If you’re still not convinced you should go, perhaps this recent quote from Takashi Murakami will change your mind:

Ootomo Katsuhiro…One of the reasons I gave up on trying to become a manga illustrator is because I knew I had no chance against him.

You can download this awesome wallpaper HERE! (thx for the tip @aka_me)

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Katsuhiro Ootomo Genga Exhibition
3331 Arts Chiyoda
2012.4.9 – 5.30.
adults 1,500 yen

Miyamura establishes himself as a solo artist with a series of tranquil prints that harken back to the glorious days of the abstract expressionists

Calligraphy artist Gen Miyamura has been experimenting with Bokusho (墨象) – an avante-garde form of calligraphy that sprung out of post-war Japan – for quite some time now. The artist is perhaps better known for his collaborations with designers like Shun Kawakami (here and here), rather than for his standalone work. But in an exhibition that just opened at ICN Gallery in London, Miyamura breaks free from that mold, establishing himself as a solo artist with a series of tranquil prints that harken back to the glorious days of the abstract expressionists. I really adore the brush strokes and how they make us aware of the presence of the artist.

The exhibition at ICN Gallery runs through February 22, 2012.

the artist and his work

All photos from installation view at ICN Gallery | all photos by Joe Keating

If you couldn’t tell, I’m all into the lights this holiday season. My relatives that are still living in Tokyo told me about “all the pretty lights” that are on during this holiday season and I decided to do a little googleing. In my mind, parts of Tokyo could easily rival Paris as the “City of Lights.” I found the CHRISTMAS ILLUMINATION stage by Mori Building site that showcases all the decorating and light shows that the Roppongi Hills, Omotesando Hills, La Foret Harajuku, have to offer around Tokyo.

click to enlarge | Roppongi Hills

click to enlarge | La Foret

click to enlarge | Ark Hills

The Omotesando Hills display celebrates Walt Disney’s110 th birthday, along with many limited edition merchandise. The main street of Omotesando is also lined with thousands of lights this holiday season. All these places become hot spots for couples. More information on locations and times can be found at each locations website or by going to the Christmas Illumination site by Mori Building – most of the displays end on Christmas day.

Bonus: Video of the Venus Fort light show that is synchronized to music.

Source: CHRISTMAS ILLUMINATION stage by Mori Building

unless otherwise noted, all images courtesy jiku | Architectural model of Tetsuo Kondo‘s “Path in the Forest” (2011) which was completed in Estonia.

“The Morning Line” (2011) by Matthew Ritchie with Aranda\lasch and arup

“Rolex Learning Center” (2007) by SANAA

“Glass Bubble” (2011) by Junya Ishigami

One of the highlights of the show is “Contact Lens” (2011), a eye-catching installation in which artist Haruka Kojin uses numerous warped lenses to create a contorted environment.
Images courtesy designboom.

“(from) OURShELVES” (1999-2011) by  selgascano

“Golden Dome” (2011) by AMID.cero9

source: MOT | jiku | designboom

images courtesy daisuke shimokawa | click to enlarge

Wrapping up our series on DesignTide Tokyo 2011, we bring you “toge” (とげ) – thorn or splinter in Japanese – a sea-urchin shaped module made from piano wire and epoxy that interlocks with each other to act like building blocks. It’s the work of Tokyo-based French architect Emmanuelle Moureaux, whose series of rainbow-colored banks won me over as a fan. It’s clear that Moureaux has a penchant for color, which is also apparent in her wedding dress made from 500 of these toge modules. The dress was on display at DesignTide Tokyo and demonstrated the infinite capabilities of these rainbow-colored sea-urchin.

Oh, and it’s quite appropriate that “toge” also means toga in French.

source: press release from Emmanuelle Moureaux

images courtesy excite.ism | click to enlarge

I love these bookmarks that wrap over the binding and then drape across the book. It’s the undertaking of Cement Produce Design, a brand that produces and curates a hodge-podge of designy items from  iPhone cases and ceramic bowls to web design and advertisements. This is their first time they’re participating in DesignTide and they seem to be off to a good start!

click images to enlarge

Naruse Inokuma Architects designed this beautiful table piece that functions both as a plate and a table. “One for all” was crafted from a single piece of wood, which was then given varying-sized dimples.  Just add food and you’ve got a serious conversation piece!

image courtesy japan-architects

unless otherwise noted, all images courtesy Naruse-Inokuma

images courtesy excite.ism | click to enlarge

It’s a table. No, wait, a bench. No, a floor. A roof. A jungle gym? Torafu Architects’ Gulliver Table is designed to be just that. Stretching 50 meters across the lawn of Tokyo Midtown, the table takes on various roles depending on where you approach it. You can lie down on it, sit on it and even play under it!

It’s part of Tokyo Midtown DESIGN TOUCH, an extension of DesignTide Tokyo, and is on display through November 6.

source: excite.ism

images courtesy Daito Manabe | click to enlarge

Daito Manabe and Motoi Ishibashi (both whom conveniently, for me, carry the same title: artist, designer and programmer) are presenting “16 forms,” an animated sequence that is both analogue and high-tech. Programming an industrial robot to create dynamic movements while projecting a light source, the duo created their own version of a zoetrope.

While conventional zoetropes make use of paper cut-outs, Manabe and Ishibashi opted for scanned and 3D-printed models, which were then affixed to a turntable.

Although the quality is pretty bad, here is an 18-sec clip to give you a sense of what they’ve done.

images courtesy Proof of Guild | click to enlarge

Founded by Minoru and Keiko Takeuchi in 2002, Proof of Guild is a jewelry and flower shop primarily focusing on weddings. But for the first time ever, the boutique has produced a series of vases titled “Hands & Hand,” which is on display at DesignTide Tokyo 2011. Not only are the curious vases reminiscent of hand-holding, but they were also crafted by hand.

There is indeed something magical about these conjoined vases. They remind me a lot of the organic work of ceramic artist Ryan Takaba.