As an extension to the art exhibition picks we are doing this week, we thought we’d round up some artwork in a slightly different vein. Since 2002, Japanese artist Takashi Murakami has been organizing a one-day art extravaganza known as GEISAI that takes place twice a year. Already in its 15th iteration, the latest event for young and budding artists across Japan was cancelled 2 days ahead of its scheduled opening – yet another consequence of the devastating disaster on March 11.
However, over the summer organizers pulled together what they are calling “petit GEISAI #15,” a slightly trimmed down version of what was previously known to attract over 10,000 visitors and hundreds of exhibitors. And yet “petit,” while also referring to the 29-year age cutoff, is somewhat of a misnomer. Maddie and I spent the better part of our morning combing through the 200+ participating artists who were just announced earlier this week, in order to select just a handful of what you can expect to see. The fun goes down October 9, 2011 (see bottom of post for details)!
“Mugon” (2009) by Kumiko Nagaiwa. This odd animal has a heartbeat, weighs 1.5kg and maintains a proper body temperature. One more pic here.
“motsu motsu” (2011) by Shinri Yokoyama. Detail here.
a lovely piece by Koji Doi
Shingo Tanaka thinks he can categorize the Japanese psyche into 100 different caricatures
We couldn’t resist these felt animals by HIROKO
BakaGaka uses high-end brand logos in massive repetition to create impressive works on canvas.
Yuta Nohara uses his background in fashion to create functional clothing out of garbage. That’s right, garbage.
We were enthralled with Mamina Kitazono’s manga-insired blobs. One more.
Simply known as Hekichi, the artist created these fantastic prints of everyday objects. Detail here.
Shiori Nishiguchi embeds miniature drawings into jewelry. One more.
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petit GEISAI #15
2011.10.9
Tokyo Metropolitan Industrial trade center – 7th floor (Gmap)
September 18, 2011 at 7:09 am
adore Shinri Yokoyama piece