Happiness in Everyday Life
October 25, 2008 (Sat) to January 18, 2009 (Sun)
Closed: Mondays (except the public holidays of Nov. 3, 24 and Jan. 12, when the following Tuesdays will be closed, namely, Nov. 4, 25, and Jan. 13)
EXHIBITION CONCEPT
This autumn, the Contemporary Art Center of Art Tower Mito (ATM) is pleased to present a group exhibition entitled "Happiness in Everyday Life." The exhibition tackles the theme of the "everyday" from various angles, featuring paintings, videos, installations, sculptures and photography by 14 Japanese and international artists, each offering a unique take on concepts and situations relating to the "everyday."
The artists featured in the group exhibition are as follows:
- Yuusuke Asai uses masking tape and soil to create expansive wall paintings.
- Guy Ben-Ner's video work features his own family acting out everyday situations with wit and humor.
- Hiroaki Morita presents a new video "clock" work shot in Mito and neighboring towns.
- Shinji Ohmaki's installation continues to transform and change its appearance through footprints left behind by visitors to the gallery
- Tatsuo Miyajima gives expression to life itself using red LED displays.
- Takahiro Iwasaki fashions delicate, miniature worlds out of daily necessities.
- KOSUGE1-16 is an art collective that creates interactive sports-based pieces.
- Katsuhiko Hibino makes light-hearted graphic works.
- Satoshi Kamiya makes elaborate origami (folded-paper) pieces.
- Kayo Ume's snapshots capture pleasant "definite moments" from ordinary life.
- Atelier Bow-Wow's Manga Pod is a space for reading combined with surrounding bookshelves.
- Yoshinari Nishio's work uses photographs and clothes to express family relations that change with the passage of time.
- Hiroshi Fuji creates installations out of unwanted toys.
- Marco Bohr's new work was created using photographs as intermediaries in Daigomachi (Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan).
Through these works, this exhibition invites us to reflect on the various ways of life we lead today, prompting us to reexamine the familiar scenes and landscapes that we have grown accustomed to seeing, and which have now become a natural part of the "everyday."
Participating Artists: Yuusuke Asai, Atelier Bow-Wow, Guy Ben-Ner, Marco Bohr, Hiroshi Fuji, Katsuhiko Hibino, Takahiro Iwasaki, Satoshi Kamiya, KOSUGE1-16, Tatsuo Miyajima, Hiroaki Morita, Yoshinari Nishio, Shinji Ohmaki, Kayo Ume
EXHIBITION INFORMATION
Title: "Happiness in Everyday Life"
Venue: Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito (ATM)
Dates: October 25, 2008 (Sat) to January 18, 2009 (Sun)
Closed: Mondays (except the public holidays of Nov. 3, 24 and Jan. 12, when the following Tuesdays will be closed, namely, Nov. 4, 25, and Jan. 13)
Vacation: Dec. 27 (Sat) to Jan. 3 (Sat)
Opening Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (no admittance after 5:30 p.m.)
