CURRENT & UPCOMING

Japan Contemporaries Series 8 | Juried Open Call
STEPPING INTO A WORLD III
Curated by Motoichi Adachi and Kyoko Sato

「Stepping Into A World III」展は、エミー賞放送作家の安達元一と在ニューヨークで日本文化の紹介で知られるキュレーターの佐藤恭子が手を組んだ展覧会シリーズの第8弾で、公募して審査を通過したアーティストの作品を展示します。本シリーズでは、ジャンルや経歴にとらわれずに興味深い作品を制作し日本で活躍している39名のアーティストを、世界最先端のアートシーンに取り込んで、ニューヨークを拠点に世界で活動するフロントランナーたちをゲスト展示し、効果的に交流をし互いに刺激を与え合います。しかも今回は、2会場で拡大開催し、さらにもっともカジュアルなジャパン・コンテンポラリーズ（シリーズ9、ギャラリー60）も同時開催し、夏のニューヨークに日本美術旋風を起こします。

公募の審査員は、レス・ジョーンズ博士（コロンビア大学リサーチ・スカラー、キュレーター）徳光健治（タグボート代表）、花田淳（銀座花田美術代表）、安達元一（エミー賞放送作家）、佐藤恭子（NYキュレーター）が務めました。

This juried open call exhibition, "Stepping Into A World III," is the eighth installment in a series of shows that aims to collaborate with Emmy Award-winning writer Motoichi Adachi and Kyoko Sato, a renowned curator based in New York known for her expertise in Japanese culture. The overarching goal of this series is to showcase the talent of 39 Japanese and 8 New York-based global artists who produce captivating works across various genres and backgrounds, while integrating them into the forefront of the global art scene. By facilitating meaningful interactions and inspiration exchanges between these Japanese artists and leading figures in New York's artistic community, as well as those working internationally, the series aims to foster a dynamic and impactful artistic dialogue. Moreover, this time, the exhibition is expanded to two venues. Additionally, the most recent Japan Contemporaries (Series 9, Gallery 60) will be held simultaneously, creating a whirlwind of Japanese art in summer New York.

The jurors were Dr. Les Joynes (Research Scholar and Curator, Columbia University), Kenji Tokumitsu (President, Gallery Tagboat), Jun Hanada (President, Ginza Hanada Art), Motoichi Adachi (Emmy Award winning writer) and Kyoko Sato (NY Curator). We will exhibit the selected Japanese artists along with a few New York front runner artists.

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"I cut through the art world with the sensibility that has long been active in the world of Japanese television. We want to bring a new wind of free and unrestrained ideas to a world that values old traditions. Beautiful works are beautiful and interesting works are interesting, even if they are not from famous art universities or patronized by influential galleries. We want to let attractive artists run amok in the world. I would like to try an unconventional challenge this time.”
——— Motoichi Adachi

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Japan was defeated in World War II, but in the years that followed, many Japanese artists came to New York with dreams of international success. Although the industry has changed in the nearly 80 years after the war, the trend remains the same today. Many of the artists selected for "Stepping Into A World III” will be exhibiting in New York City for the first time, and this opportunity will be a big step forward for them.
The works include photography, paintings, prints, sculptures and installations. Through this exhibition, visitors will receive a general view of what artists working in Japan today are interested in, what they express, and what techniques they use. In addition, many artists will perform, and during the reception at the Tenri Gallery, it will become lively with a jungle like atmosphere featuring performances happening one after another. At the Max Gallery, Kyogen actor Motoya Izumi will collaborate with Dragon Artist TAKAKO through a recorded voice performance newly produced for the exhibition.
Historical masters such as Yasuo Kuniyoshi (who moved to New York in 1910), Yoko Ono (1951), Yayoi Kusama (1957), On Kawahara (1965), Ushio Shinohara (1969), Hiroshi Senju (1993), and Takashi Murakami (2001) also had their first steps and first exhibitions in New York. We cannot help but hope that such world-class artists will be born in the future from the artists in this exhibition.
When artists come to New York and start living here, their style changes with every moment. The international artists in the guest exhibition also have cultural backgrounds from Australia (Claire Hashman), Bangladesh (Firoz Mahmud), Kenya (M Yakub), Austria (Rainer Ganahl) , New York (Joe Piscopia, Les Joynes) and Japan (Hideki Takahashi, Masato Okano, Max Fujishima), and you can sense from their works how they were inspired by their own cultural backgrounds.
——— Kyoko Sato

「日本のテレビ界で長年活躍してきた感覚で美術界を斬る。古くからの伝統を重んじる世界に、自由奔放な発想で新しい風を吹かせたい。有名な美術大学を出ていなくても、有力なギャラリーの庇護を受けていなくても、美しい作品は美しい、面白い作品は面白い。魅力的なアーティストを世界で暴れさせてみたい。そんな型破りの挑戦を今回してみたいと思います。」
——— 安達元一

日本は第二次世界大戦に敗れましたが、その後、多くの日本人アーティストが世界での成功を夢見てニューヨークに渡りました。戦後から80年近く経ち、業界の状況は変化しているものの、今でもその潮流は変わりありません。Stepping Into A World II 展に選ばれたアーティストの多くはニューヨークで、しかもかつてはレオ・カステリをはじめ一流画廊が軒を連ねたソーホーの空間で展示を体験し、大きな一歩を踏み出します。 作品は、絵画、デジタル・プリント、彫刻などで、本展を通じて今現在の日本で活動するアーティストたちが何に関心を持ち、どんな表現をし、どのようなテクニックを駆使しているかを総観することができます。歴史的なマスター、例えば国吉康雄（1910年にニューヨークへ移住）、オノヨーコ（1951年）、草間彌生（1957年）、河原温（1965年）、篠原有司男（1969年）、千住博（1993年）、村上隆（2001年）らにもニューヨークの最初の一歩、初展示はありました。本展のアーティストから、将来、そんな世界的なアーティストが生まれることを期待せずにはいられません。
ニューヨークへ来て、住み始めると刻々と作風が変わります。ゲスト展示の国際的なアーティストたちも、ナイジェリア、スペイン、デトロイト、ニューヨーク、日本とそれぞれの出身地の文化的背景を自分のものにして作品制作をしていることが感じ取れるでしょう。
——— 佐藤恭子

[Grand Prize] Keiichi Noro
Born in 1972, Noro is a self taught photographer and artist based in Hokkaido. Known for capturing the harsh and beautiful nature around Lake Toya. He is a recipient of the LUMIX AWARD Snap Division Excellence Award (2019, Panasonic, Tokyo), Grand Prize at the 4th Life with Coffee Photo Contest (2019, All Japan Coffee Association, Tokyo, Ikebukuro Sunshine), Best Video Award at the LUMIX AWARD 2020 PHOTO & MOVIE CONTEST (2020, Panasonic, Tokyo), featured on the Hokkaido Tourism Organization's LOVEHOKKAIDO website (2020, Hokkaido), selected as one of the 45 participants in the GFX Challenge program (2022, Fujifilm, Tokyo), and exhibited at KYOTOGRAPHIE KG+ "JAPAN PHOTO AWARD + INTUITION" (2023, Japan Photo Award, HOTEL ANTEROOM KYOTO l Gallery 9.5, Kyoto).

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