"The special exhibition "The Destination of Craft Beauty - Utensils, Wrapping, and Decoration" is currently being held. "

This exhibition is supervised and planned by Yuji Akimoto, professor emeritus at Tokyo University of the Arts, who has served as director of numerous art museums and has been involved in numerous art projects, and co-curated by Kentaro Takayama, CEO of artness Inc., which organizes art fairs and festivals specializing in crafts. This exhibition will feature works by 10 artists who use traditional craft techniques and materials as a base while incorporating the expressive power and concepts of contemporary art. Based on the theme of the beauty of the craftsmanship of "vessels," the exhibition will further develop the characteristics of crafts and be structured around the perspectives of "wrapping" and "decorating." It will present a new movement that questions the essence of crafts through free craft expression.

Artist

Ishizuka Genta

Kondo Takahiro

Rui Sasaki

Tanabe Chikuunsai IV

Tsukada Midori

Nakata Mayu

Takuo Nakamura

Hatakeyama Koji

Muta Yoca

Yamawaki Teruri

Japanese arts and crafts to the world: Special exhibition "The Destination of Craft Beauty - Vessels, Wrapping, Decoration" held in Tokyo

Period: Thursday, July 4th, 2024 to Tuesday, July 16th, 2024 11:00-19:00 *Closed every Monday

Wednesday, July 3, 2024 12:30-13:30 Media Preview (Entry Required)

14:00-19:00 VIP Preview (invitation only)

Venue: TERRADA ART COMPLEX Ⅱ BONDED GALLERY (4F, 1-32-8 Higashishinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo)

Admission fee: Free

Official site: https://artkogei.com/

Special exhibition of Japanese arts and crafts to the world "The Destination of Craft Beauty - Utensils, Packaging, Decoration" held in Kyoto

Dates: Sunday, November 3, 2024 to Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Time: 10:00-16:30 (reception closes at 17:00)

Venue: Kenninji Temple Shoin (Komatsucho, Yamato-oji-dori Shijo-sagaru, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture)

Note: Some exhibits may be switched between Tokyo and Kyoto.

Admission fee: Free (separate admission fee to Kenninji Temple required)

Organized by: Japanese Arts and Crafts to the World Executive Committee

Co-organized by: MUIC Kansai/Kyoto Prefecture

Sponsored by: Terada Warehouse Co., Ltd./Landrim Co., Ltd./Kanazawa City/Toyama City

Supported by: Kyoto Buddhist Association/Kenninji Temple

Supervised by: Curator Yuji Akimoto / Co-curator Kentaro Takayama Venue design: Koichiro Oniki

curator

Supervisor and curator: Akimoto Yuji

Professor Emeritus at Tokyo University of the Arts, Special Director of 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa

Honorary Professor at Tainan National University of the Arts, Art Critic

Born in Tokyo in 1955. Graduated from the Tokyo University of the Arts.

He has been involved in art projects, serving as director of the Chichu Art Museum (2004-2006), director of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (2007-2016), director and professor of the University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts (2015-2021), and director of the Nerima Art Museum (2017-2023).

He has served as the general supervisor of the Hokuriku Crafts Festival GO FOR KOGEI from 2021.

He is a curator. His major projects and exhibitions include "Standard" and "Naoshima Standard 2" (Kagawa), "The 1st to 3rd Kanazawa World Craft Triennale" (Kanazawa, Caotun, Taiwan), "Craft Futurism" (Kanazawa, New York, USA),

As part of the official Japonism 2018 project, "Yuichi Inoue 1916-1985 - The Liberation of Calligraphy"

(Paris, Albi, France), "Art as it is - Those who continue to express themselves without being known" (Tokyo), etc. His books include "Art Thinking" (President Inc.).

Co-curator: Takayama Kentaro

Representative Director of artness Inc.

Born in Osaka Prefecture in 1982. Joined the Fukutake Foundation in 2004. Until 2011, he was involved in the launch of art museums and art projects in Naoshima, Teshima, and Inujima. In 2013, he was involved in the founding of cultural business company Noechika as a director, and for eight years was involved in the launch of art fairs and art festivals specializing in crafts, such as "KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa" and "KUTANism". In April 2021, he founded art business company artness Co., Ltd. Major exhibitions and projects include the curation of the "Hokuriku Craft Festival GO FOR KOGEI" and the "ART JOB FAIR", Japan's first job fair specializing in the cultural arts world.

Exhibition Concept

As long as art takes on the form of an object, it has three elements: technique and materials, concept as a motivation for production, and expression. Generally, crafts are based on technique and materials, and contemporary art is based on concepts, but works that explore these elements from an original perspective and are produced in a well-balanced way are of high quality. Recently, crafts and contemporary art have intersected, and many excellent works have been produced that have the characteristics of both. They have the expressive power and concepts of contemporary art while maintaining the commitment of crafts. This exhibition introduces 10 artists who are based in crafts but create works that transcend genres. This time, the theme is the craft beauty of the "vessel" shape. From the perspective of plastic arts, this "vessel" shape can be said to be a characteristic shape that appears only in crafts. It does not only function as a container, but also contains the essential meaning of a craft form. For example, we associate containers with the shape of the human body, giving them names such as mouth and torso, or adding arms and legs to the vessel to directly express the human body. There is a "vessel" shape that goes beyond the vessel as a mere tool and adds image and expression. This exhibition also takes the craft characteristics a step further and considers the concepts of "packaging" and "decoration" to introduce a new trend that questions the essence of craft through free craft expression.

Official social media

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/japan_art_kogei/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@user-uo7gk6xk4m/videos

RED: https://www.xiaohongshu.com/user/profile/6172e75800000000020215e4

Bilibili: https://space.bilibili.com/1616473698

Japan Tourism Agency: Project to promote the expansion and quality improvement of inbound consumption by providing special experiences

It combines Japan's proud tourism resources (nature, culture, food, sports, etc.) with the full use of early morning and nighttime hours and unopened and uncrowded areas, creating unprecedented inbound demand and offering them as special experiences. In particular, in order to further expand consumption of experiential content in local areas and improve its quality, it encourages the use of local nature and traditional culture, local production and consumption of food, and the use of local human resources, and promotes the creation of "local premium experiential content" that has extremely high added value and brings together various resources that will become the highlights of the region.

( https://tokubetsu.go.jp/ )

Japanese Arts and Crafts to the World Executive Committee

The "Japanese Arts and Crafts to the World Executive Committee" is promoting various cultural tourism projects to experience Japan's cultural resources, which are expected to grow further as visits to Japan from various countries are expected to become more active after the COVID-19 pandemic. The series of initiatives has been highly praised both at home and abroad, and has been selected for the Japan Tourism Agency's projects for three consecutive years. The 2023 selected project "Japanese Arts and Crafts to the World, Special Exhibition 'The Bottom of Light'" recorded a total of more than 3,000 visitors.

Previously selected projects

・Selected for the 2022 "Project to create profitable signature products for the region by utilizing the region's unique tourism resources"

Exhibition "Arts and Crafts Exhibition at Hogon-in Temple, a sub-temple of Tenryu-ji Temple"

・Selected for the 2023 "Tourism Restart Project"

"Japanese arts and crafts to the world: Special exhibition 'The Bottom of Light'"

・Selected for the 2024 "Project to Promote Expansion and Quality Improvement of Inbound Consumption through the Provision of Special Experiences, etc."

"The Future of Craft Beauty: Vessels, Packaging, and Decoration"

For coverage during the event or other inquiries, please contact the person in charge listed below.

Person in charge: Yukiko Shiino

Email: info@artkogei.com