Recommended Exhibition in Japan for December 2022

NPO Aoyama Design Forum presents the recommended Art Gallery and Museum Exhibitions for December 2022. In addition to the calendar of events, we provide detailed information like outline of exhibited works. Up-to-date information on opening hours can be found on each museum’s websites. Please make sure to check it before you visit the exhibition.

《Interpreter》2022年
紙にインクジェットプリント、サイズ可変

Towada Art Center Special Exhibition "Momose Fumi: The Conversation with You"

Towada Art Center is pleased to present Aya Momose's solo exhibition titled "Put your mouth in" Primarily in her video works, Momose explores themes around the body, sexuality, and gender, focusing on the imbalance that occurs when communicating with others. In this exhibition, she presents her new sound installation "Etude for Voice Actors," which explores the theme of female voices. In this work, only the "voice" is heard and there is no animation to reflect the appearance and gestures of the character to determine gender. The "voice", which is separate from the image, appears as a fluid existence that transcends gender. In addition to the new work, there is "Social Dance," which shows the misunderstandings that arise when a deaf woman and a deaf man interact, and Momose's father verbally answers the 173 questions written by Momose. In the process, works such as "Fixed Point Observation (Father's Case)" are exhibited, in which the answers deviate from the father's will and reflect on relationships with others of different genders and generations, as well as the invisible existence and oppression behind them. The title of the exhibition, "Put your mouth together," evokes the movement of cuddling with others, but also leads to the appearance of "voices" moving back and forth between different bodies.
Listen to the different "voices" that exist but have been suppressed and repressed.

• Date and time: Saturday, December 10, 2022 - Sunday, June 4, 2023
• Venue: Towada Art Center
• Opening hours: 9:00-17:00 (admission until 30 minutes before closing)
• Admission price: 1800 yen (including permanent exhibition). Free for high school and college students.

Nara National Museum Shikinen Reconstruction Commemorative Special Exhibition "Kasuga Taisha Wakamiya National Treasure Exhibition-Prayer Dynasty Culture-"

Nara National Museum will hold a commemorative special exhibition "Kasuga Taisha Wakamiya National Treasure Exhibition- Prayer Dynasty Culture-" from December 10, 2022 (Saturday) to January 22, 2023 (Sunday). In October this year, the reconstruction of the main shrine (important cultural property) of the Wakamiya Shrine, which is a secondary shrine of the Kasuga Taisha, will be completed. On the occasion of the completion of this major project, this exhibition brings together the handicrafts dedicated to the Wakamiya Shrine, the paraphernalia associated with the reconstruction of the shrine, and a range of historical materials, thus approaching the world of the magnificent dynasty culture.

• Dates: Saturday, December 10, 2022 to Sunday, January 22, 2023
• Venue: Nara National Museum East/West Annex
• Opening hours: 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. *Admission until 30 minutes before closing
  Ticket: Here

Mori Art Museum Roppongi Crossing 2022: Coming & Going

O JUN《美しき天然》2019年 油彩、キャンバス
350×240 cmCourtesy：ミヅマアートギャラリー（東京）

Mori Art Museum (53rd floor, Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, Minato-ku, Tokyo) will hold the exhibition "Roppongi Crossing 2022: Coming & Going" from December 1, 2022 (Thursday) to March 26, 2023 (Sunday) "Roppongi Crossing" is a series of exhibitions held by Mori Art Museum every three years as an observational exhibition that provides an overview of the contemporary art scene in Japan. In this 7th edition, the exhibition presents 22 groups of Japanese artists, ranging from internationally active artists to emerging young artists.

• Dates: 1. December 2022 (Thursday) to March 26, 2023 (Sunday) Open year-round
• Opening hours: 10:00-22:00
• Venue: Mori Art Museum (Roppongi Hills Mori Tower 53F)

Abeno Harukas Art Museum "Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser

The Abeno Harukas Museum of Art will host the exhibition "Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser" from Saturday, December 10, 2022 to Sunday, March 5, 2023. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was created in 1865 based on a story Lewis Carroll improvised for the daughter of an acquaintance, Alice Riddle, and her sisters. Since then, the fantastic world spun by Lewis Carroll and the tales of John Tenniel's illustrations have captured people's imaginations to this day and have been used not only in the world of children's literature, but also in art, film and music. They continue to influence artists in all fields such as the stage and fashion. In 2021, the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in the United Kingdom will host the first large-scale exhibition on the cultural phenomenon of "Alice." This exhibition, which will tour the world from the V&A, will present the story of "Alice" from its origins to the present day through some 300 works and video productions, with the addition of new original works from the Japan exhibition. Enjoy the charm of "Alice in Wonderland" that has not faded even after some 160 years, and the world of new creations at the venue.

• Dates: Saturday, December 10, 2022 to Sunday, March 5, 2023
• Venue: ABENO HARUKAS Art Museum
• Opening hours: Tue-Fri/10:00-20:00, Mon-Sat / Sun / Holidays / 10:00-18:00
• Admission price: General 1,800 (1,600) yen / Students and pupils 1,400 (1,200) yen / Middle and elementary school students 500 (300) yen

Tokyo Midtown Design Hub 100th Special Exhibition "Kachino Katachi Tachi Exhibition - Before and After Discard"

Tokyo Midtown Design Hub will host Tama Art University's 100th special exhibition "Kachino Katachi Tachi Exhibition - Before and After Throwing Away" starting December 5.Environmental degradation and climate change as a result of mass production, consumption and energy dependence.
These are pressing issues, and we live in a time when we must inevitably address sustainability and circular economy.
While at the same time major changes are needed in the framework of systems and industries, it is also necessary for each of us to change our mindset without pause. At Tama Art University, we have been exploring circularity and asking various questions about society as part of the Stelle Design Project. In this exhibition, we look at the definition of "garbage" that is created in our daily lives.

