The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo houses over 5800 works of art from modern to contemporary, with a particular emphasis on post-war art. The MOT Collection exhibitions present works from that collection, adopting a different approach on each occasion to advertise the diverse attractions of contemporary art. In a display dubbed “Seven Beauties in the Bamboo Forest” and dominated by recent acquisitions, the first floor will focus on seven female artists. The title “Seven Beauties in the Bamboo Forest” comes from that of a work by KONO Michisei held by the museum. In Kono’s painting, the ancient Chinese “Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove,” spurning worldly concerns to congregate in a bamboo grove and engage in philosophical chat are transformed into women in vibrantly-hued garb. Inspired by the sight of these seven women of different cultures and eras mingling harmoniously among the flowers and birds of a light-filled bamboo forest, for this exhibition we decided to illuminate the work of some female artists whom the museum has hitherto had few opportunities to showcase. The character 妍 (ken) of the title, meaning beauty, generally refers to a certain grace or refinement in appearance, but here refers to how each of the seven artists has engaged with the idea of beauty, and produced art accordingly. Offerings from MADOKORO (AKUTAGAWA) Saori and TAKAGI Toshiko, both born exactly a century ago, URUSHIBARA Hideko, KOBAYASHI Donge, and MAEMOTO Shoko will comprise mainly new additions, while the works of FUKUSHIMA Hideko and ASAKURA Setsu, already in the collection, will be grouped together. To coincide with this display of work by the seven women, the first floor will also play host to a special exhibit by NOMURA Kazuhiro, an artist with a career characterized by the exploration of the creative act via conceptual works. The third-floor exhibition, titled “Eye to Eye,” turns its attention to different types of gaze. Kicking off with gaze as painted by the likes of Alex KATZ, NAKAMURA Hiroshi, and NAKAZONO Koji, “Eye to Eye” goes on to include a diverse array of works, including sculptures in reflective materials by TADA Minami and Monir Shahroudy FARMANFARMAIAN; the works of Georges ROUSSE, who creates illusory installations in derelict buildings and photographs them; and an installation by KAIHATSU Yoshiaki, who brings a playfulness to the space between the visible and invisible. There will also be a special exhibition of work by HASEGAWA Shigeru, a painter consistently dedicated to interrogating the status of paintings as “things to be seen.”
ASAKURA Setsu
1956
ASAKURA Setsu
1970
ASAKURA Setsu
1946-50s
ASAKURA Setsu
1946-50s
ASAKURA Setsu
n.d.
ASAKURA Setsu
n.d.
ASAKURA Setsu
1956
ASAKURA Setsu
1954
ASAKURA Setsu
n.d.
ASAKURA Setsu
1963
ASAKURA Setsu
1964
ASAKURA Setsu
c.1963
ASAKURA Setsu
c.1963
ASAKURA Setsu
c.1963
ASAKURA Setsu
1963
ASAKURA Setsu
1963
ASAKURA Setsu
1970
ASAKURA Setsu
c.1954
ASAKURA Setsu
1946-50s
ASAKURA Setsu
1946-50s
ASAKURA Setsu
1946-50s
ASAKURA Setsu
1967
John BALDESSARI
1996
Monir Shahroudy FARMANFARMAIAN
2008
Monir Shahroudy FARMANFARMAIAN
2008
Monir Shahroudy FARMANFARMAIAN
2008
Monir Shahroudy FARMANFARMAIAN
2008
Monir Shahroudy FARMANFARMAIAN
2008
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1954
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
n.d.
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1955
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1982
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1940s
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
n.d.
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
n.d.
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
n.d.
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
n.d.
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
n.d.
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1960
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1960
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1960
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1960
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1960
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1958
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1982
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1966
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1963
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1963
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1963
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
n.d.
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
n.d.
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
n.d.
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1961
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1958
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1960
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1958
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1960
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1955
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1955
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1952
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
late 1940s
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
late 1940s
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1950
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1950
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1951
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1951
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1951
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1950
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1950
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1956
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1956
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1952
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1952
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
c.1955
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
c.1955
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1955
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1955
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1958
FUKUSHIMA Hideko
1954
FUKUSHIMA Hideko/FUKUSHIMA Kazuo
1953/1986
HASEGAWA Shigeru
1997
HASEGAWA Shigeru
2007
HASEGAWA Shigeru
2010
HASEGAWA Shigeru
2011
HASEGAWA Shigeru
2011
HASEGAWA Shigeru
1995
1947.12.24
1947.8.11?
KAIHATSU Yoshiaki
2000
KAIHATSU Yoshiaki
2010
Alex KATZ
1990
Alex KATZ
1989
1996
1996
1996
1996
1975
1974
1972
1972
1972
1972
1970
1970
1970
1969
1968
1966
1965
1963.3-4
1963.3
1962
1962
1958
1958
1955
1950s?
1949
c.1955
c.1955
c.1955
c.1954
c.1954
c.1954
c.1970
c.1960
c.1956
c.1955
c.1955
KOBAYASHI Takanobu
1998
KONO Michisei
1923
Roy LICHTENSTEIN
1965
MADOKORO (AKUTAGAWA) Saori
1955
MADOKORO (AKUTAGAWA) Saori
1955
MAEMOTO Shoko
2002
MAEMOTO Shoko
1992
MIYAWAKI Aiko
1960-61
MIYAWAKI Aiko
1962
MIYAWAKI Aiko
1959
MIYAWAKI Aiko
1960-61
NAKAMURA Hiroshi
2015-16
NAKAZONO Koji
2007
NAKAZONO Koji
2010
NAKAZONO Koji
2012
NARA Yoshitomo
1997
NARA Yoshitomo
1997
NOMURA Kazuhiro
2007
NOMURA Kazuhiro
2002
NOMURA Kazuhiro
2003
NOMURA Kazuhiro
2004
NOMURA Kazuhiro
2006
NOMURA Kazuhiro
2003
NOMURA Kazuhiro
2009
NOMURA Kazuhiro
2007
NOMURA Kazuhiro
1989-
NOMURA Kazuhiro
2014/2019
NOMURA Kazuhiro
1989-
NOMURA Kazuhiro
1989-
NOMURA Kazuhiro
1988-1989
NOMURA Kazuhiro
2002
NOMURA Kazuhiro
2003
Dennis OPPENHEIM
1971-72
Gerhard RICHTER
1965
Georges ROUSSE
1994
Georges ROUSSE
1994
Georges ROUSSE
1984
TADA Minami
1989
TADA Minami
1965
TAKAGI Toshiko
1981
TAKAGI Toshiko
1983
TAKAGI Toshiko
1963
URUSHIBARA Hideko
1966
Andy WARHOL
1966
Pavlína Fichta ČIERNA
2003