Admission: ¥800 General, ¥600 Advance purchase/Groups of more than20 people
Free Children through junior high school (9th grade), Seniors 65 and older, People with certified disabilities (along with one attendant each)
One-year passes: ¥1,000 High Teen Pass "H.T.P." for youth aged 15-19, ¥2,500 Adult Pass for people aged 20-64
Organizer: Mito Arts Foundation
Grants: Japan Arts Fund, Asahi Beer Arts Foundation
Sponsors: EU Japan Fest Japan Committee, Shiseido Co., Ltd
Support: AOYAMA | MEGURO, Asahi Breweries, Ltd., Eipurafuto, European Eyes on Japan / Japan Today, Origami House, pdash inc., SCAI The Bathhouse, SOUM Corporation, Tajima, Inc., Take Ninagawa Gallery, Tokyo Gallery + BTAP, Tsunekawa Industrial Felt Corporation
Curators: Tsukasa Mori (Senior Curator, Contemporary Art Center, ATM), Yuu Takehisa (Assistant Curator, Contemporary Art Center, ATM)
Artist Profiles and Exhibited Works
MaskingPlant A tree with paintings 2008 Photo by Hako Hosokawa |
Yuusuke Asai
1981 Born in Tokyo, Japan 1999 Graduated from Arts and Ceramic Course, Kamiyabe High School, Japan 
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| 2008 | "KITA!!: Japanese Artists Meet Indonesia" Yogyakarta National Gallery, Yogyakarta, Indonesia | ||
| 2007 |
"Roots play hide-and-seek" Yokohama Museum of Art, Yokohama, Japan
"High Quality Dust - Hiroshima art project" Former Naka Waste Incineration Plant, Hiroshima, Japan |
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| 2006 | "Toride Art Project 2006" Terminal Processing Plant, Toride, Japan | ||
Manga Pod 2002 Gwangju Biennnale 2002 |
Atelier Bow-Wow
(Yoshiharu Tsukamoto and Momoyo Kaijima) 1965 Yoshiharu Tsukamoto born in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan 1969 Momoyo Kaijima born in Tokyo, Japan 1992 Founded Atelier Bow-Wow
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| 2008 |
"The 2008 Biennale of Sydney Revolutions" Australia
"Psycho Buildings" The Heyward, London, England |
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| 2007 | "Iki-Iki Project" 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan | ||
Household 2001 Courtesy of Postmasters Gallery, New York, and Take Ninagawa, Tokyo |
Guy Ben-Ner
1969 Born in Israel 2003 Received MFA from Columbia University, New York, USA
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| 2008 | "The 5th Liverpool Biennial" Liverpool, England | ||
| 2007 |
"Treehouse Kit" Museum of Contemporary Art, Montreal, Canada
"Skulptur Projekte Munster 07" Germany |
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| 2005 | "Treehouse Kit" Israeli Pavilion, 51st Venice Biennale, Venice Italy | ||
Daigo Archive No.5 2008 Courtesy of Mummery+Schnelle, London and Stephen Bulger Gallery, Toronto |
Marco Bohr
1978 Born in Germany 2008 Received M.A. from the Royal College of Art, London, England Currently enrolled in Ph.D. program at the University of Westminster, London 2003 Awarded a du Maurier grant, spent one year in Japan
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| 2008 | "Floating Cities" Mummery + Schnelle, London, England | ||
| 2007
-08 |
"Making, Marking, Mapping" Photo Gallery International, Tokyo, Japan | ||
| 2005 | "reGeneration: 50 Photographers of Tomorrow" Musee de l'Elysee, Lausanne, Switzerland (exhibition also toured Galleria Corso Como in Milan, Italy and Aperture Gallery in New York, USA) | ||
2008 2008 "Beautiful New World? Contemporary Visual Culture from Japan" Beijing, China |
Hiroshi Fuji
1960 Born in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan 1985 Received M.A. from the Kyoto City University of Arts, Japan
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| 2008 | "SITE Santa Fe 7th International Biennial - Lucky Number Seven" Santa Fe, USA | ||
| 2006 | "12th Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh 2006" Dhaka, Bangladesh (Won Grand Prix) | ||
| 2005 | "Arts over Doubts! By Fuji Hiroshi" Fukuoka Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan | ||
PRESENT AIRPLANE 1982 |
Katsuhiko Hibino
1958 Born in Gifu Prefecture, Japan 1984 Received M.A. from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music
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| 2008 | "'HOME-->AND<--AWAY' SYSTEM meets NODA [But-a-I]" 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan | ||
| 2005 | "Hibino Expo 2005 Katsuhiko Hibino's One-man Exposition" Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito (ATM), Mito, Japan | ||
| 2003- | "Asatte Asagao Project" Azamihira, Mito, Fukuoka, Dazaifu and various other cities in Japan (ongoing) | ||
DIFFERENTIAL / INTEGRAL CALCULUS 2005 |
Takahiro Iwasaki
1975 Born in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan 2003 Received B.A. in Arts from Hiroshima City University, Hiroshima, Japan 2005 Received MFA from the Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh, Scotland
