Recommended Exhibition in Japan for July 2023

NPO Aoyama Design Forum presents the recommended exhibitions of art galleries and museums in July 2023. In addition to the schedule of events, we will provide you with detailed information such as the works on display. Please check the website of each museum for current opening hours before visiting.

デイヴィッド・ホックニー《春の到来 イースト・ヨークシャー、ウォルドゲート 2011年》
2011年　ポンピドゥー・センター　(c) David Hockney Photo: Richard Schmidt

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo 'David Hockney Exhibition'

The 'David Hockney Exhibition' will be held at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo from Saturday, July 15, 2023 to Sunday, November 5, 2023. This is the first large-scale solo exhibition in Japan in 27 years by David Hockney (1937- ), one of the most innovative painters of our time.

For over 60 years, Hockney, who was born in England, has presented a wide variety of works in the fields of painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, and performing arts. Lately, Hockney has drawn intimate subjects on iPad. This exhibition presents a series of large-scale paintings depicting the nature of his hometown, eastern Yorkshire, which should be regarded as the culmination of recent years, from his early masterpieces painted on the west coast of the United States in the 1960s, and painted in Normandy, northern France during the lockdown caused by the new coronavirus. This will be the most comprehensive exhibition ever held in Japan, introducing more than 100 works by Hockney, including new works that are 90 meters long.

• Title: "David Hockney Exhibition"
• Date: July 15th (Sat) to November 5th (Sun), 2023
• Venue: Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo Special Exhibition Room 1F/3F
• Organizer: Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, The Yomiuri Shimbun
• Opening hours: 10:00-18:00 (Exhibition room admission is until 30 minutes before closing)
• Closed: Mondays (open on 7/17, 9/18, 10/9), 7/18, 9/19, 10/10

Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo 'MOT Collection Film Fiction/Special Exhibition Tadanori Yokoo - Like Water/100th Anniversary of Birth Sam Francis' Exhibition

三上晴子《スーツケース | World Membrane: Disposal Containers–Suitcases》《［スーツケース（黄）］》1992-93［部分］
MOT コレクション展示風景 撮影：柳場大

The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo has a collection of about 5,700 works from the modern to the present, with a focus on postwar art. With 'MOT Collection', they are disseminating the diverse charm of contemporary art.
On the 1st floor, works from the end of the 1980s onward will be exhibited under the title of 'Himaku Kyojitsu.' Also, on the 3rd floor, we will introduce works that have been collected for a solo exhibition at the museum in 2021 under the title of 'Special Exhibition Tadanori Yokoo - Like Water'. From the 1960s to recent works, we will explore new appeal by focusing on the expression of "water" that appears in numerous works rich in variation. At the same time, works by artists who have a deep connection with Yokoo will also be exhibited. Also enjoy a series of large-scale paintings by Sam Francis, who is celebrating his 100th birthday this year.

• Date: July 15th (Sat) to November 5th (Sun), 2023
• Closed: Mondays (open on 7/17, 9/18, 10/9), 7/18, 9/19, 10/10
• Opening hours: 10:00-18:00 (Exhibition room admission until 30 minutes before closing)
• Admission fee: General 500 yen (400 yen) / University and vocational school students 400 yen (320 yen) / High school students and seniors over 65 250 yen (200 yen) / Junior high school students and younger free
  *Prices in ( ) are for groups of 20 or more.
  *Tickets for special exhibitions 'David Hockney Exhibition' and 'Ah, it's not about sympathy' also allow you to see the MOT Collection.
  * Customers under elementary school age must be accompanied by a guardian.
  * Admission is free for those who have a physical disability certificate, love certificate, rehabilitation certificate, mental disability certificate, atomic bomb victim health certificate, and their attendants (up to 2 people).
• Venue: Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo collection exhibition room

Art Tower Mito Mito Civic Center Opening Commemorative Project 'Opening the Art Center 2023 - Playing with the Community'

画像：ゲルダ・シュタイナー＆ヨルク・レンツリンガー《美の論理》2012年　水戸芸術館所管　撮影：木奥惠三

The 2nd installment of the exhibition 'Opening the Art Center' will be held to celebrate the opening of the Civic Hall, which will open next to Art Tower Mito.
At the contemporary art gallery of Art Tower Mito, which is the main venue, a place where a wide range of people, from children to seniors, can enjoy creation and interaction. There will be collection exhibited based on keywords "local" and "play". Projects that have been collaborated with groups and citizens of the city will also be introduced, and will serve as a base for urban development.
Let's go to the art center where the situation changes depending on the project and something new is born.

• Date: Saturday, July 22, 2023 to October 9, 2023 (Mon/holiday)
• Hours: 10:00-18:00 (admission until 17:30) *Mito Civic Hall 8:30-22:00 / Keisei Department Store 10:30-19:00
• Closed: Art Tower Mito Mondays (*open on September 18th and October 9th), September 19th (Tuesday)
  Keisei Department Store August 23 (Wednesday), September 13 (Wednesday), October 4 (Wednesday)
• Main venue: Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito
• Coordinating venues: Mito Civic Hall, Keisei Department Store, etc.

