Press Release September 6, 2011

Art Scope 2009-2011: Invisible Memories
September 10 (Saturday) – December 11 (Sunday), 2011
Meiro Koizumi, Hiroe Saeki, Eva Berendes, Jan Scharrelmann
Four Japanese and German Artists to be Featured at the Hara Museum this Autumn[1]

Art Scope, a mécénat activity of Daimler Foundation Japan, provides contemporary artists fromJapan and Germany the chance to experience life in the other country. As a partner in theprogram since 2003, the Hara Museum will once again host an exhibition showcasing the resultsof the exchange by four participants: two from Germany in 2009 and two from Japan in 2010.
The exhibition also marks the very long relationship that has endured between the two nations
under the banner “150 years of Friendship Germany-Japan.”
In video works, Meiro Koizumi (b.1976) uses dramatic elements to explore communication
between persons and the relationship between people and society in ways that are at times
humorous, at times cool and detached. Drawings of Hiroe Saeki (b.1978) consist of meticulously
detailed organic shapes and large, boldly incorporated white spaces. These unique pictorial
spaces are at once tranquil, yet seething with tension. Using a wide variety of materials fromfabrics to metals, Eva Berendes (b.1974) creates three-dimensional works and installations thatare subtly transparent so as to foster a dialog with the space that surrounds them. The materials
used by Jan Scharrelmann (b.1975) are industrial in nature, consisting mainly of styrofoam or
epoxy resin. The works he makes are abstract in form, with hard, colorful layers of paint that
lends power to his expression. Most of the works on display were created after their participationin the exchange program.
At first glance, the exchange experience of each artist may not be directly discernible in theartworks on display. But the months of living in a different culture must inevitably be etchedwithin their respective minds where they exist in the unseen background of each work asinvisible memories. On the viewer side, the images made by the artist stimulate the senses andimagination, stirring up “things” that precipitate within their own minds as “invisible memories.”
The works act as catalysts on the intermingling invisible memories--memories that may be clear,ambiguous, personal or collective—giving rise to images that can be shared. The power thatcauses this may be thought of as the power of art. The Hara Museum, first built during the 1930s
as a personal residence, contains many unseen memories within its spaces. By containing theworks, such spaces are sure to add their own special appeal, while enhancing the impact of theworks themselves.
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Exhibition title: Art Scope 2009-2011: Invisible Memories
Dates: September 10 (Saturday) – December 11 (Sunday), 2011
*The exhibition has been extended by two weeks.
Place: Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, 4-7-25, Kitashinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 140-0001
Tel: 03-3445-0651 Fax: 03-3473-0104 E-mail: info@haramuseum.or.jp
Museum website: http://www.haramuseum.or.jp Mobile site: http://mobile.haramuseum.or.jp
http://www.art-it.asia/u/HaraMuseum/ (blog)
Twitter http://twitter.com/haramuseum (in Japanese only/ Account name: ＠haramuseum)
Organized by: Hara Museum of Contemporary Art and Daimler Foundation Japan
Under the auspices of: Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Japan
Supported by: Mercedes-Benz Japan Co., Ltd., Mercedes-Benz Finance Co., Ltd.
and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation
Cooperation provided by: Arts Initiative Tokyo [AIT]Curated by: Atsuo Yasuda [Hara Museum of Contemporary Art]
Participating artists: Meiro Koizumi, Hiroe Saeki, Eva Berendes, Jan Scharrelmann
Hours: 11:00 am-5:00 pm, Wednesdays except for November 23 until 8:00 pm (last entry 30 min.
before closing)
Closed: Mondays (except September 19 and October 10), September 20 and October 11
Admission: Regular 1,000 yen; Students 700 yen (high school & university) or 500 yen (elementary& junior high); Free for Hara Museum members, students through high school every Saturday during
the school terms. 100 yen discount per person for groups of 20 or more.
Directions: 5 minutes by taxi or 15 minutes on foot from JR Shinagawa Station (Takanawa exit); orfrom the same station take the No.96 bus, get off at the first stop (Gotenyama), and walk 3 minutes.
【Related Event】
Artist Talk: September 10 (Saturday), 2011, 2:30 – 4:30 pm(with consecutive Japanese/English interpretation)
Place: The Hall at the Hara Museum of Contemporary ArtReservations are required (requests accepted from August 23).
For reservations, contact: Tel: 03-3445-0669 or E-mail: info@haramuseum.or.jp
Fee: Regular 2,000 yen (includes museum admission), Museum members and up to 2 guests 1,000 yen
Speakers (scheduled): Meiro Koizumi, Hiroe Saeki, Eva Berendes, Jan Scharrelmann, Atsuo Yasuda(curator, Hara Museum of Contemporary Art)
【Participating artists】
Meiro Koizumi Born in Gunma Prefecture in 1976 and currently residing in Yokohama. A
participant in Aichi Triennale 2010 (Nayabashi site) and a frequent exhibitor at venues within Europe
and other overseas locations.
Hiroe Saeki Born in Osaka in 1978 and currently residing in Tokyo. The recipient of the 2006 VOCA
Encouragement Prize. Participated in Artist File 2008 - The NACT Annual Show of Contemporary Art(The National Art Center, Tokyo).
Eva Berendes Born in Bonn in 1974 and currently residing in Berlin. A frequent exhibitor in the US
and Europe, mainly in Germany.
Jan Scharrelmann Born in Cologne in 1975 and currently residing in Cologne. Has had many solo
and group exhibitions, mainly in Germany.

【Images for Publication】
Please use the following captions for the respective images.
Information related to material and size may be omitted in case of space limitations.
Please do not trim or alter the images. Putting text over the images is also prohibited.
Please contact us for additional images.
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[2]

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[Photo 1]
Hiroe Saeki, Untitled, 2011
pencil and acrylic on paper / 68.5 x 109.5 cm[4][Courtesy of Taka Ishii Gallery][Photo 2]
Meiro Koizumi, Portrait of a Young Samurai, 2009
two-channel video installation, 9 min 40 sec[Photo 3]
Eva Berendes, Untitled, 2010
silk, silk paint, steel, lacquer, magnets / 121 x 121 cm[Photo by Jens Ziehe. Courtesy Sommer & Kohl][Photo 4]
Jan Scharrelmann, Happy Hole I, 2011
epoxy resin, pigments, styrofoam / 250 x 120 x 110 cm[Photo by Achim Kukulies]【Source of press images for lending and publicity】
Arts Initiative Tokyo [AIT] Hida (hida@a-i-t.net), Shiomi (ozawa@a-i-t.net) Tel: 03-5489-7277【Inquiries regarding the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art】
Hara Museum of Contemporary Art Public Relations Watanabe, Kajita (press@haramuseum.or.jp)

Tel: 03-3280-0679

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