images from right to left: Manabu Ikeda, Hisashi Tenmyouya and teamLab | click images to enlarge
If you plan to walk through a garden this fall, make it the “Garden of Unearthly Delights,” a new exhibition at New York’s Japan Society that opens this Thursday (Oct. 9, 2014). But be careful to stay on the footpath or you’ll quickly be consumed by a monster tsunami uprooting a city, an intense samurai-style battle and a candy-colored stream of hyperpixilating animals and flowers. This, in a nutshell, is the work of Manabu Ikeda, Hisashi Tenmyouya & teamLab, who are the focus of the exhibition.
Foretoken (2008) by Manabu Ikeda
detail of Foretoken (2008) by Manabu Ikeda
The monumental Foretoken by Manabu Ikeda is arguably the centerpiece of the show. Created in 2008, and featuring a towering tsunami uprooting and devouring everything in its path, the piece is on display for the first time since the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of 2011, which it seemed to foreshadow.
Ikeda’s paintings are so incredibly dense that a single painting can take up to 1 year (and sometimes more) to produce. And despite this rate, Ikeda has an unprecedented 11 works on display.
Meltdown (2013) by Manabu Ikeda
Settlement (2009) by Manabu Ikeda
Ikeda has openly stated that his inspiration is the great animator Hayao Miyazaki. Ikeda even chooses to work with a Tachikawa Comic Nib Fountain Pen, Miyazaki’s tool of choice.
TeamLab’s immersive, interactive installation can’t be missed. Their combination of design and technology yields nature-filled landscapes not only reminiscent of of classical Japanese painting but are also truly out of this world.
United, Fragmented, Repeated, and Impermanent World (2013) by teamLab
Rhyme (2012) by Hisashi Tenmyouya
detail of Rhyme (2012) by Hisashi Tenmyouya
(this post is part of a series of our top picks of Japanese art openings in New York this fall 2014. You can see other picks here.)
Related posts:
Manabu Ikeda Unveils a Monumental Pen & Ink Drawing Nearly 3.5 Years in the Making
TeamLab’s Sprawling Interactive Park for Kids at Miraikan
TeamLab to Get Permanent Digital Art Museum Opening This Summer in Tokyo
Highlights from Roppongi Art Night | Floating Instrument by teamLab and Hideaki Takahashi
October 9, 2014 at 1:51 am
Why do you invite people to visit but not even specify the country this is held in? This is held in NEW YORK CITY.
October 9, 2014 at 10:27 am
@Christian – sorry about that. I live in NY and am always writing from that perspective so it’s easy to forget. I’ve edited the article.