art pilgrimage tokyo
own low-key show. Izumi, who creates the sort
of video pieces an otaku might produce for his
own amusement and then combines them in
installations brimming with black humour, is a
hot young artist right now who also took part in
the Micropop show curated by Midori Matsui,
at Art Tower Mito, last spring. This expansive
complex, allowing visitors to view several
exhibitions under one roof, makes for
an interesting few hours.
In complete contrast to these warehouse
galleries in working-class Kiyosumi-Shirakawa,
one can find, right in the heart of the raucous
and fast-living nightclub district of Roppongi,
a complex housing five galleries, including
Taro Nasu and Röntgenwerke, as well as
Traumaris, the bar for spotting ‘everyone who
is anyone’ in the tight-knit Tokyo art scene.
The advent of a gallery complex in Roppongi
is closely tied to the development of the huge
Roppongi Hills complex, home to the Mori Art
Museum, on the top floors of the Mori Tower,
which looms over the neighbourhood. The
property’s developer, Mori Building, was
instrumental in attracting galleries to the
building, whose redevelopment was central to
an attempt to turn Roppongi, known primarily
for its nightlife, into a cultural centre. Now a
number of large-scale development projects
04
are under way in the area, and this year the
05
National Art Center and Suntory Museum of
Art have joined the Mori Art Museum, giving
rise to notions of a new 'Roppongi art triangle'.
On the other hand – and in a classic
story of artists forced out of areas they have
had a part in regenerating – the current arts
complex is due to be vacated in February
next year, and it is unlikely that its tenants will
end up together in a new place. Moves
prompted by redevelopment are not unusual in
Tokyo. The collection of galleries now in
Kiyosumi-Shirakawa only settled there following
eviction from two other locations, and the
Nadiff art bookstore also moved this past May.
Next year, expect to see art zombies roaming
the streets of late-night Roppongi in search of
Traumaris, unaware of its change of location.
Tokyo is notoriously difficult to navigate,
so dedicated art pilgrims should get hold of a
copy of the Favorite giveaway gallery map,
which contains information on exhibitions at
major galleries such as Yamamoto Gendai in
the Kagurazaka area, Gallery Koyanagi in Ginza
and the excellent Mizuma Art Gallery, which
handles brilliant painters such as Makoto Aida
and Akira Yamaguchi.
More recently, however, a new batch of
galleries has emerged to further complicate the
Tokyo art map, with galleries starting to scatter
too widely to be contained in the pages of
ArTreview 88
Pilgrimage_Tokyo.indd 6 9/8/07 11:37:50
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