2024.5.5

Next exhibition

UMETSU Yoichi ｜Exhibition Maker
May 12 (Sun.) – August 4 (Sun.), 2024
Closed on Mondays (open on Jul. 15)

Opening Hours 11:00‒19:00

Admission Fee: Adults 1,500 yen / Pair discount 2,600 yen / Student (high school to 25 years), Seniors (70 years and over),
Visitors with disabilities, their caregiver (up to 1) with ID 1,300 yen / Children (elementary to junior high) 500 yen *Ticket withsignature is valid throughout the exhibition period with ID.
Organization / Venue: WATARI-UM, The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art
3-7-6, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001 Tel：03-3402-3001 Fax：03-3405-7714
Email：oﬃcial@watarium.co.jp URL：http://www.watarium.co.jp
Cooperation: Kawara Printmaking Laboratory, Inc. / Kanda & Oliveira / SCAI THE BATHHOUSE / ASADA Gen / ANDO Yumi

Artists
Artists from our Collection

Guest Artiists

KANEKO Mitsuharu+NAKABAYASHI Tadayoshi

TAKAMATSU Yoku / UMEZAWA Kazuo

Rolf ESCHER / INOKUMA Genichiro / TAKIGUCHI Shuzo

UMEZAWA Kazuki / ASADA Hiroshi

Hans ERNI / HORIUCHI Masakazu / FURUSAWA Iwami

TSUJI Motoko / TSUKUDA Hiroki

KATSURA Yuki / SHINODA Toko / KOMAI Tetsuro

FUKAYA Etsuko / SUZUKI Takako

YOSHIDA Hodaka / TAN-AMI Niwako /HOSHIKAWA Asako / SATO Eriko

Paul WUNDERLICH / Otto PIENE / Horst JANSSEN / Ay-O

YAMASAKI Yui / Ikitsugi

R.B.KITAJ / SANO Nui / UNO Aquirax

TSUCHIYA Nobuko

NAKANISHI Natsuyuki / YAMANOBE Yoshio
Alighiero BOETTI / HITSUDA Nobuya / IDA Shoichi
AKAI Fujio / HAGIWARA Sakumi / ANDO Nana
HAMAMURA Hiroshi / KAWASHIMA Junji

UMETSU Yoichi

Making exhibitions
A vast number of exhibitions continue to be held every day. Everyone is desperate to assert
their "uniqueness" and to differentiate themselves. Immediacy and topicality are always indemand. Unfortunately, however, many of these activities are consumed and forgotten as leveled content on the existing infrastructure. Such a cycle is becoming fixed. Of course, as an
artist myself, I continue to struggle in this vortex.
At the risk of sounding too frank, the only way to break out of this vicious cycle may be tostart over from the perhaps overly simplistic question of what it means to "create an artwork"or "make an exhibition."
This exhibition is centered on the unknown collection from the days of Gallerie Watari, thepredecessor of WATARI-UM, The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art. WATARI-UM has
always been filled with the atmosphere of art before it was institutionalized. This could be described as "Pre-ART."
By the way, it has been a long time since the term "curation" came to be used to describe theprocess of planning an exhibition. However, I also feel that the term "curation" has recently
come to prescribe and constrain the methods and the compromise of exhibition creation.
Therefore, in this exhibition, I would like to return to the spirit of an "exhibition maker" rather
than an artist curator. I would like to encounter once again exhibitions that I, as a spectatorof art, would like to see.
I will be happy if this exhibition will be a good encounter between the works and, above all,between "you" and this exhibition.

UMETSU Yoichi

UMETSU Yoichi, Crystal Palace, 2023
Ink, watercolor, acrylic, oil paint on paper photo: Yuji Imamura

UMETSU Yoichi, Transcription of dreams, 2024, Giclee print and etching

UMETSU Yoichi

1982- JapanUMETSU Yoichi, Four full moons and one half moon,
2023, Etching

Born in Yamagata Prefecture in 1982. Artist and director of parplume. Major solo exhibitions include “APMoA Project, ARCH vol. 20 Umetsu
Yoichi,” (Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, 2017), “Yoichi Umetsu: Pollinator,” (WATARI-UM, The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, 2021) and“Crystal Palace” (The National Museum of Art, Osaka, 2024). Major group exhibitions include "Parplume University and Yoichi Umetsu,”(WATARI-UM, The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, 2017) and “Does the Future Sleep Here? ̶̶Revisiting the museumʼs response tocontemporary art after 65 years,” (The National Museum of Western Art, 2024). His major exhibition organizations include "Full Frontal, Naked
Circulator, curated by Yoichi Umetsu," (Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store, 6F Contemporary Gallery, 2020). Notable publications include “FromLamb to Mutton” (Art Diver, 2015) and “Yoichi Umetsu | Pollinator” (Bijutsu Shuppan-sha, 2023). He supervised the special feature “How to See
Paintings” for the December 2020 issue of Bijutsu Techo.