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| 2008 |
"'I wouldn't like to live in the open air but sometimes I would'" ROOM, London, England
"Roppongi Crossing 2007: Future Beats in Japanese Contemporary Art" Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan |
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| 2007 | "High Quality Dust – Hiroshima art project" Former Naka Waste Incineration Plant, Hiroshima, Japan | ||
Ryujin 3.5 2005 Courtesy of Origami House |
Satoshi Kamiya
1981 Born in Aichi Prefecture, Japan 1993 Joined the Paper Folding Detective Group (Nihon Origami Gakkai)
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| 2008 | Toured several cities in Canada under a Japan Foundation program, giving lectures and demonstrations | ||
| 2006 | Toured several countries in Central America and the Caribbean (Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Trinidad and Tobago) under a Japan Foundation program, giving lectures and demonstrations | ||
| 2003 |
"Mystery of Paper -- Paper Crane" Namioka Chusei no Yakata Museum, Aomori, Japan
"Origami Masterworks" Mingei International Museum, San Diego, USA |
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Cyclodrome Game DX 2007 |
KOSUGE1-16
1977 Chishino Kurumada born in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan 1977 Takashi Tsuchiya born in Saitama Prefecture, Japan 2001 Founded KOSUGE1-16
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| 2008 | The Taro Okamoto Award for Contemporary Art" Taro Okamoto Museum of Art, Kawasaki, Japan (won Taro Okamoto Taro Prize) | ||
| 2007 | "Aoba-Ennichi 2" Sendai Mediatheque, Sendai, Japan | ||
| 2006 | "Oh! Soccer 2006 in KPO PART 2" KPO, KIRIN Plaza Osaka, Osaka, Japan | ||
| 2005 | "Yokohama Triennale 2005" Yokohama, Japan | ||
Counter Spiral No.13 2000 |
Tatsuo Miyajima
1957 Born in Tokyo, Japan 1986 Received M.A. from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Tokyo, Japan 2006 Named Vice President of Tohoku University of Art & Design, Yamagata, Japan
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| 2008 | "Tatsuo Miyajima｜Art in You" Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito (ATM), Mito, Japan | ||
| 2005 | "Beyond the Death" Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto, Japan | ||
| 1999 | "48th Venice Biennale: Whither the Arts?" Venice, Italy | ||
Clockwise 2005-2008 Photo by Keizo Kioku |
Hiroaki Morita
1973 Born in Fukui Prefecture, Japan 2002 Received M.A. from Goldsmiths College, University of London, England
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| 2008 | "Clockwise" Aoyama｜Meguro, Tokyo, Japan | ||
| 2007 | "Nine Mirrors" Gallery Twinspace, Osaka, Japan | ||
| 2005 |
"New Order" Gallery Objective Correlative, Tokyo, Japan
"Mountain of Art Camp" Nadiff, Tokyo, Japan |
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Costume Play 2006 |
Yoshinari Nishio
1982 Born in Nara Prefecture, Japan 2008 Currently studying for a Ph.D. in Inter-media Art in the Department of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo, Japan
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| 2007 | "Self Select" Gallery Cesar Harada, Paris, France | ||
| 2006 |
"Yoshinari Nishio" KCI Gallery, Kyoto, Japan
"4th Seoul International Media Art Biennale" Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea |
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ECHO -Crystallization- 2005 TOKYO GALLERY＋BTAP Photo by Ryoji Watabe |
Shinji Ohmaki
1971 Born in Gifu Prefecture, Japan 1995 Received B.A. from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Tokyo, Japan 1997 Received MFA from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Tokyo, Japan
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| 2008 | "Soft & Quiet" Bund 18 Creative Center, Shanghai, China | ||
| 2007 |
"Liminal Air Descend – 2007" 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan
"Cycle and Recycle in Contemporary Art" Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, Nagoya, Japan |
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| 2005 | "Echoes - Infinity" Shiseido Gallery, Tokyo, Japan | ||
Photobook "Umeme" 2006 |
Kayo Ume
1981 Born in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan 2002 Graduated from Japan Institute of Photography and Film
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| 2008 | "Long Live Grandpa!" LittleMore Chika, Tokyo, Japan | ||
| 2007 | Won 32nd Kimura Ihei Commemorative Photography Award | ||
| 2006 | "Shutter Chance Festival" LittleMore Chika, Tokyo and Gallery Eclectic, London, England "Umeme: This is Ishikawa's room. A photo exhibition of Kayo Ume" 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan | ||
RELATED EVENTS
ARTIST TALK
Guy Ben-Ner Participating artist Guy Ben-Ner will talk about his own works on his first museum presentation in Japan.