21_21 DESIGN SIGHT Exhibition 'Material, or'

21_21 DESIGN SIGHT will hold a special exhibition 'Material, or' from July 14, 2023. This exhibition attempts to decipher and rediscover the connection between us and materials from the vast and endless story of the earth.
For the exhibition director, Mr. Satoshi Yoshiizumi, is welcomed, a designer who continues to transmit new forms of design from a unique perspective born from independent research projects. In addition, an art anthropologist Toshiaki Ishikura and biomimetics designer Jun Kamei are also invited to cooperate in the planning, and the diverse ways humans have interacted with nature from the perspectives of art, design, and anthropology will be introduced. How the material science has updated our senses will also be shown. Please enjoy yourself.

• Date: July 14th (Friday) to November 5th (Sunday), 2023
• Opening hours: 10:00-19:00 (admission until 18:30)
• Venue: 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT Gallery 1 & 2
• Closed: Tuesday

Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka Special Exhibition 'MINGEI – Beauty is in Life'

The Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka will hold its first exhibition after its opening, 'Mingei: Beauty in Life,' from Saturday, July 8 to September 18, 2023. It will be held during the period of Mondays and public holidays. "Mingei" is a folk craft that the philosopher Muneyoshi Yanagi preached about 100 years ago. The concept of "folk art", which cherishes the beauty in everyday life and cares about the materials and craftsmen, is now needed again and is becoming a familiar part of our lives. In this exhibition, the theme of "clothes, food, and housing" about folk crafts will be unraveled and display beautiful folk crafts that have been used in daily life. Please take a look.

• Date: Saturday, July 8, 2023 to Monday, September 18, 2023
• Closed: Mondays *Open on July 17 (Mon./holiday) and September 18 (Mon./holiday).
  Closed on Tuesday, July 18
• Opening hours: 10:00-17:00 (entrance until 16:30)
• Venue: Osaka Nakanoshima Museum, 4th floor exhibition room
• Admission fee: General 1,700 yen (group 1,500 yen) High school and university students 1,300 yen (group 1,000 yen)
  *Junior high school students and younger are free
  *Prices in parentheses are for groups of 20 or more.

Echigo-Tsumari Satoyama Museum of Contemporary Art MonET series of exhibitions

The Echigo-Tsumari Satoyama Museum of Contemporary Art MonET will hold a series of exhibitions as a new initiative. In 2023, Welcoming four guest curators, and there will be four exhibitions, and they and four groups of artists have been selected. In addition, as Vol.1, a solo exhibition by the artist collective “Catharsis no Shore” will be held from Saturday, July 1, 2023 to Sunday, August 27.

Vol.1 "Material Shop Catharsis Kishibe Tokamachi Store ✕ 'Shizo Data GP 2022-2023' Record Exhibition"
Catharsis no Kishibe's "Material Shop Catharsis no Kishibe" modeled on a food stall that sells the video and image materials it collects by weight will open exclusively at the Echigo-Tsumari Satoyama Museum of Contemporary Art, MonET. In the museum, the data collected so far will be released, and events will be held to purchase the data and interact with the artists during the exhibition.

• Date: July 1st (Sat) to August 27th (Sun), 2023
• Author: Shore of Catharsis
• Guest curator: Noi Sawaragi
• Website: https://bit.ly/3pqw8Tr

'BankART Under 35/Over 35 2023' by 5 groups of artists in Yokohama

BankART1929 is a leading project of the "Creative City Concept" promoted by the city of Yokohama to revitalize the city while utilizing historical buildings, warehouses, etc. for culture and art. 'BankART Under 35 / Over 35 2023' will be held from July 6th (Thursday) to 23rd (Sunday), 2023 at BankART KAIKO and BankART Station, which will be the promotion bases for the project.

• Date: July 6th (Thursday) to 23rd (Sunday), 2023 *Closed: July 10th (Monday), 18th (Tuesday)
• Venue: BankART Station (Under 35), BankART KAIKO (Over 35)
• Hours: 11:00-19:00 (Open 11:00-21:00 at night only on July 7 [Fri] and 8 [Sat])
• Admission fee: 500 yen (with 2 catalogs, passport system allowing re-entry to both U35 and O35 venues)

Manga circle from Tokyo University of the Arts Volunteer exhibition of the Tokyo Geijutsu Bankakai

"Nihonbashi N11 Gallery" operated by POP ROCK will hold an exhibition 'Development - Kihen -' by members of the manga circle "Tokyo Geijutsu Bankakai" from Tokyo University of the Arts from July 1st (Sat) to July 14th (Fri), 2023. As with ukiyo-e, modern manga is climbing the ladder of culture. Tokyo Geijutsu Manji Gakai's "manji" is a quote from Katsushika Hokusai's "Gakyo Rojin Manji", which he used in his later years. 

• Period: July 1st (Sat) to July 14th (Fri), 2023
• Time: 12:00-19:00
• Venue: Nihonbashi N11 Gallery
• Artists: io, Hiyori Ishiwata, Akari Endo, Yukari Ogura, Minami Okonogi, Ai Kawamura, Zu Sakai, Jerose Alice, sue, Sara Hattori and Michi.