News Release
ATZ230704_E_E

July 4, 2023
Artizon Museum, Ishibashi Foundation

Jam Session: The Ishibashi Foundation Collection x Yamaguchi Akira

Drawn to the Irresistible Sensation
September 9 [Sat.] - November 19 [Sun.], 2023

YAMAGUCHI Akira, Raigo, 2015, Collection of the artist©YAMAGUCHI Akira, Courtesy of Mizuma Art Gallery

The Artizon Museum, Ishibashi Foundation (Director: Ishibashi Hiroshi) is pleased toannounce Ishibashi Collection x Yamaguchi Akira: Drawn to the Irresistible Sensation, ourfourth Jam Session, an exhibition consisting of a joint performance of works from theIshibashi Foundation Collection and new works by a contemporary artist.
Contact with the modern—and even more so with modern painting—had anadverse influence on Japan. Modern painting in Western Europe was a reaction
against realistic and academic painting, an attempt to recover its essential
nature. But what about modern art as introduced to Japan, which had nohistory of realistic or academic painting?
Yamaguchi Akira (b. 1969) responded with that statement to the Ishibashi Foundation
Collection, which includes modern paintings by both Japanese and Western artists. In thisJam Session, we invite you to observe Yamaguchi Akira questioning what "modern," a"Japanese-style code," and "the essence of Japan" mean as he tries to break away from thehistory and art systems imposed by society, driven by a sensation he finds irresistible.
1/4

Exhibition Highlights
1. A Yamaguchi-style Session
While addressing modern painting in Japan, Yamaguchi has chosen for this Jam Session towork with Sesshu’s Landscape of the Four Seasons and Cézanne’s Mont Sainte-Victoire andChâteau Noir. Visitors should look forward to a Sesshu-based installation and a freeexploration aimed at a deeper understanding of Cézanne.

2. First Public Showing of the Original Paintings for Much-Discussed Works
Tokyo Landscapes, the background for the opening titles for the 2019 NHK historical drama
series IDATEN The Epic Marathon to Tokyo, and View of Flourishing South End Nihonbashi, theoriginal of the public art for the Tokyo Metro Nihombashi Station revealed in July 2021, will
be on public display for the first time.

3. Multiple Installations
Whether we look at Yamaguchi’s works, look at Sesshu or Cézanne, or turn our gaze tomodern painting in Japan, what we see depends on visual recognition. Here we are asked tobecome conscious of how we recognize what we see. In this group of installations, we share
Yamaguchi’s experience of this process.

YAMAGUCHI Akira
Born in Tokyo in 1969. Raised in Kiryu City in Gunma Prefecture. Completed
the Master’s Program in oil painting at Tokyo University of the Arts in 1996.
In 2013 his Hen na Nihon Bijutsushi (Strange History of Japanese Art) won the12th Kobayashi Hideo Award. A distinctive feature of his work is the use ofoil painting to reproduce traditional styles of Japanese painting. Since then,Yamaguchi has embraced many forms of creative expression, including
painting, sculpture, manga, and installations. His work has been shown
numerous times in exhibitions both in Japan and abroad. His works include
public art for the Tokyo Metro Nihombashi Station and the official art poster
Photo: SOGABE Yohei

for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

Works on Display

部分図
YAMAGUCHI Akira, Tokyo Landscapes, 2018-2023, Collection of the artist©YAMAGUCHI Akira, Courtesy of Mizuma Art Gallery
On the right are two details.

2/4

YAMAGUCHI Akira, View of Flourishing South End Nihonbashi,2021-2023, Collection of the artist©YAMAGUCHI Akira, Courtesy of Mizuma Art Gallery
On the lower right are two details.

YAMAGUCHI Akira, Distant View of the Zenkoji
Gokaicho, 2022-2023, Zenkoji
Photography by MURAYAMA Masatoshi©YAMAGUCHI Akira, Courtesy of Mizuma ArtGallery
On the right is a detail.

YAMAGUCHI Akira, Graffiti Today (detail), 2021, Collection ofthe artist©YAMAGUCHI Akira, Courtesy of Mizuma Art Gallery

SESSHU, Landscape of the Four Seasons, Muromachi period, 15th century,
Artizon Museum, Ishibashi FoundationPaul CÉZANNE, Mont Sainte-Victoire andChâteau Noir, c. 1904-06
Artizon Museum, Ishibashi Foundation

3/4

Exhibition Overview
Exhibition title:
Organized byVenue:
Exhibition period:
Opening hours:
Closed:Admission (incl. tax):

Curator:

Jam Session: The Ishibashi Foundation Collection x Yamaguchi Akira
Drawn to the Irresistible Sensation
Artizon Museum, Ishibashi Foundation
Artizon Museum, 6F Gallery
September 9 [Sat.] - November 19 [Sun.], 2023
10:00 - 18:00 (until 20:00 on Fridays except November 3)*Last entry 30 minutes before closing.
Mondays (except September 18, October 9), September 19, October 10
Timed entry system(Online booking starts from July 7, 2023)
Online ticket: 1,200 yen
In-Person ticket (on sale at museum): 1,500 yen
Students: Free entry (Advance online booking required.)*In-Person tickets are available only for time slots that have not reachedfull capacity.
*Advance booking is not required for children up to junior high school age.
*This admission fee gives the visitor access to all concurrent exhibitions.
HEIMA Rika

Concurrent Exhibitions
From the Scene of Creation ―Artists’ Archives in Films and Photographs （5F Gallery）
Selections from the Ishibashi Foundation Collection
Special Section Women Reading（4F Gallery）
Artizon Museum
1-7-2 Kyobashi Chuo-ku Tokyo 104-0031 Japan
Tel. Domestic: 050-5541-8600 International: +81 47-316-2772 (Hello Dial)
https://www.artizon.museum/en/
Directions: 5 minutes on foot from JR Tokyo Station (Yaesu Central Exit); Tokyo Metro Ginza Line Kyobashi
Station (No.6, 7 Exit); Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, Tozai Line, Toei Asakusa Line Nihombashi Station (B1 Exit)

Images for Press Use
If using only one image, choose one from Page1.
Include image credits as provided. Do NOT trim images or overlay them with text.
*If using a detail, please add (detail) after the title of the work.
! Please download images from the site below.
Download images for press use here: https://www.artpr.jp/artizon/yamaguchiakira2023
For inquiries about this press release:
Artizon Museum Public Relations GroupE-mail: publicity@artizon.jp TEL: +81 3-6263-0132(Direct)
1-7-2 Kyobashi Chuo-ku Tokyo 104-0031

4/4