PRESS RELEASE 2024.07.05

A Personal View of Japanese Contemporary Art
Takahashi Ryutaro Collection
August 3 – November 10, 2024

The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT) presents the exhibition “A Personal View of JapaneseContemporary Art: Takahashi Ryutaro Collection”. Presently comprising over 3,500 items, theTakahashi Ryutaro Collection is reputed as one of the most important collections of Japanesecontemporary art in terms of both quality and quantity. A showcase of outstanding works by artists
with a highly critical mindset, this exhibition explores the state of contemporary Japan from thespecific viewpoint of a 1946-born art collector.
The exhibition is modeled around the personal viewpoint of TAKAHASHI Ryutaro as one face
representing postwar Japan. Born in 1946, and growing up as a spearhead of the baby boomer
generation, he joined the Zenkyoto student movement, and was directly exposed to the dense mixtureof culture and politics that was filling the air in Tokyo in the 1960s. From there, he went on to put effort
into encouraging local medical care such as day care as a psychiatrist. From the mid-90s, when his
business was stably on track, he started collecting Japanese contemporary art, and has to this day
acquired a total of more than 3,500 artworks. TAKAHASHI can thus be seen as someone who has been
observing the trends and currents in Japanese contemporary art from the inside, while at the sametime embodying essential aspects from the position of the audience as opposed to that of the artists.
In addition to works that seem to reflect the state of Japan in the 1990s and 2000s, which in a way
represent the Takahashi Ryutaro Collection at large, this exhibition also focuses on a new directionthat the collection took after the Great East Japan Earthquake, reflecting the changing times andContact

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo｜ Public Relations (Kudo / Inaba / Uchibori)
E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp

TEL: +81-3-5245-1134*All Programs are subject to change.

https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en

values.
The time of the Takahashi Ryutaro Collection’s formation coincides with the opening of the MOT in
1995. Both collections were largely built in the city of Tokyo during the so-called “lost 30 years” after
the burst of the economic bubble in Japan, and the relationship between them can be understood as
mutually complementary. The artworks that were created to combat the state of stagnation in
Japanese society, TAKAHASHI refers to as the “cries and living evidence of young artists.” This
exhibition is an occasion that introduces one personal perspective onto the art historical currents that
the MOT has been presenting, and at the same time, it is a precious opportunity that offers acomprehensive overview of essential and incisively critical works of Japanese contemporary art.

Artists ───────────────────────────────────
SATOMI Katsuzo｜KUSAMA Yayoi｜SHINOHARA Ushio｜HANAGA Mitsutoshi｜UNO Akira｜NAKAMURA
Kimpei ｜ TSUKASA Osamu ｜ YOKOO Tadanori ｜ AKASEGAWA Genpei ｜ MORIYAMA Daido ｜ ARAKI
Nobuyoshi｜GODA Sawako｜TATEISHI Tiger｜YAMAGUCHI Harumi｜SUGA Kishio｜SORAYAMA Hajime｜NISHIMURA Yohei｜HIGASHIONNA Yuichi｜FUNAKOSHI Katsura｜MORIMURA Yasumasa｜OHTAKE
Shinro｜OKAZAKI Kenjiro｜O JUN｜KOBAYASHI Masato｜MAEMOTO Shoko｜NEMOTO Takashi｜NARA
Yoshitomo｜YANAGI Yukinori｜KONOIKE Tomoko｜Taro CHIEZO｜MURAKAMI Takashi｜MURASE Kyoko｜∈Y∋｜AIDA Makoto｜Oscar OIWA｜OZAWA Tsuyoshi｜YANOBE Kenji｜TENMYOUYA Hisashi｜CHIBA
Kazumasa｜NISHIO Yasuyuki｜YANAGI Miwa｜KOIDE Naoki｜KATO Izumi｜KAWASHIMA Hideaki｜Mr.｜YAMAGUCHI Akira｜OKADA Hiroko｜MACHIDA Kumi｜ISHIDA Takashi｜ODANI Motohiko｜KAZAMA
Sachiko｜SHIOTA Chiharu｜NINAGAWA Mika｜IKEDA Manabu｜MISE Natsunosuke｜MIYANAGA Aiko｜
Kasetsu ｜ KATO Mika ｜ TAKEMURA Kei ｜ Tabaimo ｜ NAWA Kohei ｜ TAMAMOTO Nana ｜ KUNIMATSU
Kineta｜TAKEKAWA Nobuaki｜DEKI Yayoi｜IMAI Shunsuke｜KANEUJI Teppei｜KUDO Makiko｜SUZUKI
Hiraku｜IMAZU Kei｜KONISHI Toshiyuki｜KOBASHI Yosuke｜SHIGA Lieko｜CHIBA Masaya｜MOHRI
Yuko｜AOKI Mika｜KUWATA Takuro｜UMETSU Yoichi｜Enrico Isamu OYAMA ｜SAKAMOTO Natsuko｜
BABU｜MURAYAMA Goro｜MORI Osamu｜MATSUI Erina｜MATSUSHITA Tohru｜yang02 ｜AOKI Yutaka｜UMEZAWA Kazuki｜SATO Ataru｜TANIHO Reina｜DIEGO｜YUMISASHI Kanji｜KONDO Aki｜SHOJI
Asami｜MITOBE Nanae｜Nile KOETTING｜KAWAUCHI Rikako｜WAKUI Tomohito｜ob｜FUJIKURA Asako｜MURAKAMI Saki｜BIEN｜ISHIGE Kenta｜Namonaki Sanemasa｜TSUCHITORI Fumika｜YAMADA Kohei｜TOMOZAWA Kotao｜YAMANAKA Yukino｜Chim↑Pom from Smappa!Group｜SIDE CORE / EVERYDAY
HOLIDAY SQUAD｜KOMAKUS｜NAKAHARA Minoru*｜KUBO Mamoru*｜HACHIYA Kazuhiko*（*from the collection of Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo）

