Jean‐Michel Othoniel, My Way／January 7 – March 11, 2012

From Hara Museum, Tokyo

Jean-Michel Othoniel, My Way
January 7 (Saturday) – March 11 (Sunday), 2012

The first solo exhibition in Japan of the renowned French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel. A retrospective featuring his large-scale jewelry-like glass sculptural works, with approximately 60 pieces on view, including examples from early in his career.

The Hara Museum of Contemporary Art is pleased to present the first solo exhibition in Japan of the French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel. Reconstructed within the unique space of the Hara Museum, formerly a private residence, is the artist’s retrospective exhibition that was first launched at the Centre Pompidou in Paris where it proved to be one of the most popular shows in the history of the museum.

As one of France’s most prominent contemporary artists, Jean-Michel Othoniel is known for his large-scale glass sculptures, such as the sculptural piece Le Kiosque des Noctambules (2000) which adorns the entrance of the Palais-Royal–Musée du Louvre metro station in the center of Paris. He has also held exhibitions at major museums around the world. In Japan, the artist installed a large outdoor sculpture entitled Kokoro (2009) at Hara Museum ARC, the Hara Museum’s annex in Shibukawa, Gunma prefecture. This permanent installation, a unique heart-shaped work made of red-colored glass globes, now provides a warm welcome to every visitor to the museum.

The present exhibition showcases works spanning 25 years of the artist’s career. Numbering some 60 pieces, they range from early works made with sulfur and beeswax to his most recent large-scale sculptures made with colorful Murano glass from Italy. The title of the exhibition is taken from the song made famous by Frank Sinatra, “My Way,” which is symbolic of a unique vision unswayed by popular trends.

We invite you to experience life and death, freedom and suffering, beauty and sensuality through the work that comprises Othoniel’s world.

　
Lacan’s Knot (Le Nœud de Lacan) 2009 (left: detail)　mirrored glass, metal 150 x 135 x 50 cm ⒸJean-Michel Othoniel/Adagp, Paris 2011　Collection François Odermatt　Photo by Guillaume Ziccarelli Courtesy of Galerie Perrotin, Paris

Exhibition Details
Title: Jean-Michel Othoniel, My Way
Dates: Saturday, January 7 – Sunday, March 11, 2012
Place: Hara Museum of Contemporary Art 4-7-25 Kitashinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 140-0001
Tel: +81 3-3445-0651
E-mail info@haramuseum.or.jp
Museum website: http://www.haramuseum.or.jp Mobile site: http://mobile.haramuseum.or.jp
https://www.art-it.asia/en/u/HaraMuseum_e/ (blog)
Twitter http://twitter.com/haramuseum (in Japanese only/ Account name: ＠haramuseum)
Organized by: Hara Museum of Contemporary Art
Co-organized by: Centre Pompidou
Special cooperation provided by: Embassy of France in Japan, Atout France
Supported by: Institut Français
Sponsored by: Bonpoint Japon K.K., Saint-Just
Place: Hara Museum of Contemporary Art
Hours: 11:00 am–5:00 pm, Wednesdays until 8:00 pm (last entry 30 minutes before closing)
Closed: Mondays (open on January 9), January 10
Admission: General 1,000 yen; Students 700 yen (high school and university) or 500 yen (elementary and junior high); Free for Hara Museum members, students through high school every Saturday during the school term; 100 yen discount per person for groups of 20 or more.
Directions: 5 minutes by taxi or 15 minutes on foot from JR Shinagawa Station (Takanawa exit); or from the same station take the No.96 bus, get off at the first stop (Gotenyama), and walk 3 minutes.

Related event: During the exhibition, Enchanted Reality, (Le Reel Merveilleux), a workshop for children, will be held in The Hall at the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art (organized by Bonpoint Japon and Hara Museum of Contemporary Art; curated by La Boite).

Le Bateau de larmes, 2004
Watercolor on paper 23 x 31 cm (9 x 12 inches)
© Jean-Michel Othoniel/Adagp, Paris 2011
Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Perrotin, Paris

* A guided tour will be given by a museum curator on Sundays and national holidays (30 minutes; from 2:30 pm).