Artists from our Collection
FURUSAWA Iwami
1912-2000 Japan
A pioneer of surrealism and avantgarde art, he was known as the “Japanese Dali”. He continued to depict theatrocities and absurdities of war while
painting a series of myths and nudes
based on the Kojiki (Records ofAncient Matters).
B.Hermaphrodite from portfolio Nest of
Poem by KANEKO Mitsuharu and Etching by NAKABAYASHI Tadayoshi,
Collection of etchings "Admired poem of great decay," 1975

KANEKO Mitsuharu

NAKABAYASHI Tadayoshi

1895-1975 Japan

1937- Japan

Demons-Fantasies on Paris, 1963, Etching

KATSURA Yuki
1913-1991 Japan
A pioneering female artist who bridged thePoet. In 1923, he published his first

Deeply inspired by the poet KANEKO

pre- and post-war periods. She began tocollection of poems, “Kogane Mushi”,
which drew attention for its glowing

Mitsuharu's words, “Nothing is incor-

create innovative collages using cork and cloth,

portrayal of a young, arrogant youth.

philosophy of his own work, and always

He analyzed the nation and the masses

emphasized the process of corrosion of
the copperplate in his production. He
depicts the antagonism and harmony of
opposites such as black and white, lightwith a cool head and consistently left
behind many anti-authority and antiwar poems.

ruptible,” which he has adopted thewhich attracted the attention of artists such as
TAKIGUCHI Shuzo and FUJITA Tsuguharu
before WWII. After the war, she developed her
own unique allegorical expression.

and shadow, and life and death.

In front of the sea, around 1974, Watercolor on paper

INOKUMA Genichiro

SHINODA Toko

1902-1993 Japan

1913-2021 JapanIn 1938, he moved to France to study under
Henri Matisse, and from 1955, he lived andAfter studying calligraphy almost entirely on
her own, she moved to the U.S. in 1956. In NY,

worked in NY for about 20 years, where hiswhere abstract painting was at its height, she

style changed dramatically from figurative toabstract. While pursuing the expression ofexperimented with a new form of Indian ink

painting, he also believed that art should be
open to all people, and developed a variety ofthat was not limited to letters. Even after
reaching the age of 100, she continued tocreate abstract works in Indian ink.

activities, including public art and design.
ARRIVED WIND 'C, 1975, Hand colored
Park, around 1968-70, Silk screen

on lithograph

TAKIGUCHI Shuzo

KOMAI Tetsuro

1903-1979 Japan

1920-1976 Japan

Art critic and poet. As a theoretical

Known as a pioneer of etching in Japan. He

pillar of Japanese surrealism, he was acontinued to make etchings throughout his life,

close friend of artists in Japan andexpressing his inner self, illusions, andabroad. In 1958, he represented Japan
at the Venice Biennale and served on

dreams, and won international acclaim at thefirst Sao Paulo Biennial in 1951. He also participated in the Experimental Studio, a compre-

the jury, after which he began experimenting with figurative art in earnest.

hensive art group led by TAKIGUCHI Shuzo,
and had many interactions with literary figures.

Decalcomania No.27, 1971,
Decalcomania, gouache

A labyrinth of time, 1952, Aquatint

Hans ERNIYOSHIDA Hodaka

1909-2015 Switzerland

1926-1995 Japan

Influenced by Picasso and other Cubists, he

In 1955, he traveled to Latin America andwas impressed by the ruins of the Mayan

began to paint abstract paintings and created
his own style, using organic line drawings thatmix figurative and abstract elements. He is

civilization, which led him to create abstract
prints inspired by primitive art. His pioneering work, combining techniques such asalso known for his posters for the Red Cross
and the International Olympic Committee, as
well as the mural for the 1939 Swiss Expo.

woodblock, silkscreen, and photogravure,

Artist and model with dog, 1969,

Morning of Paco and friends, 1968, Print

made him an internationally renowned artist.