Where is the trash, and where is the garbage?
The exhibition will focus on this boundary and explore the values of trash through designers and creatives who are active on the front lines.In addition, using precedents in the world and in Japan in relation to circulars and student work, the exhibition shows the change in perception of garbage and create an opportunity to reflect on this problem with everyone.

• Dates: Monday, December 5, 2022 through Sunday, December 25, 2022 Open year-round
• Venue: Tokyo Midtown Design Hub 
• Admission fee: Free

Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art Special Exhibition "Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art 5th Anniversary Design Scope - Peeping Wonders, Kizuku Wonders"

「富山県美術館開館 5 周年記念 デザインスコープ―のぞく ふしぎ きづく ふしぎ」ポスター

From 10 (Sat) 10 December 2022 to 5 (Sun) 5 March 2023, the Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art will hold the special exhibition 'Design Scope - Wonders of Wonderful Things - in Commemoration of the 5th Anniversary of the Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art'. The telescope, used to observe faraway stars, and the microscope, used to study microorganisms and cellular material. Through the use of various instruments which utilize lenses, humanity has expanded the scope of their perceptible world, and given rise to new technologies and values.In this exhibition, we have named this perspective, filtered through the lens of "design," to be "design-scope." It offers an overarching micro/macro perspective, built through an accumulation of conversations with prolific designers and artists who have achieved wide success on the front lines of their industries, and puts forth what possibilities future designs can propose, as well as how design and art exceedingly proximate current conditions. And through artworks newly created for this exhibition, as well as displays which utilize sound and visuals to offer entire environments to enjoy, this is an experience that encapsulates the creative energies within design and art, filled with joy and surprise, and the possibilities directed toward future generations, launched from this land here, in Toyama.

we＋《Peep》2017 年 photo：林 雅之

• Dates: Saturday, December 10, 2022 to Sunday, March 5, 2023
• Opening hours: 9:30-18:00 (admission until 17:30)
• Venue: Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art, 2nd floor, exhibition rooms 2, 3 and 4

ALL DAY GALLERY Japan Texture Art Association group exhibition "Fusion with Nature"

The Japan Texture Art Association (JTAA), which aims to establish texture art as Japanese culture, conducts workshops, courses, research on new materials, etc. The group exhibition "Fusion with Nature" will be held on December 5, 2022 ( It will be held from Monday to December 11 at ALL DAY GALLERY in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo. Texture painting is an abstract painting that uses acrylic paint and viscous paste to express the surface, texture and unevenness of the painting. Unlike apartment abstract paintings, it creates a three-dimensional effect so that you can enjoy the shadows and depth.

• Date: December 5 (Monday) to December 11 (Sunday), 2022
• Opening hours: 10:00-19:00
• Venue: ALL DAY GALLERY

GREEN SPRINGS Winter art installation "WINTER SPRINGS 2022"

An art installation by London-based artists Tsai & Yoshikawa will be on display from November 26, 2022 to February 14, 2023 at GREEN SPRINGS, a multi-purpose facility operated by Tachihi Strategy Lab. The city of Tachikawa, where GREEN SPRINGS is located, embraces the concept that "the whole city is a museum," and the artworks are distributed throughout the facility's houses. Tsai & Yoshikawa, who develop site-specific artworks, drew inspiration from the concept of the town of Tachikawa and the hanging garden of GREEN SPRINGS to create a space full of mysterious delights and discoveries like a paradise that colors the landscape from autumn to winter. increase.

• Dates: Saturday, November 26, 2022 through Tuesday, February 14, 2023
• Venue: GREEN SPRINGS

Seibu Ikebukuro Main Store Ayumi Shibata "Kamigami no Mori"

Ayumi Shibata, a global silhouette artist, will hold the exhibition "Ayumi Shibata Kamigami no Mori - Exhibition of Silhouettes Wrapped in Cut-out Light -" from December 1 (Thursday) to December 12 (Monday) 2022. During this period, it will be held in Event Hall A on the 7th floor of Seibu Ikebukuro Main Store. On display will be a new type of paper installation wrapped in soft and delicate stories, lights and sounds.

• Date: December 1, 2022 (Thursday) to December 12, 2022 (Monday)
• Venue: Seibu Ikebukuro Main Store 7F (South) = Event Hall A
• Opening hours: 10:00-21:00
• Fee: General 800 yen, students and pupils 600 yen, junior high school students and younger free

Asakusa GALLERY ROOM・A Moe Shimada Solo Exhibition "EBS"

From December 3, 2022 to January 8, 2023, emerging artist Moe Shimada will hold a solo exhibition "EBS" at Asakusa GALLERY ROOM・A. Mr. Shimada was born in 1995. She lives in Tokyo and works as an oil painter using photographs with digital effects as subjects. Based on the concept of "new realism" in recent years with the proliferation of digital tools such as smartphones and personal computers, I have mainly specialized in portrait painting, but in recent years, by expanding the range of objects used as motifs, such as ceramics, pottery and glass figurines, he has further expanded the range of detailed representations and colorful expressions.

• Date: December 3, 2022 (Sat)-January 8, 2023 (Sun)
• Venue: GALLERY ROOM・A
• Opening hours: 8:00 to 23:00 Open all year round
• Admission fee: Free