Contact

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo｜ Public Relations (Kudo / Inaba / Uchibori)
E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp

TEL: +81-3-5245-1134*All Programs are subject to change.

https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en

Highlights──────────────────────────────────■ Works by 115 individual and groups of artists, fromlegendary figures to promising young creators, make up acomprehensive showcase of Japanese contemporary
postwar art.
Asacollection

thatfocuses

mainlyon

Japanesecontemporary art, the Takahashi Ryutaro Collection is one of
the biggest of its kind in the world. Through a special
selection of works, this exhibition aims to present an
overview of the massive collection of over 3,500 items in

KUSAMA Yayoi, Pumpkin, 1990

total, and at once function as an introduction and definitive

H.130×W.162 cm© YAYOI KUSAMA

guide to Japanese contemporary art. Far superior to theaverage private art collection in terms of scale, the exhibition
comprises dynamic displays that fill two entire floors of theMuseum of Contemporary Art Tokyo.
■ Highlights from a spirited collection, selected from the viewpoint of the most prominentcollector of Japanese contemporary art
Following the ”neoteny japan – Takahashi Collection” exhibition in 2008 (at Kirishima Open-Air
Museum/Kagoshima and others), exhibitions of the Takahashi Ryutaro Collection, which include
numerous essential works especially of Japanese contemporary art since the 1990s, have beenshown repeatedly at art museums in Japan and abroad. This show of selected items traces from one
collector’s “personal view” the path of the collection as it continued to change and develop, from its
early days, via the period after the Great East Japan Earthquake, to the present day.

AIDA Makoto, A Picture of an Air-Raid on New York City (War Picture Returns), 1996
H.174×W.382 cm

CG of Zero fighters created by MATSUHASHI MutsuoⒸ AIDA Makoto, Courtesy of Mizuma Art Gallery

Contact

Photo: MIYAJIMA Kei

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo｜ Public Relations (Kudo / Inaba / Uchibori)
E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp

TEL: +81-3-5245-1134*All Programs are subject to change.

https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en

The 6 Sections of the Exhibition───────────────────────

1. Prenatal Memory
In 1946, the year after the end of the war, the Constitution of Japan was established. Also born in thesame year was TAKAHASHI Ryutaro, the man whose “personal view” is reflected in this exhibition.
This section examines the cultural situation in Japan during the approximately 50 years between theend of the war and the mid-1990s when TAKAHASHI seriously started collecting artworks, as thecollection’s “prenatal memory” of sorts that TAKAHASHI went on to recall through his collection ofworks by artists that had made an impact on him when he was young.

2. An End and A New Beginning
The Takahashi Ryutaro Collection seriously took off in
the mid-1990s, a time that marked the end of the“postwar” era in Japan, and the beginning of a period of
low economic growth that still continues today. It was atonce a time when contemporary art had begun tocirculate on an increasingly global scale, and numerous
artists emerged that expressed through their works
fierce criticism toward Japanese culture and society. For
someone like TAKAHASHI, who had developed anadmiration for art as a statement of protest in the late1960s, their works were highly stimulating. This section
revolves around works that may be categorized as

MURAKAMI Takashi, ZuZaZaZaZaZa, 1994
H.150×W.170×D.7.5 cm © 1994 Takashi Murakami/
Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

“portraits of postwar Japan,” many of which are
representative of the Takahashi Ryutaro Collection atlarge.