- Date and time: October 25, 2008 (Sat), 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.
- Fee: Included in the exhibition admission (Numbered tickets will be issued for the first 100 persons at the gallery entrance starting at 1:30 p.m. on October 25).
WORKSHOPS
Genki Mito Creation Art and Culture Rejuvenation Project Family Art Program
Separate workshops will be conducted by three exhibiting artists. We are also calling for on-site facilitators to act as intermediaries between the artists and workshop participants (call Contemporary Art Center at 029-227-8120 for details on becoming a facilitator).
Organizers: Mito City, Mito City Municipal Board of Education, Executive Committee for the Art and Culture Rejuvenation Project, Mito Arts Foundation Fee: ¥500 each (in addition to exhibition ticket) (To reserve a place in any of the workshops, call the Contemporary Art Center at 029-227-8120 starting on October 21 (Thu).
Shinji Ohmaki, "Where Have the Flowers Gone? Secret Flower Gardens”
Participants will search for various shapes and forms related to Mito and the exhibition, making molds and models from them, and finally adding their own creations to Ohmaki’s sprawling floor piece in the gallery.
Dates and times:
- November 29, 2008 (Sat), 10:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- November 30, 2008 (Sun), 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
(Doors open at 10:00 a.m. on both days)
Venue: Conference Hall and Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito (ATM)
Target: Visitors who can participate on both days (parents and children, etc.)
Capacity: 30 persons (reservations taken on a first-come, first-served basis)
Yoshinari Nishio, "Family Uniforms"
Participants (family members, friends, companions, etc) will create “uniforms” for themselves through group discussions, and then cut, paste, and sew together pieces from a collection of old clothes.
Date and time: December 7, 2008 (Sun), 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. (doors open at 12:30 p.m.)
Venue: Mito City Gender Equal & Culture Center BEYOND
Target: Groups of family members or friends of 2 to 4 persons
Capacity: 24 persons (reservations taken on a first-come, first-served basis)
KOSUGE1-16, "Game"
Participants will take part in a tournament consisting of bicycle races and huge table soccer games taken from the exhibited works. Communication and interaction between participants will be promoted through this fun activity.
Date and time: December 14, 2008 (Sun) 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. (doors open at 1:00 p.m.)
Venue: Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito (ATM)
Target: Teams of family members or friends consisting of 4 to 6 persons each (elementary school pupils and older) Capacity: Eight teams (reservations taken on a first-come, first-served basis)
PRESCHOOL PROGRAM
A model-making and art appreciation workshop targeted at nursery school pupils and kindergarteners. This year’s workshop will focus on appreciating the works and hands-on experience with art from “Happiness in Everyday Life.”
Dates: November 26 (Wed), 27 (Thu), December 3 (Wed), 4 (Thu), 10 (Wed), 11 (Thu), 2008, and January 14 (Wed), 15 (Thu), 2009
*Our apologies – applications are closed for this event.
