PRESS RELEASE

December 26, 2023

Museum of Contemporary Art TokyoA Personal View of Japanese Contemporary Art
Takahashi Ryutaro Collection

August 3 – November 10, 2024

The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT) is pleased to announce that the exhibition “A Personal Viewof Japanese Contemporary Art: Takahashi Ryutaro Collection” will take place in the year 2024. Presently
comprising over 3,000 items, the Takahashi Ryutaro Collection is reputed as one of the most importantcollections of Japanese contemporary 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 fromthe specific 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 theZenkyoto student movement, and was directly exposed to the dense mixture of culture and politics that wasfilling the air in Tokyo in the 1960s. From there, he went on to put effort into encouraging local medical caresuch 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 3,000 artworks.
TAKAHASHI can thus be seen as someone who has been observing the trends and currents in Japanesecontemporary art from the inside, while at the same time 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
Contact

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

TEL: +81-3-5245-1134

https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en*All Programs are subject to change.

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focuses on a new direction that the collection took after the Great East Japan Earthquake, reflecting thechanging times and values.
The time of the Takahashi Ryutaro Collection’s formation coincides with the opening of the MOT in 1995. Bothcollections were largely built in the city of Tokyo during the so-called “lost 30 years” after the burst of theeconomic bubble in Japan, and the relationship between them can be understood as mutuallycomplementary. 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 a comprehensive overview of essential and incisively
critical works of Japanese contemporary art.

Artists (TBC)
AIDA Makoto, KATO Izumi, KUSAMA Yayoi, SUZUKI Hiraku, NARA Yoshitomo, MURAKAMI Takashi, and more

Information
A Personal View of Japanese Contemporary Art: Takahashi Ryutaro Collection
Exhibition Period

Saturday, 3 August – Sunday, 10 November 2024

Opening Hours

10 AM – 6 PM (Tickets available until 30 minutes before closing.)

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

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

Admission

To be announced.

Organized by

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

Supported by

Kokoronokai Medical Corporation

Curated by

YABUMAE Tomoko (Curator, 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

https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en*All Programs are subject to change.

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Publicity Images

E-mail : mot-pr@mot-art.jp

MOT provides 4 publicity images to the press. Use of the images for any purpose requires prior permission of themuseum. To request any image/s, please send an email to mot-pr@mot-art.jp with the name/s of the artist/s ofthe desired image. You shall be deemed to have consented to our terms and conditions by submitting the request.
Terms and Conditions
1.

Each of the publicity images must be accompanied by its credit lines which are provided below.

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 andconfirmation of the use of image/s and credit/s. You also should provide the museum 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.

AIDA Makoto, A Picture of an Air-Raid on New York City (War Picture Returns),1996, 174×382cm CG of Zero fighters created by MATSUHASHI Mutsuo

NARA Yoshitomo, Untitled, 1999, 240×276cm©︎ NARA Yoshitomo,courtesy of Yoshitomo Nara Foundation

photo: MIYAJIMA Kei ©︎ AIDA Makoto Courtesy of Mizuma Art Gallery

MURAKAMI Takashi, ZuZaZaZaZaZa, 1994,
50×170×7.5cm©︎ 1994 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
NO POSTING on social media

KUSAMA Yayoi, Pumpkin, 1990, 130×162cm©︎ YAYOI KUSAMA[When posting the image on the WEB]> The article should state “Unauthorized copyingand reproduction is strictly prohibited.”> The image needs to be copy-guarded.

All works are the collection of Takahashi Ryutaro Collection

Contact

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

TEL: +81-3-5245-1134

https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en*All Programs are subject to change.

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