Etching

HORIUCHI Masakazu

TAN-AMI Niwako

1911-2001 Japan

1927-

Known as a pioneer of abstract sculpture in
Japan. Interested in abstract sculpture since

She has been making mezzotint etchings formore than 50 years, since about 1960. She has

childhood, he consciously incorporated theshapes and tactile sensations of the world

created many works using familiar objects as
motifs. As she says, "I always try to keep my mindaround him in his pursuit of intelligent yet
humorous abstract forms. His work has

at peace, but I naturally engrave emotional

been widely introduced abroad.

Japanswings in my work," and she has drawn down
daily moments, such as the expressions of theseasons and events that occur to her in prints.

Belly button energy, year unknown,
Silk screen print and pencil on paper

Flower1, around 1973, Etching

Paul WUNDERLICH

UNO Aquirax

1927-2010 Germany

1934- Japan

Influenced by surrealism, he produced

A leading Japanese illustrator and graphic

paintings and sculptures characterized bydesigner. After going independent in the 1960s,

sexual imagery, mythological influences,and fantastic, floating forms. He established his reputation as one of the mosthe has worked extensively on posters forimportant members of the Magic Realism
circle and was active internationally,TERAYAMA Shuji's "Tenjō Sajiki," illustrations for
picture books and children's books, animatedfilms, paintings, stage designs, etc. He is widely
recognized for his brilliant and aesthetic style.

participating in Documenta 3 in 1964.
Footfish gold plated, 1973, Bronze

Cover illustration for "Picture book: Tales from the
Arabian Nights" (text: TERAYAMA Shuji, illustration:
UNO Aquirax), around 1969, Ink and collage on paper

Otto PIENE

NAKANISHI Natsuyuki

1928-2014 USA

1935-2016 JapanIn 1957, he founded the artist group ZERO,
which published a journal and organized aFounded the "Hi-Red Center" in 1963 together

series of one-day night exhibitions, creating

He was friends with Butoh dancer HIJIKATA

with TAKAMATSU Jiro and AKASEGAWA Genpei.

an international network among artists. He

Tatsumi and surrealist artists such as TAKIGU-

created works using light and movement

CHI Shuzo, and was involved in stage design.
Around 1964, he returned to painting, deepening
his contemplation of the concept of painting itself
and expressing his tension with space.

and is considered as one of the pioneers ofmedia art.
Little Pigments – Fire Gouache, 1962,
Pigments and fire gouache on painted paper

Study for “arc – Tangent Arc,” 1979, Pencil on paper

Horst JANSSEN

Rolf ESCHER

1929-1995 Germany

1936-

Kept his distance from international trends andAfter studying art and linguistics, he has
worked primarily in the field of printmaking.

produced works in the vein of German Romanticism. He painted deformed self-portraits, human

Germany

He presents calm and skillful depictions of

figures, still lifes, and landscapes on dark
screens with great precision. Strongly influenced

empty rooms and abandoned libraries, narrat-

by ukiyo-e artists, he called himself a “painting

sense of loneliness caused by the passage of

fanatic” after KATSUSHIKA Hokusai.

time, insects and skeletons that have replaced

Self – to Frogland from the portfolio “Frogland,”ing events in past spaces. While props create ahumans appear in a humorous way.

1972, Etching

The lobster, 1972, Etching

Ay-O

YAMANOBE Yoshio

1931- Japan

1936-2016 Japan

Moved to NY in 1958 and joined Fluxus. He

He studied painting at university, but decided to
study printmaking at graduate school in orderdeveloped groundbreaking works that appealed
to the sense of touch and "environments" thatincorporated the surrounding environment. His
work evolved into a spectrum of rainbow colors
covering various motifs. He uses a variety offormats, including painting, printmaking,sculpture, and installation.

to "create without looking" instead of looking at
a model, and became fascinated with copperplate engraving under the guidance of KOMAI
Tetsuro. He received high acclaim for the soft
light and dark techniques of aquatint.
A picture in the landscape -WORK NO3-,

Rainbow, 1979, Silk screen

1979, Etching, aquatint

R.B.KITAJ

Alighiero BOETTI

R.B.KITAJ

1932-2007

USA

1940-1994 Italy

After studying art in NY and Vienna, heParticipated in the Arte Povera, an avant-

moved to England, where he became agarde movement that began in Italy in the
1960s. He is known for his paintings done withballpoint pens, works done with friends andacquaintances who are not artists, and otherleading figure in British Pop Art in the
1960s. His work consistently questions
what it means to be figurative and painterly. Many of his works are influenced byworks that take the dignity out of art by using

