Exhibition/event has ended.
Seventy Years in Aoyama
Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum
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Artists
Taro Okamoto
It was seventy years ago, in May 1954, that Taro Okamoto established his studio at this location.
It was an important place to him, the site of his parents’ home where he had lived from birth until he moved to Paris. However, when he returned after the war, he found the place covered in wheat fields—his house, his artwork, everything had been lost in the air raids. Taro had no choice but to make a fresh start from literally nothing, but he never lost heart and soon began to make inroads into the postwar Japanese art scene.
Eight years after his demobilization in 1946, Taro was finally able to return to the place.
The studio/residence, which still stands today as the museum’s ‘old building,’ was designed by a friend from his Paris days, Junzo Sakakura, while Yutaka Murata served as the site manager during construction. Both of these men were elite architects who honed their skills in the office of Le Corbusier, who is renowned as the father of modern architecture. However, this being said, the walls of the building consisted of simple concrete blocks while the roof is just bent wood. The two knew that Taro had no money and produced a very low-cost construction for him.
Having achieved a firm base, Taro proceeded to launch a powerful attack on the art world. In this building, that his lifelong partner Toshiko Okamoto referred to as, his ‘battle station’ or ‘foxhole,’ Taro created a wide range of works that challenged the Japanese art establishment and presented them to society.
This exhibition will present the ‘old building,’ that still reverberates with the atmosphere of those days, and shine a spotlight on the background of Taro’s art that first took shape here in Aoyama. We hope that you will come and enjoy the legend of Taro Okamoto that began here seventy years ago.
It was an important place to him, the site of his parents’ home where he had lived from birth until he moved to Paris. However, when he returned after the war, he found the place covered in wheat fields—his house, his artwork, everything had been lost in the air raids. Taro had no choice but to make a fresh start from literally nothing, but he never lost heart and soon began to make inroads into the postwar Japanese art scene.
Eight years after his demobilization in 1946, Taro was finally able to return to the place.
The studio/residence, which still stands today as the museum’s ‘old building,’ was designed by a friend from his Paris days, Junzo Sakakura, while Yutaka Murata served as the site manager during construction. Both of these men were elite architects who honed their skills in the office of Le Corbusier, who is renowned as the father of modern architecture. However, this being said, the walls of the building consisted of simple concrete blocks while the roof is just bent wood. The two knew that Taro had no money and produced a very low-cost construction for him.
Having achieved a firm base, Taro proceeded to launch a powerful attack on the art world. In this building, that his lifelong partner Toshiko Okamoto referred to as, his ‘battle station’ or ‘foxhole,’ Taro created a wide range of works that challenged the Japanese art establishment and presented them to society.
This exhibition will present the ‘old building,’ that still reverberates with the atmosphere of those days, and shine a spotlight on the background of Taro’s art that first took shape here in Aoyama. We hope that you will come and enjoy the legend of Taro Okamoto that began here seventy years ago.
Schedule | Nov 15 (Fri) 2024-Feb 24 (Mon) 2025 Opening Hours Information
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| Fee | Adults ¥650, Elementary School Students ¥300. | ||||
| Website | https://taro-okamoto.or.jp/en/exhibition/seventy-years-in-aoyama/ | ||||
| Venue | Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum https://taro-okamoto.or.jp/en/ | ||||
| Location | 6-1-19 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0062 | ||||
| Access | 7 minute walk from exit B1 at Omotesando Station on the Ginza, Hanzomon and Chiyoda lines. 20 minute walk from the Miyamasuzaka exit of JR Shibuya Station. | ||||
| Phone | 03-3406-0801 | ||||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it |
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