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April 26, 2022 Post a Comment

Land of the fine art

Exploring Roppongi and Tennozu, 2 of Tokyo's artsiest neighbourhoods

We know it'south hard to believe, merely Roppongi, Tokyo's glitzy underbelly of pricey booze, sleazy clubs and boutique shopping, lives a double life every bit the city'south art hub. The capital's well-nigh famous entertainment district, once known as 'High Touch Boondocks', prides itself on an impressive array of small galleries and big museums – the cultural legacy of gentrification efforts over the terminal decade.

Further southeast, Tennozu Isle is no stranger to the fine art, or artifice, of transformation from the bottom upward either. In fact, the bogus island was literally dredged upwardly 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, high-rise office buildings, hip hotels and art galleries.

Roppongi

This year, Roppongi'southward fine art cred was raised to new heights with the opening of the Complex665 building (vi-5-24 Roppongi, Minato-ku), which houses a trifecta of influential galleries: Tomio Koyama, ShugoArts and Taka Ishii. The building sits on a residential dorsum street tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Roppongi, simply is hard to miss thank you 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 ain work'.

A major player in Tokyo's gimmicky art scene, Tomio Koyama Gallery moved into the second flooring of the building from their previous location in Sendagaya, employing immature architects Toru Murayama and Ayako Kato to design their new two-room exhibition space. 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 2nd floor is ShugoArts, who have championed the avant-garde of Japanese art since the mid-'80s. Their gallery was designed by architect Jun Aoki, as well responsible for facelifting the façade of the Louis Vuitton building in Ginza. Unlike their flatmates, ShugoArts continue the shop open up on Sundays.

Calling dibs on the top bunk are Taka Ishii Gallery, who represent heavy-hitters like Elmgreen & Dragset, Nobuyoshi Araki, Daido Moriyama and Thomas Demand. Furniture and interior design gurus Broadbean, whose offices occupy the basis flooring, were enlisted to design the sleek gallery space on the 3rd floor, which wonderfully feeds off natural lite coming in from the found terrace.

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

Rising higher up the balance both in height and, arguably, in might, the 238-metre Roppongi Hills Mori Tower is home to the Mori Fine art Museum, which holds some of Tokyo'south nigh ambitious and influential exhibitions. A retrospective defended to the Indian artist N Southward Harsha will be unveiled in Feb 2017.

The brainchild of way (and fragrance) designer Issey Miyake and fellow design greats Taku Satoh and Naoto Fukasawa, 21_21 Design Sight more underscores Roppongi'southward function every bit the focal point of Tokyo's art scene. The common focus of their ever-changing lineup of exhibitions is interdisciplinary design.

The National Art Center (NACT), designed by Kisho Kurokawa of Nakagin Capsule Tower fame, boasts the largest exhibition space of any museum in Japan. Different most of its counterparts, NACT is an 'empty museum', which means information technology does not have a permanent collection, instead choosing to commission one-off exhibitions – their Monet evidence was the 2d almost visited exhibition in the globe in 2007.

Located in Tokyo Midtown and designed by renowned architect Kengo Kuma, the Suntory Museum of 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 floor every second Thursday, are a must practise.

And for the 'Peanuts' fans out there, Roppongi has a Snoopy Museum, showcasing Charles M Schulz's original drawings and art for the beloved series. A number of the cartoonist'due south early works, vintage collectibles and other materials are as well on display.

Tennozu Island

Backed by the Terrada warehouse company, which does far more than just stock Tokyoites' leftover belongings, Tennozu's new Archi-Depot museum displays a whopping 116 architectural models by Japanese starchitects, including works past 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. Later paying a visit to Archi-Depot, you're certain to walk away with a renewed appreciation for Tokyo'due south beautiful buildings, often overlooked in the relentless hustle and bustle of our dearest urban center.

Just a stone's throw abroad from Archi-Depot lies the hit art supplies 'laboratory' Paint, designed by Kuma and inspired past the look and feel of bamboo. It stocks more than than 4,500 colour pigments, l kinds of animal glues, and a number of elevation-quality traditional painting tools including over 200 antiquarian ink sticks. The staff are all well-versed in the intricacies of the products and are happy to show yous how to employ them.

Taking a cue from their comrades over in Roppongi, 4 gimmicky art galleries recently decided to nestle against each other on the third floor of the Terrada Art Circuitous. The quartet is comprised of Kodama Gallery, who are getting prepare for a solo evidence by Japanese artist Gaëtan Kubo opening January 14; Urano, representing domestic talents such every bit Takahiro Iwasaki, who will be flying the flag for Japan 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 within a fully operating warehouse and are only accessible past a service elevator.

As the quondam and electric current residents of neighbourhoods similar London's Shoreditch and New York's Brooklyn will tell yous, gentrification is a double-edged sword that tears through the old to make way for the new. Whichever side of the tertiary wave café/local caff divide you're on, the number and density of art galleries is often a good litmus test for how far a neighbourhood has come up down the line. Less than one-half an hour apart, Roppongi and Tennozu Isle offer two dissimilar cases to study for those interested in the sociocultural effects of Tokyo's urban planning. Or yous could just expect at the art.

Terrada's principal warehouse (2-6-10 Higashi-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku) is property an exhibition on David Bowie from January 8 to April nine – be sure to get your tickets in advance.