Various State of the Art Parts 1 2 Music 1994

State of the art

Exploring Roppongi and Tennozu, 2 of Tokyo's artsiest neighbourhoods

We know it's hard to believe, but Roppongi, Tokyo's glitzy underbelly of pricey booze, sleazy clubs and boutique shopping, lives a double life as the city's art hub. The capital's most famous entertainment district, in one case known equally 'Loftier Touch Boondocks', prides itself on an impressive array of small galleries and big museums – the cultural legacy of gentrification efforts over the final decade.

Farther southeast, Tennozu Island is no stranger to the art, or bamboozlement, of transformation from the bottom upwards either. In fact, the artificial isle was literally dredged up from the depths of Tokyo Bay during the 1920s and '30s. Recently, extensive waterfront planning has seen the hitherto quiet warehouse district re-sally every bit a be-muraled town dotted with canalside cafés, loftier-rising office buildings, hip hotels and fine art galleries.

Roppongi

This year, Roppongi'southward art cred was raised to new heights with the opening of the Complex665 building (six-5-24 Roppongi, Minato-ku), which houses a trifecta of influential galleries: Tomio Koyama, ShugoArts and Taka Ishii. The building sits on a residential back street tucked abroad from the hustle and bustle of Roppongi, merely is hard to miss thanks to what appears to exist a squiggle painted on its side. This symbol is the logo designed for Complex665 by artist Yoshihisa Tanaka, who imagined how a 'fictional artist named 665 might sign their own piece of work'.

A major player in Tokyo's contemporary art scene, Tomio Koyama Gallery moved into the 2nd floor of the building from their previous location in Sendagaya, employing young architects Toru Murayama and Ayako Kato to design their new 2-room exhibition space. They stand for an impressive roster of artists in Japan, including wunderkind photographer Ryan McGinley, American mail service-minimalist Richard Tuttle and Yoko Ono.

Too on the second floor is ShugoArts, who have championed the avant-garde of Japanese art since the mid-'80s. Their gallery was designed by architect Jun Aoki, as well responsible for facelifting the façade of the Louis Vuitton building in Ginza. Unlike their flatmates, ShugoArts continue the store open up on Sundays.

Calling dibs on the summit bunk are Taka Ishii Gallery, who stand for heavy-hitters like Elmgreen & Dragset, Nobuyoshi Araki, Daido Moriyama and Thomas Demand. Article of furniture and interior design gurus Broadbean, whose offices occupy the ground floor, were enlisted to design the sleek gallery infinite on the third floor, which wonderfully feeds off natural light coming in from the plant terrace.

If you lot've enjoyed killing a whole flock of birds with one stone, then head over to the Piramide Building (6-6-9 Roppongi, Minato-ku), which is another great example of the tried-and-tested 'ability in numbers' model of art collectives. Leading galleries Ota Fine Arts and Wako Works of Art are among its famous tenants.

Ascent above the rest both in height and, arguably, in might, the 238-metre Roppongi Hills Mori Tower is abode to the Mori Art Museum, which holds some of Tokyo's about aggressive and influential exhibitions. A retrospective dedicated to the Indian creative person N Due south Harsha will be unveiled in Feb 2017.

The abstraction of fashion (and fragrance) designer Issey Miyake and beau design greats Taku Satoh and Naoto Fukasawa, 21_21 Design Sight more underscores Roppongi's role equally the focal indicate of Tokyo'due south art scene. The common focus of their ever-irresolute lineup of exhibitions is interdisciplinary design.

The National Fine art Center (NACT), designed by Kisho Kurokawa of Nakagin Capsule Tower fame, boasts the largest exhibition space of any museum in Nihon. Unlike most of its counterparts, NACT is an 'empty museum', which means it does not take a permanent collection, instead choosing to committee one-off exhibitions – their Monet evidence was the second most visited exhibition in the world in 2007.

Located in Tokyo Midtown and designed past renowned architect Kengo Kuma, the Suntory Museum of Art possesses the biggest collection of Japanese craft in the land, comprised of a whopping three,000-plus objects. Their tea ceremonies, staged on the sixth flooring every second Thursday, are a must do.

And for the 'Peanuts' fans out there, Roppongi has a Snoopy Museum, showcasing Charles M Schulz's original drawings and fine art for the dearest series. A number of the cartoonist'due south early works, vintage collectibles and other materials are likewise on display.

Tennozu Isle

Backed past the Terrada warehouse company, which does far more than only stock Tokyoites' leftover property, Tennozu'south new Archi-Depot museum displays a whopping 116 architectural models by Japanese starchitects, including works by Kengo Kuma, Shigeru Ban and Riken Yamamoto. While the exhibition warehouse isn't exactly a sight to behold, the architectural models – depicting both real buildings and unrealised projects – gleam like miniature cabinets of curiosities. Later on paying a visit to Archi-Depot, you're certain to walk abroad with a renewed appreciation for Tokyo'southward beautiful buildings, often overlooked in the relentless hustle and hurry of our honey city.

Just a stone's throw away from Archi-Depot lies the hit fine art supplies 'laboratory' Pigment, designed by Kuma and inspired by the look and feel of bamboo. It stocks more than 4,500 colour pigments, l kinds of animal glues, and a number of top-quality traditional painting tools including over 200 antique ink sticks. The staff are all well-versed in the intricacies of the products and are happy to evidence y'all how to use them.

Taking a cue from their comrades over in Roppongi, four contemporary art galleries recently decided to nestle against each other on the tertiary flooring of the Terrada Art Complex. The quartet is comprised of Kodama Gallery, who are getting ready for a solo bear witness by Japanese artist Gaëtan Kubo opening January fourteen; Urano, representing domestic talents such as Takahiro Iwasaki, who will be flying the flag for Japan at the 2017 Venice Biennale; Yamamoto Gendai, who count the legendary luminary Richard Serra amidst their artists; and Yuka Tsuruno Gallery, known for their collaborations with renowned artists Candida Höfer and José Parlá. Lest you lot forget your surrounds, the galleries are located inside a fully operating warehouse and are simply accessible by a service elevator.

As the erstwhile and current residents of neighbourhoods similar London'due south Shoreditch and New York'southward Brooklyn will tell you, gentrification is a double-edged sword that tears through the old to make style for the new. Whichever side of the tertiary wave café/local caff divide yous're on, the number and density of art galleries is frequently a good litmus examination for how far a neighbourhood has come down the line. Less than one-half an 60 minutes apart, Roppongi and Tennozu Isle offer two dissimilar cases to study for those interested in the sociocultural effects of Tokyo's urban planning. Or you could just expect at the art.

Terrada's chief warehouse (2-half-dozen-x Higashi-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku) is holding an exhibition on David Bowie from January 8 to April 9 – be certain to become your tickets in advance.

Find more galleries in Roppongi

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Source: https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/art/state-of-the-art

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