Jewish artists such as Walter Benjaminsimple materials and techniques.

and historical narratives.
Airplanes, 1981, Ballpoint pen on three
Outlying London Districts (2), 1971, Silk screen

sheets of printed paper on paper on canvas

SANO Nui

HITSUDA Nobuya

1932-2023

Japan

1941- Japan

Since the 1950s, she has created many

He spent his childhood on the slopes and open

paintings with blue as the base color,

spaces along the banks of the Tama River andcontinued to observe the changing landscapeearning her the nickname "Sano Blue" or"Painter of Blue.” To blue as a base color,she adds nuanced brushstrokes and otherof Tokyo during the period of rapid economic
growth. He has fragmented and recombined
familiar objects and nostalgic landscapes intocolors such as red, white, yellow, andblack, creating movement and rhythm in

new images that lie somewhere between

her paintings.

figuration and abstraction.

Blue Wind, 1973, Acrylic on canvas

Weathering, 1975, Oil paint on canvas

Guest Artists
IDA Shoichi

TAKAMATSU Yoku

1941-2006

1945-2017 JapanJapan

He lived in Paris and NY in 1969-1970 andencountered conceptual art and John Cage.
Developed experimental work that explored thelimits of printmaking. He believed that printmaking is a relationship between print and paper,and that everything is the surface that resultsfrom contact and encounters with other people.

After working for an advertising company andas a freelance designer, TAKAMATSU calls
himself a surrealist artist. This year, whichmarks the centenary of the publication of
André Breton's Surrealist Manifesto, is also ayear for rethinking surrealism. TAKAMATSU
has re-illustrated the typical surrealist image
with more fervor than the artists of the time.

Paper Between Inked Stain and Brushed
Stain, 1980, Lithograph, silk screen

Cruise under the moon, 2015, Acrylic on board

AKAI Fujio

UMEZAWA Kazuo

1945- Japan

1952- Japan

Born in Sumatra, Indonesia, and raised in

While a student at the Tokyo University of theJapan, he studied with Joseph BEUYS at theArts, he was influenced by Philip MORITZ,
HASEGAWA Kiyoshi, and KOMAI Tetsuro, etc. His

Kunsthochschule Düsseldorf, Germany, from1964. He is highly regarded as a standardbearer of the New Abstract movement for his
drawings, which are characterized by vibrantcolors and graceful forms.

mezzotint gradations are extremely delicate. His
skill was fully utilized at Print House OM, where
he worked as a craftsman. He is the embodiment of both an artist and a craftsman. He is also
the father of UMEZAWA Kazuki.

Landscape of colors, 1983, Water painting
Crash landing-4, 1976, Etching

HAGIWARA Sakumi

UMEZAWA Kazuki

1946- Japan

1985- Japan

A filmmaker, director and essayist. He

As a core member of CHAOS*LOUNGE, it is
no exaggeration to say that UMEZAWA's
work, which brought the Internet and character representation into contemporary art, wasan icon of the 2000s-2010s. For this exhibition,
UMEZAWA will show a new work thatincorporates the context of another of his
roots, the history of Japanese printmaking.

participated in the founding of TERAYAMA Shujiʼstheater laboratory "Tenjō Sajiki" in 1967. His role
as a beautiful boy in "La Marie-Vision" was a great
success. He works in a variety of media, including
printmaking, photography, and video, and his
works incorporate "time" in the form of memories, dreams, and changes in the subject matter.

Lavos, 2009, Digital print on aluminum plywood panel,Pen, 1977, Print

acrylic, pencil, colored pencil, pen, glitters, crayon, etc.

ANDO Nana

ASADA Hiroshi

1948- Japan

1953-1997 Japan

Printmaker. She creates silkscreen

Although his early work was devoted to informalism,

works with motifs of photographic

a trip to Europe led him to switch from an abstract
styletoasurrealistapproachtofigurativepainting.His
worksarefullofskillfultrompel'oeilanddepictionsof

houseplants and cityscapes. The
delicate gradations and rhythms of thesilkscreens free the viewer's eye fromsupernatural phenomena. The true value of his

the familiarity of order and direct it toworks may lie in his science fictional imagination,a new space.

