After NADiff bookstore closed its Omotesando premises last summer, and Magical Artroom left the Roppongi Gallery Complex in February, the two reopen their doors in a stylish building in Ebisu, known as NADiff a/p/a/r/t, together with G/P Gallery, Art Jam Contemporary and Magic Room.
The new building is hidden down a side street, just off a back street running along the Shibuya River in Ebisu.Photo: AR
Already at 7pm there was a queue to get in.Photo: AR
The first sight to greet you on entering was... more people.Photo: AR
NADiff is Tokyo's premier art and design bookshop, with outlets in a number of major museums around the city.Photo: AR
On the second floor, G/P Gallery opened with an exhibition of photographs by Yoshihiko Ueda, titled ''Photographs: Bones and Stonewares''Photo: AR
Director of G/P Gallery, Shigeo Goto, takes a moment's pause in the less crowded Art Jam Contemporary next door.Photo: AR
Art Jam Contemporary opened with an exhibition by Maya Nukumizu and Yukarina, titled ''Girls' Zone 01''Photo: AR
The crowd of people queuing to get in wrapped around the building, seen here from the window of G/P Gallery.Photo: ARTwenty minutes later, seen here from the third floor balcony, the queue showed little sign of abating.Photo: AR
The third floor is occupied by Magical Artroom, which reopened with a group show of eleven gallery artists.Photo: AR
One the left, Haruka Ito, director of Magical Artroom; on the right, Masami Shiraishi, director of SCAI The Bathhouse, who is now acting as an a professional advisor to Magical Artroom.Photo: AR
Fumio Nanjo, director of the Mori Art Museum.Vivienne Sato, art-lover-fashionista-drag-queen frequently seen at openings.Photo: AR
In Tokyo, there is absolutely nothing out of the ordinary about a polar bear attending an exhibition opening.Photo: AR
Johnnie Walker in silhouette against the 'Hotel Magical' work by Hitoshi Kuriyama, previously shown at Art@Agnes in January.Photo: AR
Click here to see this work installed at Art@Agnes.
On the fourth floor, Magic Room, previously located in Kiyosumi-Shirakawa gallery building has reopened as a bar/café. Events and exhibitions are planned.Photo: AR
The free food proved too appealing to those who discovered it, and this part of the building was probably the most packed.Photo: AR
The DJ had perfected his affected look of disaffection.Photo: AR
The spiral staircase leading down from Art Jam Contemporary into NADiff.Photo: AR''We're having a very crowded opening party tonight, where should we put the congratulatory flowers?'' ''Oh, just put them all the way up the very narrow staircase. The guests will like that.''Photo: AR
Artist collective Chin↑Pom was holding an event in the basement space. Not paying attention to the sign, which reads ''Chin↑Pom — you can enter the basement from the outside'', I thought that based on some of their past work there was nothing unusual about the idea that you might be expected to crawl under a tarpaulin in order to see their work...Photo: AR
... so I found myself not where they wanted me to be, but nevertheless in the best place to photograph this installation/performance. In the far corner, the audience observing from a platform. The room was pitch black, lit only by fireflies. Occasionally the light would come on, revealing this flooded, graffitied basement, with rubbish and a woman on a rubber dinghy floating around.Photo: AR
Outside, the ''Miraisha'' (Future van) was parked, where artist Ichiro Endo invited guests to write their wishes on it.Photo: AR
