Tokyo Art Nights

Also this weekend, timed nicely (if not deliberately) to coincide with G-tokyo 2010 (see post) and the beginning of New Tokyo Contemporaries 3 (see post), is another event based on a fairly loose reading of the term “art fair.” Borrowing heavily from the art-fair-in-a-hotel model, the organizers of Mancy’s Tokyo Art Nights, to be held on Saturday, January 30 and the following day, describe the event as their first attempt to link contemporary art with upscale restauranty (yes, we did just make up that word). The upscale restaurant in question—if the name didn’t already give it away—is newly opened “luxury salon and cafe” Mancy’s Tokyo located in Azabu Juban, and the art is courtesy of nine contemporary galleries from Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea and China.

If the art isn’t enough to get you in the door, there are also promises of “fancy food and drinks”--our favorite kind--for the bargain price of 500 yen plus the chance to schmooze with artists and gallerists.

You can kick off your Saturday night at the opening reception, starting from 9 pm, or pop in for a look-see anytime between 4 pm and 12 midnight on Saturday or 12 noon and 9 pm on Sunday.

New Tokyo Contemporaries 3

Starting today and continuing on through to Sunday, February 21 is the all-singing, all-dancing* extravaganza formally known as New Tokyo Contemporaries 3. This “art month” of events spread across the city is organized around the theme of “contemporary culture and business” and features talks, films, workshops and -- yes, please! -- parties, along with special on-site exhibitions by the seven participating galleries plus a number of off-site collaborations between the galleries and various artists.

The stated aim of the event is to “foreground contemporary art as an essential part of everyday contemporary culture” and “represents a new phase of activity for NTC, which was founded with the goal of increasing opportunities for and interest in the exhibition and appreciation of contemporary art in Tokyo.” So there.

* No, not literally.

G-tokyo 2010 at Mori Arts Center Gallery

If you prefer to take your weekly or monthly art fix in one big dose but aren't so keen on the frenzied, shopping-mall-at-sale-time atmosphere that sometimes characterizes the big art fairs, biennials, triennials and whatever else they've come up with, G-tokyo may be just what you're looking for. This three-day event brings together 15 of Tokyo's top contemporary art galleries under one roof at the Mori Arts Center Gallery at Roppongi Hills, where they will exhibit "solo artist shows or curated projects." The stated aim of this first-time event is to offer "seasoned and beginning art collectors an extremely rare opportunity to experience the diversity of the Japanese contemporary art world."

Participating galleries include text tokyo favorites like Scai the Bathhouse and Wako Works of Art, but this time we're particularly looking forward to getting an eyeful of Neo Nihongan Akira Yamaguchi at the Mizuma Art Gallery booth and German artist Thomas Demand, presented by Taka Ishii Gallery.

The preview on Friday, January 29 is by invitation only, but the show will continue over the weekend  (11 am to 8 pm both Saturday and Sunday). Entry is 1000 yen. See you there!

Mori Art Museum curator to give talk at Tokyo Wonder Site

Mami Kataoka, the chief curator of the Mori Art Museum (and also the international curator at London's Hayward Gallery), will give a talk this Saturday, January 23 on the topic "Japanese Art Scene - it's transition in the past 20 years" at TWS Aoyama: Creator-in-Residence (located within the United Nations University on Aoyama Dori, see map). The talk is free and is scheduled to start at 2pm. Following the talk, guests will have the chance to explore the studio space and work in progress of the current cohort of artists-in-residence. No need to book, just show up!