which cannot be reduced to the categories of art

Work B-7, 1981, Silk screen

history.
The prodigal's return (for triptychs), 1988, oilpaint on canvas

HAMAMURA Hiroshi

TSUJI Motoko

1948-2021 Japan1973-

Painter. He began working in the 1980s

Influenced by her teacher, NAKABAYASHI
Tadayoshi, she currently works with Kawara
Printmaking Laboratory. She creates images by

on a series of large-scale paintings
entitled "Nagasaki-Ko" on the theme of
his hometown, Nagasaki, and theJapanapplying various textures unique to printmaking toprayer for the atomic bombing. His oil

seemingly insignificant subjects such as plants

paintings are characterized by theirand vessels. It is an orthodox method of printmak-

detailed depiction and vivid colors.

ing, but because of this, there are few opportunities to examine the true nature of her work.

Summer, year unknown, Oil paint on canvas
One dayʼs gift I, 2013, Etching, giclee

KAWASHIMA Junji

TSUKUDA Hiroki

1957- Japan

1978-

Hailed as the standard-bearer of a newstyle of Japanese painting. His workcolorful, pop expressions.

He uses both high culture and subculture as
resources for his works. His works are rooted
in video games, novels, comics, and thescience fictional imagination. He is also
influenced by André Breton, and it could besaid that he continues to update his surrealist
imagination. It is both his personal history andour own vision of the future.

Cosmic flower, 1988, Gold leaf andmineral pigments

and pencil on paper, wood panel, withencompasses everything from Rinpa
school and Pop Art to Jungian psychology
and Celtic culture, continuing the traditionof Japanese painting while incorporating

Japan

Equinox, 2024, Charcoal, acrylic ink
silkscreen printed acrylic frame

FUKAYA Etsuko

TSUCHIYA Nobuko

1981-

1972-

Japan

FUKAYA is known for her etchings, that depict
the abyssal world of wriggling flora and fauna
in minute detail, and copperplate engraving isquite compatible with such subjects andforms. FUKAYA has mainly exhibited in theworld of “contemporary art,” but if she differsfrom the many “super-technicians” on the
figurative level, what is the difference?

Japan

She selects and collects scrap wood that is nolonger useful as the surplus of various industries
based on her own value judgment. She reorganizes them as the vocabulary for her own
expression. In other words, her works can be
described as coming and going between“making” and “finding.” There is no room forliterary poetic sentiment, and a civilized orderdifferent from ours has been constructed.

Untitled, 2005, Etching
11th Dimension Project, 2011, mixedmedia

SUZUKI Takako
1984-

Japan

SUZUKI's paintings often feature anonymous girls with outstretched arms, legs,
and necks. The elements are scatteredin a disorderly manner, as if a toy box
were turned upside down on a picnic
blanket. She has participated intermittently from Geisai #3 to #19.
Dropping with a twinkle, 2023, Acrylic
on canvas

HOSHIKAWA Asako
1984-

Japan

HOSHIKAWA creates a wide range ofworks, including bulging diaries withcollage, paintings, paintings, and fabrics
such as Spirit of Mushrooms. Amongthem, her paintings, which are createdby converting alcohol into motive force,are reminiscent of HASEGAWA Toshiyuki's work in the past.
Patients, 2020, mixedmedia

SATO Eriko
1985-

Japan

The lightness of pastel paintings that do
not feel like prints. Having studied textile
and printmaking, SATO's work shows awill to deviate from so-called “prints”.
Like the Arts and Crafts movement,
SATO's prints and patterns will continue
to develop in everyday life.
Floating, 2023, Waterless lithograph

YAMASAKI Yui
1987-

Japan

Her monotonish works often depict familiar
communities, such as schoolmates and family, inthe form of paintings on silk. Her use of katabokashi (one side blurring) reveals a hierarchicalstructure more akin to a stage set than to
traditional Japanese painting. She attempts to
examine the distance between the individual andthe group through the use of pictorial space.
Soka (vegetables and fruits), 2023, Painting on silk

Ikitsugi
2001-

Japan

For now, we can say that Ikitsugiʼs works are in
the vein of “character painting” in the narrow
sense of the term. A compromise between
character design and the realization of pictorial
intensity. Specifically, it is an extension of thework of the artists like KUDO Makiko, FUKUSHI
Chihiro, and ob. Ikitsugi is also actively involved
in independent projects and publishing zines.
I want to know first and foremost that I cannot touch
faraway, 2023, oil paint, pastel and color pencil oncanvas

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