Best Exhibitions Starting in May 2023
Takashi Oda Reconstruction of Flora and Fauna of the Sasayama Group 2014 Acrylic on canvas 115 x 160 cm Tamba Dinosaur Fossil Lab © Takashi Oda / Tamba City
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Tokyo Art Beat presents a selection of the best exhibitions opening in May 2023. If you bookmark the exhibitions on the Tokyo Art Beat app, you will never miss the openings and closings!
- Dinosaur Dreams: Imagination and Creation of the Lost World (Ueno Royal Museum)
- Mika Ninagawa “Eternity in a Moment” (Canon Gallery S)
- Toru Kamiya “Breath / Behind Shut Eyes / Tracing” (SCAI The Bathhouse)
- Artists in Rivalry: Extraordinary Designs by Hokusai and Kuniyoshi (Keio Museum Commons)
- Stories Drawn in Thread: Embroidery, Illustration, and Fashion (The Niigata Bandaijima Art Museum)
- Keisen Tomita Exhibition (Fukui Fine Arts Museum)
- Hekinan City Tatsukichi Fujii Museum of Contemporary Art Renewal Commemorative Exhibition “Treasure Chest of the Blue Sea” (Hekinan City Tatsukichi Fujii Museum of Contemporary Art)
- Makoto Wada Exhibition (Museum “Eki” Kyoto)
- Tadanori Yokoo “Forest in Soul” (Yokoo Tadanori Museum of Contemporary Art)
- Shinro Ohtake Exhibition in Commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of The Museum of Art, Ehime (The Museum of Art, Ehime)
Dinosaur Dreams: Imagination and Creation of the Lost World (Ueno Royal Museum)
The Ueno Royal Museum presents a special exhibition exploring the changes in the depiction of dinosaurs and other ancient creatures: from the bizarre reconstructions of the 19th century to the vibrant, dynamic dinosaur paintings of the 20th century by Charles R. Knight and Zdeněk Burian and today’s paleo-art based on the latest research.
Venue: Ueno Royal Museum
Schedule: May 31 - July 22
Mika Ninagawa “Eternity in a Moment” (Canon Gallery S)
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Canon Gallery, an exhibition by photographer and film director Mika Ninagawa will be held at three locations: Canon Gallery S in Shinagawa, Canon Gallery Ginza, and Osaka (Ginza and Osaka exhibitions will be open from May 23 to June 3). Each venue will have a different theme, with Shinagawa featuring “flowers,” Ginza focusing on “living creatures” such as goldfish and plants, and Osaka featuring “the essence of life,” capturing the emotions of the city and its people.
Venue: Canon Gallery S
Schedule: May 9 - June 19
Toru Kamiya “Breath / Behind Shut Eyes / Tracing” (SCAI The Bathhouse)
Toru Kamiya’s paintings, characterized by delicate color gradations created with acrylic paint, have no distinctive motifs, and their surfaces are so smooth that it is difficult to distinguish brushstrokes. The exhibition's centerpiece is a monumental painting, joy (2023), composed of 60 small modules, each 30cm square. Although each panel is independent, they form a unified formation that maximizes the gallery’s high ceiling. In addition, Kamiya will paint the walls of the gallery to replicate the walls of his studio, reflecting awareness of how the painting is perceived apart from how it is conceived.
Venue: SCAI The Bathhouse
Schedule: May 9 - July 8
Artists in Rivalry: Extraordinary Designs by Hokusai and Kuniyoshi (Keio Museum Commons)
Hokusai Katsushika and Kuniyoshi Utagawa were popular ukiyo-e artists at the end of the Edo period. Although they are often described as rivals, they allegedly had a strong connection. This exhibition of prints from Keio University’s ukiyo-e collection aims to allow visitors to rediscover the eccentricities and expressions that set Hokusai and Kuniyoshi apart from their peers and define their expertise as masters of ukiyo-e. In addition, the exhibition will feature unpublished works and never-before-seen sketches that illustrate the dynamic style of these two artists and their students.
Venue: Keio Museum Commons
Schedule: May 15 - July 15
Stories Drawn in Thread: Embroidery, Illustration, and Fashion (The Niigata Bandaijima Art Museum)
The Niigata Bandaijima Art Museum, located in Niigata City, is presenting a special exhibition focusing on embroidery. The exhibition will introduce approximately 230 diverse works, including folk costumes from Central and Eastern Europe, Inuit wall hangings, original drawings for contemporary picture books, and French haute couture embroidery.
Venue: The Niigata Bandaijima Art Museum
Schedule: May 20 - July 17
Keisen Tomita Exhibition (Fukui Fine Arts Museum)
Tomita Keisen was born in Fukuoka in 1879 and lived and worked in Kyoto as a Japanese-style painter. Early on, he focused on the characteristics of Echizen washi, a well-known local product of Fukui Prefecture, and sought to spread the appeal of washi paper in the East and West. This exhibition will explore Echizen’s washi culture from the perspective of modern Japanese painting.
Venue: Fukui Fine Arts Museum
Schedule: May 12 - June 11
Hekinan City Tatsukichi Fujii Museum of Contemporary Art Renewal Commemorative Exhibition “Treasure Chest of the Blue Sea” (Hekinan City Tatsukichi Fujii Museum of Contemporary Art)
The Hekinan City Tatsukichi Fujii Museum of Contemporary Art will hold a special exhibition to celebrate its reopening on May 2. This exhibition will feature 112 masterpieces carefully selected from the museum’s collection, including works and materials by the avant-garde figure in the history of modern Japanese craft, Tatsukichi Fujii, and works purchased and donated by many benefactors.
Venue: Hekinan City Tatsukichi Fujii Museum of Contemporary Art
Schedule: May 2 - June 25
Makoto Wada Exhibition (Museum “Eki” Kyoto)
Illustrator and graphic designer Makoto Wada has also worked as a bookbinder, film director, essayist, composer, animator, and art director. This exhibition will present a wide range of works from his long and diverse career, focusing on themes essential to understanding Wada as an artist.
Venue: Museum “Eki” Kyoto
Schedule: May 20 - June 18
Tadanori Yokoo “Forest in Soul” (Yokoo Tadanori Museum of Contemporary Art)
The Yokoo Tadanori Museum of Contemporary Art will hold an exhibition based on Yokoo’s novel Forest in Soul (Bungeishunju). The novel tells the story of the main character, Y, who speaks to famous people from different fields, such as art, novels, and cinema. Based on the 500 pages of words, this exhibition attempts to construct a space that allows visitors to experience Yokoo’s art firsthand.
Venue: Yokoo Tadanori Museum of Contemporary Art
Schedule: May 27 - August 27
Shinro Ohtake Exhibition in Commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of The Museum of Art, Ehime (The Museum of Art, Ehime)
Shinro Ohtake’s major retrospective exhibition is coming to The Museum of Art, Ehime. In recent years Ohtake has taken part in numerous international exhibitions, including Documenta (2012) and the Venice Biennale (2013). The exhibition presents approximately 500 selected works, including more than 70 “scrapbooks” and monumental three-dimensional large-scale works, intentionally taken from chronological order and reconstructed to allow visitors to immerse themselves in the Ohtake’s world. In addition, it will also feature special exhibits in collaboration with Uwajima City and the Dogo Onsen Honkan (Matsuyama City).
Venue: The Museum of Art, Ehime
Schedule: May 3 - July 2
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