At a press conference held May 21 by the organizers of the 2014 Yokohama Triennale, artistic director Yasumasa Morimura announced the theme of the exhibition, “ART Farhrenheit 451 : Sailing into the sea of oblivion.” Making reference to Ray Bradbury’sView More >
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Hiroshi Sugimoto brings bunraku to Europe
© Odawara Art Foundation. Japanese photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto’s reinterpretation of the classic bunraku puppet play Sonezaki shinju (The Love Suicides at Sonezaki) will be touring Europe with support of the Japan Foundation and the Odawara Art Foundation, it was announcedView More >
Sendai Mediatheque welcomes new director
The philosopher and former president of Osaka University, Kiyokazu Washida has been appointed as the director of the Sendai Mediatheque in Sendai. Born in Kyoto in 1949, Washida specializes in clinical philosophy and ethics, but has also written about aestheticsView More >
Toyo Ito wins Pritzker Prize
Toyo Ito has been awarded the 2013 Pritzker Architecture Prize, it was announced Mar 17. Ito is the sixth Japanese architect to win the prize, after Kenzo Tange, Fumihiko Maki, Tadao Ando and Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA.View More >
Sou Fujimoto to design Serpentine Pavilion
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2013, designed by Sou Fujimoto / Indicative CGI. © Sou Fujimoto Architects, courtesy Serpentine Gallery, London. Architect Sou Fujimoto will design this year’s Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in London’s Kensington Gardens, it was announced Feb 14. At 41,View More >
Photographer, gallerist arrested in Tokyo on obscenity charges
The Tokyo-based Singaporean photographer Leslie Kee has been arrested in Tokyo on obscenity charges, it was reported Feb 4. Internationally known for his celebrity portraits of music icons like Yumi Matsutoya, Lady Gaga and Beyoncé, as well as for sexuallyView More >
Shozo Shimamoto (1928-2013)
A co-founder of the post-war avant-garde group, the Gutai Art Association, the artist Shozo Shimamoto died Jan 25 of sudden heart failure at hospital in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, it has been reported. He was 85. Shimamoto was born in OsakaView More >
Nagisa Oshima (1932-2013)
One of the leading voices of Japanese post-war avant-garde cinema, the film director Nagisa Oshima, died Dec 15 at hospital in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, due to complications arising from pneumonia. He was 80 years old. Oshima was born in KyotoView More >
Shomei Tomatsu (1930-2012)
One of Japan’s most distinguished photographers, Shomei Tomatsu, died of complications from pneumonia at a hospital in Naha, Okinawa, on Dec 14, 2012, it has been revealed. He was 82 years old. Known for investigating the landscape of postwar Japan,View More >
Artist Yasumasa Morimura to direct 5th Yokohama Triennale
Artist Yasumasa Morimura has been appointed artistic director of the 5th Yokohama Triennale, it was announced Dec 18. The exhibition will be held in 2014, giving Morimura more than a year to prepare. Although Morimura is not widely known forView More >