Contact

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo｜ Public Relations (Kudo / Inaba / Uchibori)
E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp

TEL: +81-3-5245-1134*All Programs are subject to change.

https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en

3. New Types of Humans
Outlining the maturing stage of the Takahashi Ryutaro
Collection, this section focuses especially on works that
depict human figures – one of the collection’s central
themes. The desire to address all kinds of human aspects
by way of art, and explore the roots of creativity, is anundercurrent that continues to inform the endeavors of
the collector and psychiatrist, TAKAHASHI Ryutaro.
Exhibits range from renowned works – somewhat thecollection’s trademarks – to the most recent creations ofyoung artists.
NARA Yoshitomo, Untitled, 1999
H.240×W.276 cm© NARA Yoshitomo, courtesy of Yoshitomo Nara Foundation

4. Breakdown and Rebirth
Considering TAKAHASHI’s roots in the Tohoku region, the Great East
Japan Earthquake and the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear
Plant in 2011 had a particularly big effect that changed his sensibility.
Introduced in this section are works that satirize social behavior since
the accident; works that represent the first actions of artists after theearthquake; and other creative endeavors undertaken in response tothese events. The works themed around life and rebirth, that are on
display in the high, vaulted space of the Atrium, are one of theexhibition’s highlights.

ODANI Motohiko, Surf Angel (Provisional Monument 2), 2022
H.560×W.423×D.376 cm © ODANI Motohiko
Courtesy of ANOMALY Photo: Hidehiko Omata

Contact

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo｜ Public Relations (Kudo / Inaba / Uchibori)
E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp

TEL: +81-3-5245-1134*All Programs are subject to change.

https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en

5. The Redefinition of “Self”
A special emphasis in the collection of TAKAHASHI, who after the Great East Japan Earthquake nolonger sensed “reality” in strongly subjective statements, is placed on artworks that reexamine theposition of the “self” as a subject that makes such statements. Standing out are elements thathighlight processes of things being created, their state of incompleteness or unfinishedness, or theoutcome of which seems to be entrusted to the effects of external environments and phenomena. For
this section, works were selected from the collection that particularly reflect this new sensibility, in avariety of formats and media including painting, installation and ceramic art.

6. Back onto the Street
In recent years, TAKAHASHI has been especially fascinated by creative activities of artists that are
informed by a world view from a “street” kind of perspective. For TAKAHASHI, who once devoted
himself to a student movement, encountering these works is certainly something that brings backmemories of avant-garde art, and an experience that takes him back onto the street so to speak.
Showcased here is the present state of the Takahashi Ryutaro Collection as it continues to grow, while
incorporating the latest trends of young artists.

SUZUKI Hiraku, Road (Retina), 2013
H.240×W.600×D.9.7 cm
Installation view of the exhibition “Takahashi Collection Mindfulness!” at Kirishima
Open-Air Museum, Kagoshima
Photo: Mie Morimoto

SIDE CORE / EVERYDAY HOLIDAY SQUAD, rode work tokyo_ spiral junction, 2022
H.199×W.305×D.305 cm
Photo: Natsuko Fukushima, Tokyo Art Beat

Contact

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo｜ Public Relations (Kudo / Inaba / Uchibori)
E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp

TEL: +81-3-5245-1134*All Programs are subject to change.

https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en

Takahashi Ryutaro Collection
The art collection that the psychiatrist TAKAHASHI Ryutaro (1946- ) started in 1997, has grown tobecome one of the world’s biggest collections of Japanese contemporary art. Starting off with works
by KUSAMA Yayoi and GODA Sawako, the collection comprises especially works by Japaneseleading artists since the 1990s, many of whom are represented here with early and representative
works. Up to now, the collection has been showcased in exhibitions at 26 public and private art
museums across Japan, including the ”neoteny japan – Takahashi Collection” exhibition (2008-2010,
Kirishima Open- Air Museum/Kagoshima, Ueno Royal Museum, others), and the exhibitions“Takahashi Collection: Mindfulness! (2013-2014, Nagoya City Art Museum, others) and “Takahashi
Collection: Mirror Neuron (2015, Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery). In 2020, in recognition of his
significant contribution to the promoting and popularization of contemporary art, TAKAHASHI
received the Agency for Cultural Affairs Commissioner’s Commendation in 2020. His collection
encompasses over 3,500 items, and still continues to grow around a core defined by recent trends
and efforts of young artists.

