Tokyo Art ± Culture Meetup

"Ukiyo-e depict the world we are living in now. Rather than depicting the hardships of this world (“憂世,” which reads “ukiyo” and means “miserable world”), they focus on pleasure (“浮世,” which also reads “ukiyo” but means “pleasant world”). Among them, the “farce” of giga (“戯画,” which means farcical pictures) makes the viewers laugh and is proving very popular in recent years.
This exhibition focuses mainly on giga produced from the closing days of the Tokugawa shogunate to the Meiji era, i.e. the latter half of the nineteenth century, mostly from our own collection of ukiyo-e. It was a period during which uncertainty caused by natural disasters and wars was swirling among the people. Despite such turmoil, ukiyo-e continued undauntedly to enjoy “farce,” and the characters depicted never ceased to laugh." [from The Exhibition Website]

Location
Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts
(https://hanga-museum.jp/english/access)

Exhibition to see
Playing in the Ukiyo: Ukiyo-e's endless laugh in the vortex of Bakumatsu and Meiji

Meeting Spot and time
Meeting Spot 1: The East Exit Ticket Gate of Odakyu Machida Station
Meeting Time 1: 02:30PM (14:30)
Meeting Spot 2: the main lobby of the museum
Meeting Time 2: 03:00PM (15:00)
https://hanga-museum.jp/english/access

Admission Fee
¥1,000

Description of the exhibition
https://hanga-museum.jp/english/exhibition/schedule/2026-631

Chat session after the show
As usual, let's have a chat session at the end of the event. When we meet up before the exhibition, let's decide where we go after the show.

"A selection of 84 masterpieces from the vast collection amassed by the Cincinnati Art Museum over the past 145 years is coming to Japan, including works by Corot, Cézanne, and Monet.
Many of these works were donated in the mid-20th century by women art collectors who made significant contributions to the Cincinnati community. In this exhibition, masterpieces by some of the greatest artists in art history—works that seem to have stepped straight out of the pages of an art history textbook—invite visitors on a journey through the world of modern art. (ChatGPT Translation)" [from The Exhibition Website]

Location
Ueno Royal Museum
(https://www.ueno-mori.org/about/?enlang)

Exhibition to see
European Masterpieces from the Cincinnati Art Museum

Meeting Time
03:00 PM (15:00)

Meeting Spot
At the entrance of Ueno Royal Museum

Admission Fee
¥2,400

Description of the exhibition
https://www.cincinnati-art2026.jp/about.html

Chat session after the show
As usual, let's have a chat session at the end of the event. When we meet up before the exhibition, let's decide where we go after the show.

Meeting Time: 1:00PM (13:00)
Meeting Spot: Around the entrance of Watari-um
http://www.watarium.co.jp/en/access.html

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First Exhibition
Nam June Paik | The 20th anniversary of his passing

Venue
Watari-um
(http://www.watarium.co.jp/en/access.html)

Admission Fee
¥1,500

Information about the Exhibition
"More than half a century has passed since Nam June Paik (1932–2006) unveiled his pioneering media art in West Germany in 1963. When West Germany was still in an era of monochrome, single-channel television broadcasts, Paik laid the foundation for today’s media art.
The media have continued to evolve, from cathode ray tubes to LCD screens, smartphones, and AI. Yet Paik’s works have not lost their luster. If anything, as time goes on, the novelty of his work stands out even more. Whether it be a cathode ray tube, a canvas, or paint, they are all equally means of self-expression.
As media change daily and eventually fall out of use, will media art be forgotten along with them? ———— A work of art is not something for which time stands still the moment it is created. It transcends eras and is in a state of constant flux. Paik’s works will continue to live on, long and long. This summer, marking the 20th anniversary of his passing, we revisit Paik from multiple perspectives: as an artist, a man of letters, a philosopher, and a prophet." [from Watari-um Website]

Official Website
http://www.watarium.co.jp/en/exhibition/202607/

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Second Exhibition
RYUICHI SAKAMOTO + SHIRO TAKATANI AMBIENT KYOTO - TOKYO

Venue
Azabudai Hills Gallery
(https://ambientkyoto.com/#venue)

Admission Fee
¥2,800

Information about the exhibition
"This exhibition will present the work ‘async - immersion’ by Ryuichi Sakamoto and Shiro Takatani at the Azabudai Hills Gallery in Tokyo’s Minato-ward, which was first exhibited in 2023 in Kyoto at ‘AMBIENT KYOTO 2023’.
It will be the first opportunity since ‘AMBIENT KYOTO 2023’ to experience the massive 26.4 metres wide screen which is in the same scale as the one used in ‘AMBIENT KYOTO 2023’, with the spatial audio system specially designed for this particular venue. As with the previous exhibition, the Sound Director is ZAK, who is known for his work on Ryuichi Sakamoto’s later pieces." [from Ambient Kyoto Website]

Official Website
https://ambientkyoto.com/en/

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Chat Session
We will take a coffee break between the first and second show to have a chat session.