The Cosmos of the Takahashi Collection


 Exhibition Information

Dates :
Saturday, April 8 - Sunday, June 11, 2017
Closed :
Tuesday
Opening Hours : 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM (admission until 7:30 PM)
Venue :
Contemporary Art Museum. Kumamoto
Admission :
Adult :
1000 (800) yen
Seniors (65 and over) :
800 (600) yen
Students
(the high school students and over) :
500 (400) yen
Junior high school students or under :
Free
*The admission given in parentheses are for advance tickets / group (20 or more) / with one-day ticket for tram or buss, etc.
Organized by :
Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto (Kumamoto City and Kumamoto Art and Culture Promotion Foundation), Kumamoto Nichinichi Press, Kumamoto Asahi Broadcasting Co., Ltd.
With the special cooperation of :
Ryutaro Takahashi, Takahashi Collection, Kokoronokai Group
With the curatorial cooperation of :
Mayumi Uchida, Yayoi Kojima (N&A Inc.)
Supported by Kumamoto Prefecture, Kumamoto Prefectural Board of Education, Kumamoto City Board of Education, Kumamoto Ken Bunka Kyokai (Cultural Association of Kumamoto), Kumamoto Ken Bijutsuka Renmei (Artists' Union of Kumamoto), Kumamoto International Convention and Tourism Bureau, NHK Kumamoto, J:COM Kumamoto, FM-Kumamoto, FM791
 
 
It is with great pleasure that we present The Cosmos of the Takahashi Collection.
This collection, amassed by the psychiatrist Ryutaro Takahashi, centers on works of Japanese contemporary art produced since the 1990s. Takahashi was inspired to begin collecting after learning about a happening that the artist Yayoi Kusama staged in opposition to the Vietnam War in New York in the late '60s. At the time, Kusama was at the forefront of the art world and devoted herself body and soul to her work. Some 30 years later, the first work that Takahashi acquired was a painting by Kusama titled No. 27 (1997). Since then, Takahashi has maintained a constant interest in Japanese contemporary art, leading him to discover a sense of purpose as a Japanese collector and accelerate his activities. And what started with only a few pieces has grown into a body of works large enough to be shown in museum exhibitions all over the country, beginning with neoteny japan: The Takahashi Collection (Kirishima Open-Air Museum, etc., 2008 - 10).
In this exhibition, we present approximately 120 works by 36 artists from the constantly expanding Takahashi Collection, which as of 2017 exceeds 2,500 items.

Participating Artists

Makoto Aida | Satoru Aoyama | Nobuyoshi Araki | Yusuke Asai |
Naoya Hatakeyama | Takashi Ishida | Teppei Kaneuji | Izumi Kato |
Asami Kiyokawa | Takanobu Kobayashi | Tomoko Konoike |
Yayoi Kusama | Kumi Machida | Aiko Miyanaga | Daido Moriyama |
Mr.  | Takashi Murakami | Ruriko Murayama | Rei Naito |
Yoshitomo Nara | Kohei Nawa | Mika Ninagawa | Yasuyuki Nishio |
Tam Ochiai | Tsuyoshi Ozawa | Natsuko Sakamoto | Hiraki Sawa |
Lieko Shiga | Hiraku Suzuki | Tabaimo | Kazuna Taguchi |
Masakatsu Takagi | teamLab | Hisashi Tenmyouya | Yoichi Umetsu |
Akira Yamaguchi

Exhibited Works

left :

Yayoi Kusama, Pumpkin, 1990. © YAYOI KUSAMA

center :

Ruriko Murayama, No title (RB02), 2004. © Ruriko MURAYAMA
Courtesy of YAMAMOTO GENDAI

right :

Asami Kiyokawa, Complex-heart, 2008. © asamikiyokawa

left :

Hisashi Tenmyouya, Neo Thousand-armed Kannon, 2002. © TENMYOUYA Hisashi
Courtesy of Mizuma Art Gallery

center :

Yoshitomo Nara, Green Mountain, 2003. © Yoshitomo Nara
Courtesy of the artist

right :

Izumi Kato, Untitled, 2007. Courtesy of the artist

left :

Lieko Shiga, Chiako, from the series CANARY, 2007. Courtesy of the artist

right :

Tsuyoshi Ozawa, Vegetable Weapon: Graflax (Salmon in salt and herb) from Iceland / New York, 2002.  © Tsuyoshi Ozawa

*All works from Takahashi Collection

Related Programs

[Artist Talk] Natsuko Sakamoto “Story of Painting”
Speaker: Natsuko Sakamoto (Participating Artist)
Date : Saturday, April 8  2:00 - 3:30 PM
Venue : Home Gallery, CAMK
Capacity : Up to 100 seats
Admission : Free
*in Japanese only
Natsuko Sakamoto, Winter (narcissus), production process. © Natsuko Sakamoto, courtesy of URANO

[Workshop] “Who's Afraid of the Contemporary Art! Be an Artist by Drawing Lots”
Instructor: Satoru Aoyama (Participating Artist)
Date: Saturday (Holiday), April 29  2:00 - 6:00 PM
Venue : Home Gallery, CAMK
Capacity : Up to 15 participants (reservation required)
Age group : Over the 3rd grade in elementary school
Admission : Free
*in Japanese only
How to apply : Tel or E-mail
*Please send in the participant's name, age (grade level), contact information (phone number and e-mail address), and include the phrase “Application for Satoru Aoyama Workshop” in the subject line by e-mail to gamadas@camk.or.jp.
In the workshop that there are more applications than the participants available, participants will be drawn by lot.
Application deadline :  Sunday, April 16

[CAMK Lecture College] “Introduction of Takahashi Collection”
Lecture on the exhibition by curator
Date : Sunday, April 23  2:00 - 3:30 PM
Venue : Home Gallery, CAMK
Admission : Free
*in Japanese only

[CAMK Gallery Tour]
Gallery tour with a curator
Date : Sunday, April 30, May 14, 28, June 4, 11  each 3:00 - 3:40 PM
Venue : Gallery Ⅰ & Ⅱ, CAMK
*Admission ticket for exhibition required
*in Japanese only

[CAMK Expectant Mother's & Family Tour]
Gallery tour for children (ages 0 to 6) with adults, expectant mothers, family and friends
Date: Saturday, May 13  10:30 - 11:10 AM
Venue : Gallery Ⅰ & Ⅱ, CAMK
Capacity : 7 groups (reservation required)
*Admission ticket for exhibition required
*in Japanese only