From Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo
Art Scope 2009-2011: Invisible Memories
September 10 (Saturday) – December 11 (Sunday), 2011
Meiro Koizumi, Hiroe Saeki, Eva Berendes, Jan Scharrelmann
Four Japanese and German Artists to be Featured at the Hara Museum this Autumn
Art Scope, a mécénat activity of Daimler Foundation Japan, provides contemporary artists from Japan and Germany the chance to experience life in the other country. As a partner in the program since 2003, the Hara Museum will once again host an exhibition showcasing the results of the exchange by four participants: two from Germany in 2009 and two from Japan in 2010. The exhibition also marks the very long relationship that has endured between the two nations under the banner “150 years of Friendship German-Japan.”
In video works, Meiro Koizumi (b.1976) uses dramatic elements to explore communication between persons and the relationship between people and society in ways that are at times humorous, at times cool and detached. Drawings of Hiroe Saeki (b.1978) consist of meticulously detailed organic shapes and large, boldly incorporated white spaces. These unique pictorial spaces are at once tranquil, yet seething with tension. Using a wide variety of materials from fabrics to metals, Eva Berendes (b.1974) creates three-dimensional works and installations that are subtly transparent so as to foster a dialog with the space that surrounds them. The materials used by Jan Scharrelmann (b.1975) are industrial in nature, consisting mainly of styrofoam or epoxy resin. The works he makes are abstract in form, with hard, colorful layers of paint that lends power to his expression. All works on display are the most recent by the artists, each created after their participation in the exchange program.
At first glance, the exchange experience of each artist may not be directly discernible in the artworks on display. But the months of living in a different culture must inevitably be etched within their respective minds where they exist in the unseen background of each work as invisible memories. On the viewer side, the images made by the artist stimulate the senses and imagination, stirring up “things” that precipitate within their own minds as “invisible memories.” The works act as catalysts on the intermingling invisible memories–memories that may be clear, ambiguous, personal or collective—giving rise to images that can be shared. The power that causes this may be thought of as the power of art. The Hara Museum, first built during the 1930s as a personal residence, contains many unseen memories within its spaces. By containing the works, such spaces are sure to add their own special appeal, while enhancing the impact of the works themselves.
Exhibition title: Art Scope 2009-2011: Invisible Memories
Dates: September 10 (Saturday) – December 11 (Sunday), 2011
*The exhibition has been extended by two weeks.
Place: Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, 4-7-25, Kitashinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 140-0001
Tel: 03-3445-0651 Fax: 03-3473-0104 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 and Daimler Foundation Japan
Under the auspices of: Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Japan
Supported by: Mercedes-Benz Japan Co., Ltd., Mercedes-Benz Finance Co., Ltd.
and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation
Cooperation provided by: Arts Initiative Tokyo [AIT]
Curated by: Atsuo Yasuda [Hara Museum of Contemporary Art]
Participating artists: Meiro Koizumi, Hiroe Saeki, Eva Berendes, Jan Scharrelmann
Hours: 11:00 am-5:00 pm, Wednesdays except for November 23 until 8:00 pm (last entry 30 min. before closing)
Closed: Mondays (except September 19 and October 10), September 20 and October 11
Admission: Regular 1,000 yen; Students 700 yen (high school & university) or 500 yen (elementary & junior high); Free for Hara Museum members, students through high school every Saturday during the school terms. 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】
Artist Talk: September 10 (Saturday), 2011, 2:30 – 4:30 pm
(with consecutive Japanese/English interpretation)
Place: The Hall at the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art
Reservations are required (requests accepted from August 23).
For reservations, contact: Tel: 03-3445-0669 or E-mai ：info@haramuseum.or.jp
Fee: Regular 2,000 yen (includes museum admission), Museum members and up to 2 guests 1,000 yen
Speakers (scheduled): Meiro Koizumi, Hiroe Saeki, Eva Berendes, Jan Scharrelmann, Atsuo Yasuda (curator, Hara Museum of Contemporary Art)
【Participating artists】
Meiro Koizumi Born in Gunma Prefecture in 1976 and currently residing in Yokohama. A participant in Aichi Triennale 2010 (Nayabashi site) and a frequent exhibitor at venues within Europe and other overseas locations. http://meirokoizumi.com
Meiro Koizumi, Portrait of a Young Samurai, 2009
two-channel video installation, 9 min 40 sec
Hiroe Saeki
Born in Osaka in 1978 and currently residing in Tokyo. The recipient of the 2006 VOCA Encouragement Prize. Participated in Artist File 2008 – The NACT Annual Show of Contemporary Art (The National Art Center, Tokyo). http://www.takaishiigallery.com/en/artists/hiroe-saeki/index.html
Hiroe Saeki, Untitled, 2011
pencil and acrylic on paper / 68.5 x 109.5 cm [Courtesy of Taka Ishii Gallery]
Eva Berendes
Born in Bonn in 1974 and currently residing in Berlin. A frequent exhibitor in the US and Europe, mainly in Germany.
http://www.sommerkohl.com/eva_berendes/artists_eva_berendes.html
Eva Berendes, Untitled, 2010
silk, silk paint, steel, lacquer, magnets / 121 x 121 cm
Jan Scharrelmann
Born in Cologne in 1975 and currently residing in Cologne. Has had many solo and group exhibitions, mainly in Germany. http://www.scharrelmann.com
Jan Scharrelmann, Happy Hole I, 2011
epoxy resin, pigments, styrofoam / 250 x 120 x 110 cm
[Photo by Achim Kukulies]
—————————————————
Please check here for Hara Museum access information
Ming Wong: Life of Imitation
-August 28, Sun
Now on sale. Yoshitmo Nara Charity Large-sized Postcard Set
Hara Museum is now participating in MuPon (museum discount ticket system using iPhone application)! http://www.tokyoartbeat.com/apps/mupon
Visit Hara Museum and Hara Museum ARC Twitter (in Japanese only) (account name: @haramuseum @HaraMuseumARC)
http://twitter.com/haramuseum
http://twitter.com/HaraMuseumARC
http://www.haramuseum.or.jp (museum website)
http://mobile.haramuseum.or.jp (mobile site)