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April 27, 2022 Post a Comment

Land of the art

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

We know information technology's hard to believe, but Roppongi, Tokyo'south glitzy underbelly of pricey booze, sleazy clubs and bazaar shopping, lives a double life as the urban center'southward art hub. The capital's most famous entertainment district, once known every bit 'High Touch Town', prides itself on an impressive array of small galleries and large museums – the cultural legacy of gentrification efforts over the final decade.

Further southeast, Tennozu Isle is no stranger to the fine art, or artifice, of transformation from the bottom up either. In fact, the bogus island was literally dredged upwards from the depths of Tokyo Bay during the 1920s and '30s. Recently, extensive waterfront planning has seen the hitherto quiet warehouse commune re-emerge equally a be-muraled town dotted with canalside cafés, high-rise office buildings, hip hotels and art galleries.

Roppongi

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

A major thespian in Tokyo's gimmicky art scene, Tomio Koyama Gallery moved into the 2d floor of the building from their previous location in Sendagaya, employing young architects Toru Murayama and Ayako Kato to design their new ii-room exhibition infinite. They represent an impressive roster of artists in Japan, including wunderkind photographer Ryan McGinley, American post-minimalist Richard Tuttle and Yoko Ono.

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

Calling dibs on the height bunk are Taka Ishii Gallery, who represent 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 flooring, were enlisted to design the sleek gallery space on the 3rd flooring, which wonderfully feeds off natural light coming in from the plant terrace.

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

Rising higher up the rest both in acme and, arguably, in might, the 238-metre Roppongi Hills Mori Tower is home to the Mori Art Museum, which holds some of Tokyo's well-nigh ambitious and influential exhibitions. A retrospective dedicated to the Indian artist N S Harsha will be unveiled in Feb 2017.

The brainchild of mode (and fragrance) designer Issey Miyake and fellow design greats Taku Satoh and Naoto Fukasawa, 21_21 Pattern Sight more than underscores Roppongi's function equally the focal point of Tokyo'due south art scene. The common focus of their ever-changing lineup of exhibitions is interdisciplinary design.

The National Fine art Center (NACT), designed past Kisho Kurokawa of Nakagin Sheathing Belfry fame, boasts the largest exhibition space of any museum in Nippon. Unlike most of its counterparts, NACT is an 'empty museum', which means it does not accept a permanent collection, instead choosing to commission one-off exhibitions – their Monet testify was the 2nd near visited exhibition in the globe in 2007.

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

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

Tennozu Island

Backed by the Terrada warehouse company, which does far more simply stock Tokyoites' leftover belongings, Tennozu's 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. Afterward paying a visit to Archi-Depot, yous're sure to walk away with a renewed appreciation for Tokyo's beautiful buildings, frequently overlooked in the relentless hustle and bustle of our dear urban center.

Merely a stone's throw away from Archi-Depot lies the striking fine art supplies 'laboratory' Pigment, designed by Kuma and inspired by the expect and experience of bamboo. Information technology stocks more than 4,500 colour pigments, 50 kinds of fauna glues, and a number of elevation-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 prove yous how to use them.

Taking a cue from their comrades over in Roppongi, four contemporary fine art galleries recently decided to nestle against each other on the 3rd floor of the Terrada Fine art Complex. The quartet is comprised of Kodama Gallery, who are getting ready for a solo show by Japanese creative person Gaëtan Kubo opening Jan 14; Urano, representing domestic talents such as Takahiro Iwasaki, who will be flight the flag for Japan at the 2017 Venice Biennale; Yamamoto Gendai, who count the legendary luminary Richard Serra among their artists; and Yuka Tsuruno Gallery, known for their collaborations with renowned artists Candida Höfer and José Parlá. Lest yous forget your surrounds, the galleries are located inside a fully operating warehouse and are only accessible by a service elevator.

Equally the former and current residents of neighbourhoods like London'south Shoreditch and New York'due south Brooklyn will tell you, gentrification is a double-edged sword that tears through the former to make way for the new. Whichever side of the tertiary wave café/local caff carve up you're on, the number and density of art galleries is often a good litmus examination for how far a neighbourhood has come up downwards 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 yous could just look at the art.

Terrada'south main warehouse (2-half-dozen-10 Higashi-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku) is holding an exhibition on David Bowie from Jan 8 to April ix – be sure to get your tickets in advance.