Kojimachi Loves Arts!
The Art Byte Critique group has been busy as usual! Several members exhibited at the same place but divided the time to form two shows in Kojimachi. Arthur Huang continued to explore memories of walks with his eggs and photos in the first show with Yuka Tani and Josephine Vejrich. I was still suffering from jet lag then so I forgot to take photos. Sorry! Huang and his work were, however, featured in a blog post by Mariko Ueno (Japanese).
Exhibition News: Ma’arui Hiroba no Kami to Asobu
Space Galleria in Chiba City is once again holding an invitational group show. Two years ago artists were invited to create their own artwork using digital prints by Takeshi Ishikawa. This year 23 artists have been given sheets of beige recycled paper made from milk cartons. This paper is actually very special, because it was made by people with disabilities at Ma’arui Hiroba (Japanese site) in Chiba City. Participants at Ma’arui Hiroba do more than recycle paper; they also do Ma’arui Hiroba Activities (Japanese site) like the people who were featured in the Art as a Haven for Happiness exhibition.
Peek Inside: Pencils
Peek Inside: Questions Continued
Thank you for your help in the last batch of questions. I did like the yellow portrait and the colourful, spotted one, but you got me thinking about other options.
The Rain was Over…
Kyobashi Shows
Kyobashi is an area of Tokyo with many small galleries concentrated in a few blocks and is also close to Ginza, another area filled with small galleries. I had never explored the area before but I went to see Keiko Moriuchi’s group show of Gutai art at Hatonomori Art in the Kyoei Bldg and discovered several noteworthy shows nearby.
Hana-Ami: East Meets West in Ikebana
Chihiro Kabata and a Ball-Point Pen
Art Deco and Tribal Masks
The trip to the Toguri Art Museum was not the first art tour I had taken with Alice Gordenker. I had taken one the week before at the newly Metropolitan Teien Art Museum. Masks from the Musée du quai Branly in Paris are currently on display in the prince’s old residence. Wow! Beauty overload! How else do I explain the beauty of this Art Deco residence that was custom built by a French architect with French and Japanese craftspeople, including Rene Lalique for one, and that provided an elegant backdrop for the powerful images of the masks from all over the world? If you want a glimpse, Tokyo Dandy and the Asahi Shimbun have a few photos from a tour for the press I assume.