IF180905A

September 5, 2018
Ishibashi Foundation

The Bridgestone Museum of Art will become the ARTIZON MUSEUM-January 2020 Marks the Opening of a New MuseumThe Ishibashi Foundation (president and concurrently director of the Bridgestone Museum ofArt, Ishibashi Hiroshi) is delighted to announce that the Bridgestone Museum of Art will change
its name. The new name will be ARTIZON MUSEUM, a combination of art and horizon ,effective July 2019.
The Bridgestone Museum of Art has been closed since May 2015 for the construction of newfacilities, and new museum ARTIZON MUSEUM

will reopen in January 2020.

The activities of the ARTIZON MUSEUM will evolve from those offered by the Bridgestone
Museum of Art in the past. The change in name represents our determination to chart a newcourse and realizes the Ishibashi Foundation s creed, 'For the welfare and happiness of all
mankind', demonstrating a strong will to become a new museum in both name and substance.

■ History
The founder of the Bridgestone Corporation and Ishibashi Foundation, Ishibashi Shojiro,
began collecting Japanese Western-style paintings by the artists such as Aoki Shigeru andFujishima Takeji, during the prewar years, then after the war he set about becoming a serious
collector of the Impressionist and other French paintings that had provided models forWestern-style artists in Japan to study. Shojiro was an entrepreneur, but was also famous as oneof Japan s leading art collectors, building a vast collection of Western-style paintings by
Japanese and Western artists. He felt that, Rather than treasure the collection on my own,
I want to create a museum to allow it to be seen by as many people as possible, devoting myself
to cultural progress.' This resulted in the establishment of the Bridgestone Museum of Art thatwas opened to the public in 1952 on the second ﬂoor of the Bridgestone Building in theKyobashi district of Tokyo. This was before the establishment of the National Museum ofWestern Art and at the time it was the only art museum in Tokyo presenting a permanent
exhibition of French art.

Bridgestone Museum of Art, Ishibashi Foundation
Ofﬁce: 7F, Ginza 1-chome East Bldg., 1-19-7, Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061, Japan
Tel. ＋81 3 3563 0241 Fax ＋81 3 3561 2130 www.bridgestone-museum.gr.jp

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In 1956, he established the Ishibashi Foundation, which has inherited Shojiro s dream andcontinues to manage the Art Museum to this day. In 2012, the government recognized thepublic beneﬁt of the foundation and designated it a Public Interest Incorporated Foundation .
The ﬁrst special exhibition to be held by the Bridgestone Art Museum was entitled
Contemporary World Art (1957) and ever since it has also worked actively to present exhibitionsof the latest art. In 1962, an exhibition of the Ishibashi Collection was held at the Musée nationald'art moderne in Paris to wide acclaim. In recent years it has introduced artists who werehitherto unknown in Japan and held exhibitions pioneering new ﬁelds, including: Zao Wou-ki(2004), Prism: Contemporary Australian Art (2006), Debussy, Music and the Arts with the Muséed Orsay (2012), Gustave Caillebotte (2013), etc. Even after the museum closed for reconstruction
in 2015, it organized Tokyo—Paris Masterpieces from the Bridgestone Museum of Art in Tokyo—
Ishibashi Foundation Collection Exhibition at the Musée de l Orangerie (co-organized with theMusée d Orsay and the Musée de l Orangerie, 2017); this was the ﬁrst exhibition of themuseum s collection in France since 1962 and was extremely well received.
The new museum aims to continue its traditions that have continued for over 65 years, while
expanding its scope to include antique art works, modern Japanese Western-style paintings,
the Impressionists, 20th century art, and contemporary art, aiming to carry out museum
activities to create a future for art .

■ New Museum Concept

Experiencing Creativity ̶ From Collection to Creation
The concept of the Artizon Museum is Experiencing Creativity . It will be a place dedicated not
only to the appreciation of art works, but will also keep providing a venue for the experienceand support of creativity from past, present and in future.

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■ New Museum
The Artizon Museum will be located at the lower section (1F ‒ 6F) of the 23-story MuseumTower Kyobashi that will be completed in July 2019. The galleries will comprise of 3 ﬂoors,from the 4th to the 6th, an area approximately twice of that of the old museum with the latest
lighting and air-conditioning equipment, and will include a gallery for the display of traditional
Japanese art. Catering for contemporary art, the ceilings are approximately 4.2m in height andthe exhibition ﬂoor space per ﬂoor is approximately 700㎡ . Every effort will be made tohighlight the full attraction of the works and allow visitors to enjoy them in the greatest
comfort.