Overview
Jean-Michel Othoniel, My Way is the long-awaited solo exhibition of the artist. First launched at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in March 2011, the exhibition travels to three other cities—Seoul, New York and Tokyo. Ranging from early works made with sulphur and beeswax to his most recent large-scale sculptures made with glass, the exhibition assembles together some 60 pieces that provide an overview of a 25-year career distinguished by a unique vision unswayed by popular trends. Filled with Othoniel’s innumerable beads, the space of the Hara Museum will truly be transformed into a labyrinth of gems. A large-scale outdoor glass sculpture is scheduled to be displayed.

My Bed (Mon Lit) 2002 Murano glass, steel, aluminum, soft-furnishings, felt 290 x 240 x 190 cm　
ⒸJean-Michel Othoniel/Adagp, Paris 2011　Collection François Odermatt　Photo by Patrick Gries　Courtesy of Galerie Perrotin, Paris

Tears (Lagrimas) 2002 glass, water, table 140 x 500 x 70 cm　ⒸJean-Michel Othoniel/Adagp, Paris 2011　Private Collection　Photo by Guillaume Ziccarelli　Courtesy of Galerie Perrotin, Paris

Who Is Jean-Michel Othoniel?
A Paris-based artist, Othoniel has received widespread recognition for his sparkling, jewelry-like artworks made with glass globes crafted on the Venetian island of Murano. Among these is the much-beloved sculptural piece
Le Kiosque des Noctambules that he created in 2000 for the entrance to the Palais-Royal–Musée du Louvre metro station in Paris, a work that glitters vividly under the daylight sun and mysteriously under the street lights at night, conjuring up an entrance to another dimension.

Kiosk for the Night walkers (Le Kiosque des Noctambules) 2000
Murano glass, steel, aluminium, ceramics 560 x 600 x 200 cm
ⒸJean-Michel Othoniel/Adagp, Paris 2011 ⒸRATP-DGC
Photo by Jean-François Mauboussin

Artist Profile
Jean-Michel Othoniel was born in 1964 in Saint-Etienne, France.
From the 1980s, he made art with materials of a mutable nature such as sulfur, lead, and beeswax, and from 1993, he began using glass. Distinguished by the decorative and sensual aspects of his art, he has had solo exhibitions at such venues as the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain (2003) and Centre Pompidou (2011) and has
participated in international exhibitions that include Documenta IX (1992), Kwangju Biennale (2000) and 10th Istanbul Biennial (2007). In 1991, he participated in a group exhibition at Hara Museum ARC called Too French. At that time, he stayed for three weeks and created his artwork on-site. In 2006, his work was introduced at the Collection of the Foundation Cartier pour l’art contemporary exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. He currently lives in Paris. http://www.galerieperrotin.com/ www.othoniel.fr

Jean-Michel Othoniel and the Hara Museum
The Hara Museum’s association with Othoniel has deepened over a span of 20 years, starting in 1991 when the young artist resided in Japan for three weeks to create on-site a work of art for the exhibition Too French at Hara Museum ARC, our annex museum in Shibukawa, Gunma prefecture. In 2009, he installed a large-scale outdoor sculpture entitled Kokoro in the garden of ARC which now provides a warm welcome to every visitor to the museum. This work is distinguished by its shape, which looks abstract from one perspective and like a large heart from another, and also as an outdoor sculptural work made of glass—a fragile and ephemeral material.

Kokoro 2009　Murano glass, steel　300 x 280 x 135cm　ⒸJean-Michel Othoniel/Adagp, Paris 2011 Photo by Yuichi Shiraku　Permanent installation at Hara Museum ARC, Gunma

An exhibition of the Centre Pompidou, Paris
The exhibition “Jean-Michel Othoniel, My Way” has been designed by the Centre Pompidou in close collaboration with
Jean-Michel Othoniel, and was presented at the Centre Pompidou, Paris, from March 2 to May 23, 2011.

Dear Guests:
While taking photos, take care not to bump into or touch the artwork.
No photography is allowed of permanent installations identified by the “No Photography Allowed” sign.
Do not use flash photography.
Video recording is not allowed.
Tripod use is not allowed.
Out of concern for personal privacy, please refrain from photographing other visitors.
Photos taken are for private use only. Use for commercial or other secondary purposes that infringe on copyright is prohibited.

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Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo

Jean-Michel Othoniel, My Way
January 7 (Saturday) – March 11 (Sunday), 2012

Hiroshi Sugimoto: Stylized Sculpture (working title)
March 31 (Saturday) – July 1 (Sunday), 2012