Best Exhibitions Starting in December 2022

Tokyo Art Beat presents a selection of best exhibitions opening in December 2022. If you bookmark the exhibitions on the Tokyo Art Beat app, you will never miss the openings and closings!

Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams

After traveling to Paris, London, and New York, the “Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams” exhibition is coming to Tokyo. Commemorating the 70th anniversary of Dior, the exhibition will feature accessories and haute couture models from past and present, a section focusing on past artistic directors such as Yves Saint Laurent and Raf Simons, and works by photographer Yuriko Takagi. Don’t miss the opportunity to see “Wendelien Van Oldenborgh, Unset on-set” at the same venue too.

Venue: Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Schedule: December 21 (Wed) 2022 - May 28 (Sun) 2023 
Exhibition details

Roppongi Crossing 2022: Coming & Going

The “Roppongi Crossing” exhibition is held every three years by the Mori Art Museum to provide an overview of the contemporary art scene in Japan. The subtitle “Coming & Going” reacknowledges the changes brought by the pandemic and aims to bring back human interaction and reflect on the coexistence of diverse cultures and people in Japan. The featured artists are AKI INOMATA, Aoki Chie, Aoki Noe, Han Ishu, Ichihara Etsuko, Iha Linda, Ikeda Hiroshi, Inose Naoya, Ishigaki Katsuko, Ishiuchi Miyako, Kanagawa Shingo, KYUN-CHOME, Matsuda Osamu, Oh Haji, O JUN, Orimoto Tatsumi, Shindo Fuyuka, SIDE CORE / EVERYDAY HOLIDAY SQUAD, Takeuchi Kota, Tamayama Takuro, yang02, and Yokoyama Nami. 

Venue: Mori Art Museum
Schedule: December 1 (Thu) 2022 - March 26 (Sun) 2023 
Exhibition details

The Polyphony of Function and Decoration

The exhibition “Polyphony of Function and Decoration,” previously held at the Toyota Municipal Museum of Art and the Iwami Art Museum, will be on display at the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum. From the 1910s to the 1930s, various forms of modernism emerged in different parts of the world, including Japan. Featuring Wiener Werkstätte, Sonia Delaunay, and Bauhaus, the exhibition introduces multiple forms of “modernity” developed by artists who crossed paths, resonated with each other, and explored the rapidly changing society.

Venue: Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum
Schedule: December 17 (Sat) 2022 - March 5 (Sun) 2023 
Exhibition details

Atsushi Suwa Exhibition

Although labeled a realist painter, Atsushi Suwa also presented works based on thorough research and interviews. The exhibition at the Fuchu Art Museum will feature Suwa’s works based on historical events and portraits of deceased people, the project focusing on his grandmother, who passed away from illness in Manchuria just after the war, and the newest works created during the pandemic.

Venue: Fuchu Art Museum
Schedule: December 17 (Sat) 2022 - February 26 (Sun) 2023 
Exhibition details

Dream/Lands

Kanagawa Prefectural Gallery presents a group exhibition dedicated to the theme of “dreams.” The exhibition features Nihonga paintings, sculptures, embroidery, and video works by seven artists: Satoru Aoyama, Shiori Eda, Bunpei Kado, Yuriko Sasaoka, Yuki Hayashi, Raizou Yamasaki, and Shingo Yoshida.

Venue: Kanagawa Prefectural Gallery
Schedule: December 18 (Sun) 2022 - January 28 (Sat) 2023 
Exhibition details

Yokohama International Performing Arts Meeting 2022 (YPAM2022)

Established in 1995 as Tokyo Performing Arts Market, YPAM (Yokohama International Performing Arts Meeting) provides a platform for exploring the possibility of contemporary performing arts exchange through performance and meeting programs. Featured programs are “LUNA” by Bulareyaung Dance Company, “Jasmine Town” by Yang Zhen, “Nippon Ideology (tentative title)” by OLTA, and many others. The full list of programs can be found on the official website.

Venue: Kanagawa Arts Theatre
Schedule: December 1 (Thu) 2022- December 18 (Sun) 2022 
Exhibition details

Developments in Post-War Japanese Printmaking - Focusing on the Terunuma Collection

The Museum of Modern Art, Ibaraki, presents a new program introducing the development of Japanese prints in the postwar period, based on donations from collectors and the museum’s collection. Although prints were not widely recognized in prewar Japanese art, they gained critical acclaim after the war when artists began to exhibit their work at overseas exhibitions. This exhibition will feature prints by Koshiro Onchi, Shiko Munakata, and many others.

Venue: Museum of Modern Art, Ibaraki
Schedule: December 24 (Sat) 2022 - February 5 (Sun) 2023 
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Aya Momose Exhibition

Towada Art Center in Aomori Prefecture is presenting a solo exhibition of Aya Momose. In her works, Momose pursues themes of the body, sexuality, and the multilayered nature of communication with others. This exhibition will feature new works focusing on female voice actors portraying boys in anime works, including Shinji Ikari (Emi Ogata) from “Neon Genesis Evangelion” and Monkey D. Luffy (Mayumi Tanaka) from “One Piece,” along with her past works.

Venue: Towada Art Center
Schedule: December 10 (Sat) 2022 - June 4 (Sun) 2023 
Exhibition details

20th Anniversary of Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art Lee Ufan

A large-scale solo exhibition of Lee Ufan, previously held at the National Art Center, Tokyo, is coming to the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art. Lee Ufan, known as one of the leading artists of the “Mono-ha” school, was born in South Korea in 1934 and came to Japan during his university years. He developed a deep interest in contemporary art and began creating works in earnest in the late 1960s. This exhibition will bring together his representative works, from early works that questioned the issue of vision before the “Mono-ha” movement, the “Relational Term” series that changed the concept of sculpture, to his spiritual paintings.

Venue: Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art
Schedule: December 13 (Tue) 2022 - February 12 (Sun) 2023 
Exhibition details

Yokoo Tatsuhiko “Beyond the Realm of Meditation”

Born in Fukuoka in 1928, Yokoo spent his youth in present-day Kitakyushu and moved to Switzerland in 1965. Yokoo’s visually striking paintings based on biblical and mythological themes attracted attention worldwide, and he exhibited his works in Japan and Switzerland, the United States, Germany, Austria, and other European countries. This exhibition will focus on the works left in his studio in Japan. The exhibition will also travel to the Museum of Modern Art, Hayama, and other venues.

Venue: Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art
Schedule: December 17 (Sat) 2022 - January 22 (Sun) 2023 
Exhibition details