Multiple curators are involved in planning each of the "Roppongi Crossing" exhibitions, but this 4th staging marks the first collaboration with curators from outside Japan.
From left to right: Reuben Keehan, Kataoka Mami, Gabriel Ritter
Photo: Mikuriya Shinichiro
Staged triennially, "Roppongi Crossing" is designed offer an overview of the Japanese art scene from a particular standpoint, but "Roppongi Crossing 2013" involves, for the first time in the series, overseas curators, in order to scrutinize the current status of Japanese contemporary art from a more global perspective.
Joining Mori Art Museum Chief Curator Kataoka Mami, organizing "Roppongi Crossing" for the second time, are 2 overseas curators, both in their 30s and both experts on the Japanese art scene: Reuben Keehan (b. 1976, Curator of Asian Contemporary Art, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art) and Gabriel Ritter (b. 1980, Assistant Curator, Dallas Museum of Art).
Keehan and Ritter have been showcasing Japanese art mainly in Australia and the United States, but how will Japanese contemporary art look thrown into relief through their eyes? Do take note of this as you peruse the exhibition.
Another feature of this "Roppongi Crossing" is the decision to actively seek out Japanese artists living abroad, and ethnically Japanese, overseas-born artists.
The show introduces the work of overseas-based practitioners such as Takasaka Masato, Ryui Koji and Akira Akira, and New York-based Tajima Mika, Sasamoto Aki, and Arakawa Ei, extending its awareness of what is Japanese beyond geographical and political confines to "Japan" as a culture.
Takasaka Masato
ANOTHER PROPOSITIONAL MODEL FOR THE EVERYTHING ALWAYS ALREADYMADE WANNABE STUDIO MASATOTECTURES MUSEUM OF FOUND REFRACTIONS 1994-2012 (r)eternal return to productopia-almost everything all at once, twice three times (in four parts...)
2012
Installation view: "Masato Takasaka: ALMOST EVERYTHING ALL AT ONCE, TWICE, THREE TIMES (IN FOUR PARTS)," Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne
Photo: Jake Walker
"Roppongi Crossing 2013: OUT OF DOUBT" will be a little different from "Roppongi Crossing" shows to date. What landscapes will be drawn on the future of Japanese contemporary art?
The exhibition runs through January 13, 2014. Come and find out for yourself!
■Relevant information
・Mori Art Museum 10th Anniversary Exhibition
Roppongi Crossing 2013: OUT OF DOUBT
September 21, 2013 - January 13, 2014
・Roppongi Crossing: New Visions in Contemporary Japanese Art 2004
February 7 - April 11, 2004
・Roppongi Crossing 2007: Future Beats in Japanese Contemporary Art
October 13, 2007 - January 14, 2008
・Roppongi Crossing 2010: Can There Be Art?
March 20 - July 4, 2010
