Contemporary Art Gallery

  • GALLERY

Contemporary art is just easy as pie.

August 29 (Sat.),2009,to October 12 (Mon.),2009

Installation view at Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito 　Photo:Ken Kato

The Contemporary Art Center at Art Tower Mito (ATM) presents the exhibition, "Contemporary art is just easy as pie," from August 29 (Sat) to Oct. 12 (Mon), 2009. The exhibition invites visitors to explore contemporary art through artworks (photography, painting, installation etc.) made by leading artists from around the world.
The exhibition suggests diverse ways of interpretation in the approach to artworks, based on various themes (including Mother Nature, landscapes, and human figures), as well as a "mystery-story" narrative approach, and through various gallery tours. We invite elementary and junior high school students from Mito City to board the "Art Bus" prepared by ATM to explore the show, with staff members riding along as guides.
Also, the exhibition this time has been developed along with the people of Mito. The young artist group "Nadegata Instant Party" (Toru Nakazaki, Daisuke Yamashiro, and Tomoko Noda) has been shooting a new film entitled "The Last Exhibition by Curator A" in the ATM gallery space, Mito City and Senba Lake. The film, which employed cast and staff members who are citizens of Mito, has a story linked to the contents of the show. It will be screened in the gallery during the exhibition period. The exhibition will thus be a chance to visualize the relationship between art and people through the exhibition and contemporary artworks.

This exhibition also celebrates the 20th Anniversary of Art Tower Mito, the 120th Anniversary of Modern Mito City, and the 400th Anniversary of the Mito Domain.


[ARTISTS]

Yutaka Sone, Hitoshi Nomura, Julian Opie, Naoya Hatakeyama, I.F.P, Takanobu Kobayashi, Anish Kapoor, Tatsuo Kawaguchi, Ilya Kabakov, Tadashi Kawamata, Cai Guo-Qiang, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Bernard Faucon, Robert Mapplethorpe, Rieko Hidaka, James Turrell, Nadegata Instant Party(Toru Nakazaki+Daisuke Yamashiro+Tomoko Noda)

Outline

Venue

Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito

Dates

August 29 (Sat.),2009,to October 12 (Mon.),2009

Closing dates

Mondays (Tuesdays if Monday is a national holiday)

Opening hours

9:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. (no admittance after 5:30 p.m.)

Admission

Adult ¥800, Advanced purchase and Group discount(more than 20 people) ¥600, Admission Free: Under 15/Seniors over 65/Disabled pass holder and an attendant each/One year pass holders

Organized by

Mito Arts Foundation

Co-organized by

Mito City, Mito City Municipal Board of Education, Executive Committee for the Art and Culture Rejuvenation Project

Supported by

Asahi Breweries,Ltd., Nakamura-Naka Seisakusyo

Curated by

Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito

Contact

TEL 029-227-8120
Contemporary Art Center

RELATED EVENTS

1. Everyone is Different: Gallery Tour Programs


1) Art Bus
Art Tower Mito will charter an "Art Bus," taking Mito City elementary and junior high school students to the exhibition. Students will explore the artworks, with exceptional programs guided by the artist Gojing-Maru Hayashi and university student staff members.
Dates: Sept. 16 to Oct. 9

2) Pillow de Talk
A gallery tour conceived and conducted by the artist Tanotaiga. This special tour, drawing the idea from a "pillow talk," brings the style of private and intimate dialogue into the public space of a museum. The program aims to spur, through a friendly conversation with the artist in a pseudo-private sphere, a freer approach to and perception of contemporary art.
Dates: Aug. 29 and 30, Sept. 22, 23, 26, 27, Oct. 3, 4, 10, 11

3) Mysterious gentleman, Mr. K's gallery guide for ladies
This gallery tour is organized especially for women. Mr. K, a "mysterious gentleman," will take several ladies on a tour around the gallery, followed by a teatime art chat while eating cake. This is an introductory tour for contemporary art, and is recommended for beginners.
Dates: Sept. 9, Oct. 1

4) Weekend Gallery Talk
CAC (Contemporary Art Center) Gallery Talkers will guide you through the exhibition.
Dates: Weekends between Sept. 12 and Oct. 11, 2009
Times: 2:30 to 3:10 p.m. (approx. 40 minutes)

5) Gallery Tour for Parents with Babies
Staff members will give gallery tours, with special attention given to those with small children. The tour is made particularly for pre-school children and their parents.
Dates: Sept. 18 and Oct. 2, 2009

6) Pre-school Program
This program is a combination of gallery tour and workshop specifically designed for kindergarten and upper nursery-school children.
Date: Sep.14, 29, 30, Oct. 7, 8, 9

2. "The Last Exhibition by Curator A"


Curated by：Nadegata Instant Party

1) Announcement
Date: June 20
Venue: Workshop Room, Contemporary Art Gallery, ATM

2) Staff Meeting - vol.1
Date: June 30, July 1
Venue: Workshop Room, Contemporary Art Gallery, ATM

3) Staff Meeting - vol.2
Date: July 7
Venue: Conference Room, Art Tower Mito

4) "LAKE SHOW" Fes.
Date: July 19
Venue: Senba Lake, Mito-city

5) Special Film Screening "The Last Exhibition by Curator A"
Date: September 12
Venue: ACM Theatre, ATM

Participating Artists' Profiles

Nadegata Instant Party
(Toru Nakazaki + Daisuke Yamashiro + Tomoko Noda)


Nadegata Instant Party is an artist group that creates happenings and projects by arranging meetings of people, using human networks as well as online communities such as SNS (Social Networking System). Recent projects include the "Boogie-Woogie Installing Date," held at the former Naka Waste Incineration Plant Art Project in 2007 in Hiroshima, in which they created "virtual dating" routes in residential areas of Hiroshima, as well as the "Offline Instant Dance," held at the Akasaka Art Flower 08 in 2008 in Tokyo, in which they produced and presented dance performances using online communication along with invited cast.
http://www.nadegatainstantparty.org/

Tanotaiga


Tanotaiga mainly creates sculptures, often combining them with other media such as videos, to satirize social issues. For the "wanakio 2008" exhibition held in Okinawa, he created "15-minute Portraits," a series of self-portrait photos taken by prostitutes appearing in various costumes actually worn in service. With that series, he departed from the formalistic language of sculpture, and executed a more direct intervention into society. He also has had experience teaching contemporary art at the high school level.
http://www.taigart.com

Hayashi Gojing-Maru


Hayashi Gojing-Maru's creative activities focus on artworks and developing workshop activities under the themes of "to fly" and "to be flying." His main group shows include the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial (2003, 2006, Tokamachi and other), CAFE in Mito 2004 (ATM Contemporary Art Center, 2004). In 2005, he served as an educator in the art education program held at ATM's Contemporary Art Center.