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Rebecca Merlic "Kissaten Vienna"
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Rebecca Merlic
CONTRAST is pleased to present “Kissaten Vienna,” a solo exhibition by Europe-based digital artist, architect, and filmmaker, Rebecca Merlic, from 7/26 (Sat) to 8/3 (Sun).
This immersive, interactive project digitally documents and reconstructs the deeply human culture of the kissaten—a traditional Japanese-style coffeehouse—rooted in both Japanese and Viennese social life.
More than just kissaten, these spaces are places for quiet reflection, community, and daily rituals. They hold the layered stories of those who built, worked in, and visited them. Yet many kissaten have disappeared due to urban redevelopment and generational change.
Rather than simply recording these places, the project revives them as “memory spaces” in digital form—a new kind of archive that passes on their presence and connections to the future.
Merlic visited kissaten across Japan and Vienna, engaging with owners and regulars while 3D-scanning architecture, furnishings, and atmosphere. She also captured owners’ voices and bodies as 3D avatars, reconstructing each kissaten’s unique mood and memory. Additionally, she created three sculptures combining actual cups and furniture used in kissaten with rare porcelain from the MAK Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna.
Alongside these sculptures, visitors can experience a playable visual novel within a digitally reconstructed kissaten. Like a game, they are invited to freely explore the spaces, discovering hidden objects and fragments of memory.
We invite you to step into these digitally preserved kissaten to wander, observe, and rediscover the memories and connections that once flourished there.
This work will also be presented in alternate formats at the Austrian Pavilion, Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, and at Knowledge Capital, Grand Front Osaka.
This immersive, interactive project digitally documents and reconstructs the deeply human culture of the kissaten—a traditional Japanese-style coffeehouse—rooted in both Japanese and Viennese social life.
More than just kissaten, these spaces are places for quiet reflection, community, and daily rituals. They hold the layered stories of those who built, worked in, and visited them. Yet many kissaten have disappeared due to urban redevelopment and generational change.
Rather than simply recording these places, the project revives them as “memory spaces” in digital form—a new kind of archive that passes on their presence and connections to the future.
Merlic visited kissaten across Japan and Vienna, engaging with owners and regulars while 3D-scanning architecture, furnishings, and atmosphere. She also captured owners’ voices and bodies as 3D avatars, reconstructing each kissaten’s unique mood and memory. Additionally, she created three sculptures combining actual cups and furniture used in kissaten with rare porcelain from the MAK Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna.
Alongside these sculptures, visitors can experience a playable visual novel within a digitally reconstructed kissaten. Like a game, they are invited to freely explore the spaces, discovering hidden objects and fragments of memory.
We invite you to step into these digitally preserved kissaten to wander, observe, and rediscover the memories and connections that once flourished there.
This work will also be presented in alternate formats at the Austrian Pavilion, Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, and at Knowledge Capital, Grand Front Osaka.
Schedule | Jul 26 (Sat) 2025-Aug 3 (Sun) 2025 Opening Hours Information
Opening Reception Jul 25 (Fri) 2025 18:00 - 21:00 | ||||
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| Fee | Free | ||||
| Website | https://contrast-tokyo.com/en/archive/kissaten_vienna | ||||
| Venue | Contrast https://contrast-tokyo.com/ | ||||
| Location | 1-49-4 Tomigaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151-0063 | ||||
| Access | 1 minute walk from exit 1 at Yoyogi-koen Station on the Chiyoda line, 2 minute walk from the South exit of Yoyogi-hachiman Station on the Odakyu Odawara line. | ||||
| Phone | 03-6427-5227 | ||||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it |
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