Information─────────────────────────────────Exhibition Period

Saturday, 3 August – Sunday, 10 November 2024

Opening Hours

10 AM – 6 PM (Tickets available until 30 minutes before closing.)*Open until 9 PM on Fridays in August

ClosedMondays (except Aug. 12, Sep. 16 and 23, Oct. 14, Nov. 4),
Aug. 13, Sep. 17 and 24, Oct. 15, Nov. 5

Venue

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Exhibition Gallery 1F/B2F

Admission

Adults – 2,100 Yen / University & College Students, Over 65 – 1,350 Yen
High-school & Junior High-school Students – 840 Yen
Elementary School Students & younger – free

Organized by

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo operated by Tokyo Metropolitan
Foundation for History and CultureWith the special support of

Takahashi Ryutaro Collection

Supported by

Kokoronokai Medical Corporation

Curated by

YABUMAE Tomoko (Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo)

WEB

https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en/exhibitions/TRC/

Related programs, such as artist talks, will be held throughout the exhibition period. Details will beannounced on the museum’s website.

Also on view───────────────────────────────・Yoshiaki Kaihatsu: ART IS LIVE―Welcome to One Person Democracy
・MOT Collection
Contact

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo｜ Public Relations (Kudo / Inaba / Uchibori)
E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp

TEL: +81-3-5245-1134*All Programs are subject to change.

https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en

Publicity Images
MOT provides 14 publicity images to the press. Use of the images for any purpose requires prior permissionof the museum. To request any image/s, please send an email to mot-pr@mot-art.jp with the name/s ofthe artist/s of the desired image. You shall be deemed to have consented to our terms and conditions bysubmitting the request.
Terms and Conditions
1. Each of the publicity image must be accompanied by its credit lines provided by the museum.
2. Images may only be used for publicity purposes solely in connection with the exhibition.
3. Publicity images must be reproduced in their entirety and may not be cropped, detailed, overprinted,
or altered.
4. You should send a proof copy to the museum before the final printing, broadcasting, and/or release
for the fact check and confirmation of the use of image/s and credit/s. You also should provide themuseum with a copy of the respective magazine, newspaper, DVD, video file, website link, etc. after
publication.
5. Secondary use of the image/s is strictly prohibited. The data of the image/s must be deleted once
used for reproduction.

IMPORTANT NOTICE■ The image of KUSAMA Yayoi, Pumpkin, needs to be copy-guarded and should state “Unauthorizedcopying and reproduction is strictly prohibited” when used on the WEB.
■The image of MURAKAMI Takashi, ZuZaZaZaZaZa, cannot be posted on social media.

Please add Takahashi Ryutaro Collection at the end of each credit line.

KATO Izumi, Untitled, 2004
H.205×W.56×D.52 cm © 2004 Izumi Kato
Courtesy of the artist Photo: Yusuke Sato

Contact

SHIOTA Chiharu, ZUSTAND DES SEINS, 2008
H.130×W.100×D.80 cm© JASPAR, Tokyo, 2024 and Chiharu Shiota
Courtesy of Kenji Taki Gallery
Photo: Tetsuo Ito

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo｜ Public Relations (Kudo / Inaba / Uchibori)
E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp

TEL: +81-3-5245-1134*All Programs are subject to change.

https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en

IKEDA Manabu, History of Rise and Fall, 2006
H.200×W.200 cm© IKEDA Manabu, Courtesy of Mizuma Art Gallery
Photo by Horiuchi Color Ltd.

KANEUJI Teppei, White Discharge (Built-up Objects ＃21), 2012
H.168×W.84×D.55 cm Photo: Shigeo Muto

AOKI Mika, Her songs are floating, 2007
H.170×W.380×D.150 cm
Installation view of the exhibition “Born in HOKKAIDO” at the Hokkaido
Museum of Modern Art, 2007. Photo: Yoshisato Komaki

MORI Osamu, Jamboree – EP, 2014
H.385×W.406×D.365 cm© Osamu Mori, in courtesy of PARCEL
Photo: Nobutada Omote

FUJIKURA Asako, Water Pipe Man - beach mark, 2023
L）H.220×W.63×D.75 cm／R）H.136×W.45 x D.15 cm© Asako Fujikura, Courtesy of the artist and WAITINGROOM
Photo: Shintaro Yamanaka (Qsyum!)Contact

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo｜ Public Relations (Kudo / Inaba / Uchibori)
E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp TEL: +81-3-5245-1134*All Programs are subject to change.

https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en