a “fantastic voyage” to parallel worlds. Reip will construct worlds of the imagination by means of his own, totally unexpected multi-media works and those of ten Japanese and French artists he has selected. [Image: "Eden" (2003)]

Trace Elements: Spirit and Memory in Japanese and Australian Photomedia features work by Australian artists Philip Brophy, Jane Burton, Alex Davies, Genevieve Grieves and Sophie Kahn together with Japanese practitioners Teiji Furuhashi, Seiichi Furuya, Chie Matsui, Lieko Shiga and Kazuna Taguchi. An exhibition that encompasses both the traditions and the innovations of photomedia practice, from black and white photography to interactive video installation, Trace Elements considers the ways in which contemporary artists are addressing the intrinsic relationship of photography to time, memory and the metaphysical association of the medium to phantasmagoria and the semblance of lived experience. Relating Programmes Open Forum "Part Past Part Present Part Fiction: Trace Elements" July 19th (Sat) 14:00-17:00 Conference Room (1 and 2) on the 7th floor in Tokyo Opera City bldg. Capacity: 180 seats Language: Japanese and English with successive translation. Admission: Free Please check out the museum's website for more information and other related events.

Joseph Bolstad and Mayuko Kono will be exhibiting 14 works in the gallery space as well as one large-scale outdoor collaborative work made of plastic baskets. Having worked closely together for the past five years, both artists have developed a keen interest in ordinary objects as a starting point for creating their works. Bolstad frequently manipulates toys and other items into darkly humorous patterned configurations, while Kono’s works are ethereal transformations of items seen in everyday life. Opening Reception: August 29th (Fri) 18:00-20:30 *Open on weekends only.

The special exhibition for 2008 involves a compact selection of work from the world's largest art museum, the Louvre, which will be displayed at the Ghibli Museum under the theme "Little Louvre Museum". The Louvre is situated on the banks of the Seine river in Paris, and boasts over 800 years of history as one of the world's oldest museums, attracting over 7 million visitors annually. With its collection of more than 35,000 pieces, a tour of the Louvre offers a comprehensive survey to Western art. Producing animation work involves transforming the world contained within the work and its characters into a drawing or painting, which often takes as its initial inspiration the works of past painters. In addition to the actual creative process, therefore, a wide knowledge of "painting" is often indispensable background knowledge for creators. It also sharpens and enhances the sensibilities of the viewer when faced with a work of art. Unfortunately, the opportunities for encountering such paintings and sculptures are fairly rare in Japan. Museums are commonly the preserve of adults who take in works of art silently and reverently, and hardly a place for kids to be able to visit casually. With this in mind, this exhibition was organized in order to provide a space where anyone can get a sense for the history of the Louvre buildings, and especially where kids can encounter "high" art in a relaxed setting. The paintings introduced at this exhibition have had their dimensions shrunk to about 40%, to fit the size and stature of children. An overview of work displayed on one wall enables viewers to appreciate the changes in French painterly expression from the 16th century Renaissance style right through to the naturalism of the early 19th century. The Louvre was initially constructed as a fortress at the end of the 12th century and later turned first into a palace, and later a museum. Excavated remains of the fortress are even now available for viewing in the Louvre's basement exhibition rooms, but it is well to remember that the history of this edifice is hardly a glorious one - the Louvre having been destroyed and abandoned several times over the years. This exhibition introduces such a "light and darkness" of the Louvre's history with a sculptural piece. The Ghibli, on the other hand, was a space that was designed to include children, to have them look, discover, and feel their way around art. This "Little Louvre Museum" exhibition hopes to be able to bring something amazing or incredible for kids to take home with them.

Part of the gallery, plus library, mini theater and lounge will be used as "ICC Open Space", a free communication space open to the public. ICC has consistently aimed at providing a space for the free appreciation of intersections between art and technology, developments in research, networks and archives through its "corners" and zones", as well as many works of art. Various materials, videos and recordings pertaining to the history of the ICC's activities are also available for reference purposes. A cafe, shop and rest space are also provided, allowing viewers to create their own encounters and exchanges with cutting edge technologies, means of communication and modes of culture. [Image: Hive Corner]

This exhibition introduces the past, present, and future of city development in Sengawa (Chofu City, Tokyo), along with the ongoing design of road layout. The project consists of 6 facilities that designed alongside the road, and is one of the largest projects that the world has seen.