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June 10, 2015
The renovated Mori Art Museum showcases "simple forms" from across time and cultures | MORI ART MUSEUM
MORI ART MUSEUM
First Joint Exhibition by Centre Pompidou-Metz and the Hermès Foundation Arrives in Japan
Mori Art Museum Reopens with 'The Shape of Things: Where Does Beauty Come From?'
The exhibition 'The Shape of Things: Where Does Beauty Come From?', showcasing 'simple forms' from across time and cultures, has opened at the newly renovated Mori Art Museum in Roppongi. On view until Sunday, July 5.
Text by YANAKA Tomomi
Exhibitions Unique to Japan and New Installation Art Unveiled
Hiroshi Sugimoto, 'Lake Superior, Cascade River,' 1995. Courtesy: Gallery Koyanagi
'The Shape of Things: Where Does Beauty Come From?', held to commemorate the reopening of the Mori Art Museum, brings together beautiful art of simple forms spanning approximately 20,000 years, from prehistoric stone tools to contemporary art.
This exhibition marks the first collaboration between Centre Pompidou-Metz, a branch of the Centre Pompidou in Paris that develops unique exhibitions without its own collection, and the Hermès Foundation. The exhibition, which has toured from France, features numerous masterpieces, including works making their Japanese debut, drawn from the collections of prestigious French institutions such as the Centre Pompidou, the Picasso Museum, and the Le Corbusier Foundation.
The exhibition displays around 130 works, ranging from masters like Matisse and Ike Taiga to primitive art created by nameless artisans of antiquity. Additionally, the Japanese presentation includes unique pieces such as Buddhist statues by Enku, circular diagrams by the Edo-period Zen monk Sengai, and exquisite tea bowls by Nonomura Ninsei, a representative potter of the Azuchi-Momoyama period.
Furthermore, new installation works created by Japanese and French contemporary artists, including Xavier Veilhan, Emmanuelle Sounier, and Shinji Ohmaki, utilizing the expansive space of the Mori Art Museum, will also be presented.
Various workshops will also be held during the exhibition period, andRelated Exhibition: 'Listening to Lines' at Ginza Maison Hermès Forumis also on view until Sunday, July 5.
What does the 'universal beauty' of 'simple forms,' which has resonated with us throughout the ages and connects us across geographical and historical boundaries, ask of us?
Anthony McCall, 'Line Describing a Cone,' 1973. Exhibition view: Musée d'Art Contemporain de Rochechouart, 2007. Photo: Freddy Le Saux *Reference image
'The Shape of Things: Where Does Beauty Come From?'
Dates: Saturday, April 25 – Sunday, July 5
Hours: 10:00 – 22:00 (Tuesdays 10:00 – 17:00)
Admission: General ¥1800, Students (High School/University) ¥1200, Children (Ages 4-14) ¥600, Seniors (65+) ¥1500
Venue: Mori Art Museum
53F Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Tel. 03-5777-8600 (Hello Dial)