6th Floor Exhibition Gallery (image)

New Antique Artwork Gallery (image)Museum Tower Kyobashi ,to be completed in July 2019
©NIKKEN
Artizon Museum (image)* All drawings produced during the planning stage. Later changes may occur.

3 of 6■ New Museum Name

ARTIZON MUSEUM
When the Bridgestone Museum of Art ﬁrst opened in 1952 to display the Ishibashi collection tothe public, it undertook the task of introducing a wide range of current art. The new museum
aims to provide an overview of art, both past and present, offering a hint of the dreams andfuture of art, while offering a venue where people can feel the quickening of creativity.
• Date of Name Change: July 1, 2019 (provisional)■ Why Change the Name Now?
A name change for the museum was ﬁrst considered approximately 40 years ago. It wasdecided that with the construction of the new building, this would be a good opportunity forthe museum and its activities to make a fresh start in 2020.

1.Location：

The museum s entrance will move from its present location on Yaesu-dori
to Ginza Chuo-dori, imbuing it with a new sense of presence.

2. Scale：

The exhibition galleries will cover three ﬂoors from the 4th to 6th, offering
approximately twice the existing ﬂoor space. This will make it possible to holdlarge, special exhibitions concurrently with collection exhibitions.

3.Collection:

The core of the Ishibashi Foundation collection consists of 19th century
Impressionist paintings from France, 20th century Western art, JapaneseWestern-style paintings, a ﬁeld that developed from Meiji period on inresponse of Western art, and post World War II abstract paintings. We will
expand on the present collection, which consists largely of the Impressionist
works, to include antique art, Japanese modern art, 20th century art andcontemporary art.

The museum was renamed Artizon Museum , to reﬂect the four principles upon which it isbased: Diversity, Innovation, Openness and Globalization.

4 of 6■ OVER 10% of the Works in the Opening Exhibition will be New Acquisitions
Based on the original collection belonging to Ishibashi Shojiro, the museum continues toacquire works from a wide range of genres extending from antique artworks to contemporaryart. The opening exhibition will utilize the galleries on all 3 ﬂoors, presenting approximately 200
works carefully selected from the Ishibashi Foundation s collection of 2,800. New acquisitions
for the collection will account for more than 10% of the exhibits.
In addition, from April 2020, we plan to hold the homecoming exhibition of the Japanese
exhibit for the 58th Venice Biennale, Cosmo Eggs (curator: Hattori Hiroyuki).

Examples of New Acquisitions

Left: Mary Cassatt, The Sun Bath (After the Bath), 1901, oil on canvas, 74.0 x 93.0 cm
Center: Alberto Giacometti, Yanaihara, 1958, oil on canvas, 92.0 x 73.0 cm
Right: Gino Severini, Trombone Player (Player on the Street), c.1916, oil on canvas, 71.4 x 38.1 cm■ For further information
Bridgestone Museum of Art, Communications Dept.
7F, Ginza 1-chome East Bldg., 1-19-7 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104‒0061, Japan
Tel.: ＋81 3 3563 0241 Fax ＋81 3 3561 2130
E-mail: publicity@bridgestone-museum.gr.jp

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The Ishibashi Foundation
The Ishibashi Foundation was established in 1956 by theoutstanding entrepreneur, Ishibashi Shojiro, who involved
himself in numerous cultural enterprises. It has two main
activities: management of the Bridgestone Museum of Art andproviding grants for art, culture and educational activities.
In April, 2012 the public beneﬁt of the foundation was recognizedby the Prime Minister s ofﬁce and it was designated a Public
Interest Incorporated Foundation. Its creed is: For the welfare
and happiness of all mankind.'

The Bridgestone Museum of Art
It was in 1952, that Ishibashi Shojiro, founder of the Bridgestone
Corporation ﬁrst opened an art museum in the newly built
Bridgestone Building in order to exhibit his private collection. In
1956, the Ishibashi Foundation was established, and in 1961,
almost all the works in the Ishibashi collection were donated tothe Foundation, forming the nucleus of the present permanentcollection.
Ever since it was established, the Bridgestone Museum of Art hascontinued to acquire new works for its collection to make it morecomprehensive, while also holding themed exhibitions, lectures,various other educational programs and publishing books.

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