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Country of the art

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

We know it's hard to believe, but Roppongi, Tokyo's glitzy underbelly of pricey booze, sleazy clubs and bazaar shopping, lives a double life as the city's art hub. The capital's about famous entertainment district, once known as 'Loftier Touch Boondocks', prides itself on an impressive array of modest galleries and big museums – the cultural legacy of gentrification efforts over the last decade.

Farther southeast, Tennozu Isle is no stranger to the fine art, or artifice, of transformation from the bottom upwards either. In fact, the artificial island was literally dredged upwardly from the depths of Tokyo Bay during the 1920s and '30s. Recently, all-encompassing waterfront planning has seen the hitherto quiet warehouse district re-emerge as a be-muraled town dotted with canalside cafés, loftier-rise office buildings, hip hotels and fine art galleries.

Roppongi

This year, Roppongi'due south art cred was raised to new heights with the opening of the Complex665 building (half-dozen-five-24 Roppongi, Minato-ku), which houses a trifecta of influential galleries: Tomio Koyama, ShugoArts and Taka Ishii. The edifice sits on a residential back street tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Roppongi, but is difficult to miss thanks to what appears to be a squiggle painted on its side. This symbol is the logo designed for Complex665 by creative person Yoshihisa Tanaka, who imagined how a 'fictional creative person named 665 might sign their ain work'.

A major player in Tokyo's contemporary art scene, Tomio Koyama Gallery moved into the second flooring of the building from their previous location in Sendagaya, employing young architects Toru Murayama and Ayako Kato to blueprint their new ii-room exhibition space. They represent an impressive roster of artists in Nippon, including wunderkind lensman Ryan McGinley, American post-minimalist Richard Tuttle and Yoko Ono.

As well on the 2d floor is ShugoArts, who have championed the avant-garde of Japanese art since the mid-'80s. Their gallery was designed past architect Jun Aoki, as well responsible for facelifting the façade of the Louis Vuitton building in Ginza. Unlike their flatmates, ShugoArts proceed the shop open up on Sundays.

Calling dibs on the top bunk are Taka Ishii Gallery, who represent heavy-hitters similar Elmgreen & Dragset, Nobuyoshi Araki, Daido Moriyama and Thomas Need. Piece of furniture and interior design gurus Broadbean, whose offices occupy the ground floor, were enlisted to design the sleek gallery space on the third floor, which wonderfully feeds off natural light coming in from the plant terrace.

If you lot've enjoyed killing a whole flock of birds with one stone, then head over to the Piramide Building (6-6-9 Roppongi, Minato-ku), which is some other great case of the tried-and-tested 'power in numbers' model of art collectives. Leading galleries Ota Fine Arts and Wako Works of Fine art are amidst its famous tenants.

Rising above the residue both in acme and, arguably, in might, the 238-metre Roppongi Hills Mori Tower is home to the Mori Art Museum, which holds some of Tokyo'south well-nigh aggressive and influential exhibitions. A retrospective dedicated to the Indian creative person N S Harsha volition be unveiled in February 2017.

The brainchild of fashion (and fragrance) designer Issey Miyake and fellow pattern greats Taku Satoh and Naoto Fukasawa, 21_21 Blueprint Sight more than than underscores Roppongi's function equally the focal point of Tokyo's fine art scene. The common focus of their ever-changing lineup of exhibitions is interdisciplinary blueprint.

The National Art Centre (NACT), designed by Kisho Kurokawa of Nakagin Sheathing Belfry fame, boasts the largest exhibition infinite of any museum in Nippon. Unlike most of its counterparts, NACT is an 'empty museum', which ways information technology does non take a permanent collection, instead choosing to commission one-off exhibitions – their Monet show was the 2d nearly visited exhibition in the world in 2007.

Located in Tokyo Midtown and designed by renowned architect Kengo Kuma, the Suntory Museum of Art possesses the biggest collection of Japanese craft in the land, comprised of a whopping iii,000-plus objects. Their tea ceremonies, staged on the sixth floor every 2d Thursday, are a must do.

And for the 'Peanuts' fans out in that location, Roppongi has a Snoopy Museum, showcasing Charles M Schulz'due south original drawings and fine art for the beloved series. A number of the cartoonist's early works, vintage collectibles and other materials are besides on brandish.

Tennozu Island

Backed by the Terrada warehouse company, which does far more simply stock Tokyoites' leftover belongings, Tennozu's new Archi-Depot museum displays a whopping 116 architectural models by Japanese starchitects, including works by 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 similar miniature cabinets of curiosities. After paying a visit to Archi-Depot, you're sure to walk away with a renewed appreciation for Tokyo's cute buildings, often overlooked in the relentless hustle and hurry of our beloved city.

Only a stone's throw away from Archi-Depot lies the striking art supplies 'laboratory' Pigment, designed by Kuma and inspired by the await and feel of bamboo. It stocks more than 4,500 color pigments, fifty kinds of animal glues, and a number of summit-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 bear witness yous how to use them.

Taking a cue from their comrades over in Roppongi, four gimmicky art galleries recently decided to nestle against each other on the third floor of the Terrada Fine art Complex. The quartet is comprised of Kodama Gallery, who are getting ready for a solo show by Japanese creative person Gaëtan Kubo opening January fourteen; Urano, representing domestic talents such equally Takahiro Iwasaki, who will be flying the flag for Nippon at the 2017 Venice Biennale; Yamamoto Gendai, who count the legendary luminary Richard Serra amongst 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 former and current residents of neighbourhoods like London's Shoreditch and New York's Brooklyn will tell you, gentrification is a double-edged sword that tears through the old to brand way for the new. Whichever side of the third moving ridge café/local caff divide you lot're on, the number and density of art galleries is often a good litmus test for how far a neighbourhood has come down the line. Less than half an hr apart, Roppongi and Tennozu Isle offer two different cases to study for those interested in the sociocultural effects of Tokyo'south urban planning. Or you could just look at the fine art.

Terrada'due south main warehouse (2-half dozen-10 Higashi-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku) is holding an exhibition on David Bowie from January 8 to April 9 – be sure to get your tickets in advance.

Observe more galleries in Roppongi

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Source: https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/art/state-of-the-art

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