Golden Week 2015 Round-Up

Golden Week (a string of public holidays starting with April 29 and ending May 6) is almost upon us, and that means art venues across the city are putting on some of the best exhibitions in their programs. At the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, there are currently four exhibitions on display. “Time of Others” is an exhibition that questions the ever-changing definition of Asia-Pacific art as it travels across the region, from Tokyo to Osaka to Singapore to Brisbane. Closed on May 7th. Until June 28. Use the MuPon app for a discount on the entrance fee.

Richard Prince, appropriation superstar, is showing new portraits at Blum & Poe. Since the mid-1970s, Prince has been mining images from mass media, advertising, and entertainment to subvert and redefine concepts of authorship and ownership. The new portraits (described as paintings by Prince) continue his practice through online photo-sharing network Instagram. Closed on April 29 and May 3-6. Until May 30.

Takashi Ishida is having a major mid-career show at the Yokohama Museum of Art. Ishida is a painter who makes films composed of handmade drawings shot with a stop-frame animation technique. Closed April 30. Until May 31. This is another exhibition that has MuPon app discount. High-profile art collector Ryutaro Takahashi lends works by Yoshitomo Nara, Kohei Nawa, Tomoko Konoike, Takashi Murakami, Aida Makoto, Yanobe Kenji, and others for “Takahashi Collection” at Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery. Until June 28.

Painter Kaoru Arima is having a solo exhibition at Misako & Rosen, including portraits with stylistic points of reference to various masters. Closed on April 29 and May 3-6. Until May 24. Masanori Handa‘s “Nakakiyo no Entakukei” (Nakakiyo Roundtable Scenes) is an immense installation, fashioned after a low-lying delta pattern with meandering rivers and streams, first presented in 2013. It will be recreated at Ota Fine Arts in Tokyo. Closed April 29 and May 3-6. Until June 6.

Spiral Independent Creators Festival SICF 16 is happening over the Golden Week break too, from May 2-5. The event, held inside the Spiral Building in Omotesando, endeavours to uncover and support emerging young creatives.

The Museum of Modern Art in Hayama are “re-appreciating” Korean and Japanese modernists from the late 19th and early 20th century. “Reappreciated: Korean and Japanese Modern Artists in the Korean Peninsula, 1890s to 1960s” explores the deep connections between Japan and Korea in the development of modern art. Open throughout Golden Week holidays. Until May 8. Use the MuPon app for discount admission.

One of the blockbuster exhibitions of this season comes from the British Museum: “A History of the World in 100 Objects.” The exhibition will trace a history of human creativity from the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa, where the world’s oldest stone tools were made, to contemporary global society through 100 objects selected from all eight departments of the British Museum’s collection. Open throughout the Golden Week holidays. Until June 28.