Adolf Wölfli “A Kingdom of 25,000 Pages”

Tokyo Station Gallery

Finished

Artists

Adolf Wölfli

This is the first large scale solo exhibition of work by Adolf Wölfli (1864-1930), who is highly regarded around the world as an artist associated with the Outsider Art and Art Brut labels but is largely unknown in Japan. Born in Bern, Switzerland, Wölfli suffered a lonely and miserable childhood. He began painting at the age of 35, a few years after being arrested and committed to the psychiatric hospital where he was to spend the rest of his adult life. He painted continuously from that point on, filling more than 25,000 pages with his work. Each painting crowds the entire page with images, words and musical notation, spreading right to the borders. Uninfluenced by the art of others or by art education, his works have unparalleled expressive power, creating bizarre narratives and demonstrating his passion for music. Recasting himself as a music director, Wölfli re-wrote his unhappy life as a fascinating adventure, building a perfect kingdom where he conquered the world. What he drew were not the events of a fantasy world, but the projections of his own undoubtable truth. This exhibition presenting 74 carefully selected works from throughout Wölfli’s career offers a long-awaited opportunity to encounter the vision of this Art Brut originator. Take this chance to witness his meticulous, magnificent and eccentric creativity with your own eyes.

[Related Events]
Talk Event: Adolf Wölfli and Art Brut
Event Date: May 13 (Sat) 19:00- (doors open: 18:30, duration: 90 mins.)
Speaker: Tadashi Hattori (Associate Professor at Konan University, Faculty of Letters Department of Human Sciences)
Venue: Tokyo Station Gallery Exhibition Space
Admission: Free
Capacity: 70
Bookings can be made by phone as of Apr. 1 (03-3212-2485)
*Please see official website for further details.
*Event in Japanese.

Schedule

Apr 29 (Sat) 2017-Jun 18 (Sun) 2017

Opening Hours Information

Hours	10:00-18:00 Fridays closing at 20:00
Closed	Monday Open on a public holiday Monday but closed on the following day. Closed during the New Year holidays and in between exhibitions.
Notice	Opening 10:00-20:00 on Fridays. Closed on Mondays. Open on May 1 (Mon).

Fee

Adults: ¥1100, University & High School Students: ¥900, Junior High School Students & Under: Free

Venue

Tokyo Station Gallery
http://www.ejrcf.or.jp/english/index.html