DEMONSTRATION
Satoshi Kamiya, "Folding Big Paper Elephants!" Origami artist Satoshi Kamiya will fold a big elephant using a 3-meter square sheet of paper.
Date and time: January 10, 2009 (Sat), 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. (approximately 2 hours)
Venue: Entrance Hall, Art Tower Mito (ATM)
GALLERY TOURS
(1) Curator Talk
Dates and times:
- November 15, 2008 (Sat), 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. (Tsukasa Mori)
- January 17, 2009 (Sat), 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. (Yuu Takehisa)
(Meet the curator at the gallery entrance)
Fee: Included in the exhibition admission
(2) Weekend Gallery Talk
CAC (Contemporary Art Center) gallery guides will guide you through the exhibition.
Dates: Every weekend between November 8, 2008 (Sat) and January 18, 2009 (Sun), except for January 3-4, 2009
Time: 2:30 to 3:10 p.m. (approximately 40 minutes)
(Meet the gallery guide at the gallery entrance)
Fee: Included in the exhibition admission
(3) Gallery Tour for Parents with Preschool Children
Staff members will give a tour of the exhibition with special attention paid to visitors with small children. This tour has been created especially with preschool children and their parents in mind.
Dates and times:
- November 21, 2008 (Fri), 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
- November 28, 2008 (Fri), 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
Capacity: Five groups per session
(Reservations taken on a first-come, first-served basis)
Target: Preschool children and their parent(s) or caretaker(s)
Fee: Included in the exhibition admission
For reservations, call the Contemporary Art Center at 029-227-8120.
OTHER PROJECTS DURING EXHIBITION PERIOD
Yoshino Iida: New product development project "Natchii"
Dates: October 25, 2008 (Sat) to January 18, 2009 (Sun)
Venue: Room 9, Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito (ATM)
Fee: Included in the exhibition admission
Katsuhiko Hibino "Hibino Cup"
Together with artist Katsuhiko Hibino, participants will make goal posts, balls and uniforms, and then hold and play a mini-soccer game using their own creations.
Date and time: November 15, 2008 (Sat), 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Venue: Plaza, Art Tower Mito (ATM)
Target: Elementary school pupils and older
For reservations and more information, call Idaten at 029-254-9887
Katsuhiko Hibino "Asatte Asagao Shukakusai #4"
Date: November 16, 2008 (Sun) 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Venue: Upstairs of corridor, Art Tower Mito (ATM)
(Meet the artist above the ATM corridor)
The 23rd National Cultural Festival Ibaraki 2008
Mito Renaissance - Culture Festival, CAFE in Mito 2008
This year, continuing on from the 2002 and 2004 editions, the city-wide art project "CAFE in Mito 2008" will be held again. With cooperation from the MeToo Promotion Office (a newly-formed group of creative people based in Mito and its neighboring towns that aims to connect art with the city), exhibitions, events and workshops will be held in stores and empty shop spaces in the Mito city center.
Dates: Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and all public holidays from October 25 (Sat) to November 24, 2008 (Mon) Venue: Center of Mito City
Admission: Free
Artists: Yuusuke Asai, Nobuharu Asano, Atelier Bow-Wow, Kaoru Arima, Daniel Buren, Hiroshi Fuji, Mariko Fukushima, Kaori Furuhashi, Hidekado Goto, Kimura Toshiro Jinjin, Hisashi Makino, Satoko Makino, Sayaka Makino, Takumi Makino, Mieko Matsumoto, Masato Nakamura, Tai Ogawa, Yuji Okushi, Shinji Ohmaki, Koichi Omori, Nodoka Sakamoto, Ryota Shioya, Rinichi Suzuki, Hiroko Tachihara, Nanahiro Wada, Katsunobu Yaguchi
*For further details, please refer to the Map in Navi CAFE in Mito 2008 Special Volume, to be made available at Art Tower Mito (ATM) and various other locations in the center of Mito City right before the exhibition opens.
