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State of the fine art

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

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

Farther southeast, Tennozu Isle is no stranger to the art, or bamboozlement, of transformation from the bottom up either. In fact, the artificial island 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-emerge as a be-muraled boondocks dotted with canalside cafés, loftier-rising office buildings, hip hotels and fine art galleries.

Roppongi

This year, Roppongi's art cred was raised to new heights with the opening of the Complex665 building (6-v-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 away from the hustle and bustle of Roppongi, but is hard to miss thanks to what appears to be 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 histrion in Tokyo'due south gimmicky fine art scene, Tomio Koyama Gallery moved into the second floor of the edifice from their previous location in Sendagaya, employing young architects Toru Murayama and Ayako Kato to design their new two-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.

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

Calling dibs on the tiptop bunk are Taka Ishii Gallery, who correspond heavy-hitters similar Elmgreen & Dragset, Nobuyoshi Araki, Daido Moriyama and Thomas Need. Furniture and interior design gurus Broadbean, whose offices occupy the ground floor, were enlisted to design the sleek gallery space on the tertiary floor, which wonderfully feeds off natural lite coming in from the establish terrace.

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

Rising higher up the residual both in height and, arguably, in might, the 238-metre Roppongi Hills Mori Belfry is abode to the Mori Art Museum, which holds some of Tokyo'southward virtually ambitious and influential exhibitions. A retrospective defended to the Indian artist Northward Southward Harsha will exist unveiled in Feb 2017.

The brainchild of fashion (and fragrance) designer Issey Miyake and fellow blueprint greats Taku Satoh and Naoto Fukasawa, 21_21 Design Sight more underscores Roppongi's role every bit the focal signal of Tokyo's 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 Capsule Tower fame, boasts the largest exhibition infinite of whatsoever museum in Japan. Dissimilar most of its counterparts, NACT is an 'empty museum', which means it does non accept a permanent collection, instead choosing to commission one-off exhibitions – their Monet prove was the second almost visited exhibition in the world in 2007.

Located in Tokyo Midtown and designed by renowned architect Kengo Kuma, the Suntory Museum of Fine art possesses the biggest drove of Japanese arts and crafts in the country, comprised of a whopping 3,000-plus objects. Their tea ceremonies, staged on the sixth flooring every 2d 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 art for the love series. A number of the cartoonist's early works, vintage collectibles and other materials are too on display.

Tennozu Isle

Backed past the Terrada warehouse company, which does far more than than merely stock Tokyoites' leftover holding, Tennozu'due 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. Afterwards paying a visit to Archi-Depot, you're sure to walk away with a renewed appreciation for Tokyo'south cute buildings, often overlooked in the relentless hustle and hurry of our dear city.

Just a stone's throw away from Archi-Depot lies the striking art supplies 'laboratory' Pigment, designed by Kuma and inspired by the look and experience of bamboo. It stocks more 4,500 colour pigments, 50 kinds of beast glues, and a number of peak-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 you lot how to apply them.

Taking a cue from their comrades over in Roppongi, four gimmicky fine art galleries recently decided to nestle against each other on the tertiary floor of the Terrada Fine art Complex. The quartet is comprised of Kodama Gallery, who are getting prepare for a solo evidence past Japanese artist Gaëtan Kubo opening January fourteen; Urano, representing domestic talents such every bit Takahiro Iwasaki, who will be flight the flag for Nippon 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 you forget your surrounds, the galleries are located inside a fully operating warehouse and are but accessible past a service lift.

Every bit the former and current residents of neighbourhoods similar London's Shoreditch and New York's Brooklyn will tell y'all, gentrification is a double-edged sword that tears through the onetime to make manner for the new. Whichever side of the third wave café/local caff divide you lot're on, the number and density of art galleries is oft a good litmus test for how far a neighbourhood has come down the line. Less than half an 60 minutes apart, Roppongi and Tennozu Island offer two different cases to study for those interested in the sociocultural effects of Tokyo'south urban planning. Or you lot could just expect at the art.

Terrada'southward main warehouse (2-half-dozen-x Higashi-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku) is holding an exhibition on David Bowie from Jan 8 to April 9 – be sure to get your tickets in accelerate.

Detect more galleries in Roppongi

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

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