Ishizumi Fan Exhibition
Ishizumi & Co. at Shorenin Monseki Temple
Kyoto, Japan
Opened 22 May 2010 

Exhibition also includes fan shape paintings, fan painting on screens and other fan related art.
 

The Birth of Chinese Civilization
Tokyo National Museum
Tokyo, Japan
Until 5 September 2010 (to be confirmed)

This exhibition will present a first-grade selection of antiquities including recently discovered objects from Henan province, which was once the centre of Chinese civilization.

Beyond ism - Sun Xun @ Aichi Triennale Nagoya Japan
Aichi Arts Center
Nagoya, Japan
Until 12 September 2010 

An exhibition of black-and-white animations and drawings made using Chinese ink. 
 

Opening Exhibition at Nezu Museum: Nezu Museum: From the Past to the Future
Nezu Museum
Tokyo, Japan
Until 26 September 2010

One of the eight exhibitions at the museum to celebrate the reopening of the newly renovated museum.

(See articles by Nishida Hiroko, Shirahara Yukiko and Matsubara Shigeru in Orientations, October 2009 issue, pp.40-63)

Sensing Nature: Perceiving Nature in Japan - Yoshioka Tokujin, Shinoda Taro, Kuribayashi Takashi
Mori Art Museum
Tokyo, Japan
Until 7 November 2010

Faced with the crisis of global warming and environmental degradation, reflections on how to preserve nature, always an integral part of Japanese culture, have become more common. More recently the concept of satoyama, the Edo Period idea of a zone existing between the natural and urban environments, is again attracting interest. In urban centres, where the majority of humans now live, the introduction of the internet since the 1990s has led to a gradual weakening of our attachment to `real’ things and sensations, as opposed to virtual ones. To respond to this shift, many contemporary artworks now explore the relationship between real experience and imaginary experience. There are also works that use materials and techniques designed to reawaken our sensibility towards natural things, and there are other, performative styles of work that demand actual physical movement from their audience.

This exhibition the artists explore how contemporary Japanese creators conceive of `nature’ and how they are making use of it in their practices.

MAM PROJECT 012: Tromarama
Mori Art Museum
Tokyo, Japan
Until 7 November 2010

Tromarama, a unit made up of three Indonesian artists in their 20s, once used 450 woodblock prints as cells to create an animated music video. Needless to say, they like mixing techniques, materials, art and pop culture in fresh and interesting ways. The exhibition includes works that similarly incorporate elements of low-tech and handmade production.

Exhibition of Masterpiece of Gitter-Yelen Collection
Matsuzakaya Art Museum
Nagoya
11 September – 17 October 2010
Chiba City Museum of Art
Chiba
14 December 2010 – 23 January 2011
Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art
Shizuoka
5 February 2011 – 27 March 2011
Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art
Fukushima
11 June 2011 – 24 July 2011
The Museum of Kyoto
Kyoto
27 August 2011 – 16 October 2011

Treasures from Todaiji Temple
Tokyo National Museum
Tokyo, Japan
8 October – 5 December 2010 

Commemorating 1250 years since the time of Empress Komyo, this exhibition will showcase important cultural properties owned by Todaiji temple, with a focus on temple treasures from the Tenpyo era. The exhibition will pay tribute to the construction of the famous Great Buddha at Todaiji and the flourishing of Tenpyo culture as part of a commemorative project marking the 1300th anniversary of the ancient Nara Heijo-kyo capital.

Odani Motohiko
Mori Art Museum
Tokyo, Japan
27 November 2010 – 27 February 2011

The artist’s work encompasses media as varied as sculpture, photography and video which arises out of his interest in the sensations of fear, pain, unease and touch. Giving physical and sculptural expression to abstract sensations and psychological conditions, he forces us to face phenomena that we would otherwise forgot or avoid. A dress made of hair, an animal fitted with movement restraints, a heteromorphic young girl, a horse-mounted samurai in a death-like state: with their juxtaposition of images, Odani’s works never permit a single, easy interpretation. Existing on the edges between beauty and ugliness, life and death, the sacred and the secular, his creative work possesses a slightly disconcerting attraction capable of stimulating the viewer's subconscious and sensibilities.

Keeping an eye on its long tradition of sculpture in the West and the reception it has received in Japan, Odani has also sought to reinvent the medium for his own time and place. His approach is influenced by his uniquely Japanese experience of growing up in Kyoto surrounded by sculptural representations of Buddha and also in his own long-held interest in figurines and Japanese subcultures.