project room: Takashi Kuribayashi

I I were Japanese Pavilion commissioner I would consider showing ..

Takashi Kuribayashi, Sumpf land, 2008, installation

One of the most creative young artists who using animal motif explores concept of boundries and draws the viewer into different worlds. In his works he uses his experience as a diver. He participated in Singapore Biennale (2006).

Takashi Kuribayashi, Sumpf land, 2008, installation

photo: own archive and Towada Art Center

worst in show

Japanese Pavilion at Venice Biennale was awarded by Jerry Saltz Worst in Show. Here's the verdict: 'In the Japanese Pavilion, Miwa Yanagi exhibits a series of huge, god-awful photographs of grotesque naked women. In an accompanying text, a writer raves that these crappy pictures will bring great joy not only to the Japanese Pavilion but to the Venice Biennale as a whole...'

project room: Daisuke Ohba

Flipping thru Flashart I found review of Daisuke Ohba solo show at Scai The Bathhouse written by Satoru Nagoya which goes like this: you are beyond Japanese' means praise in the Japanese vernacular. Such a self-disparaging expression is still indispensable when we describe unrivaled talent on the Japanese art scene. And that's the case of painter Daisuke Ohba (b.1981). While many young Japanese painters cling to trivial private episodes as subjects and often reveal childish imperfection in technique, Ohba has adopted an approach with grandeur and maturity, hight above the Japanese standards.

Art Safari: Murakami

For those who haven't had enough of Murakami here is more..



in Ben Lewis TV series Art Safari in which he meets some of the most discussed contemporary artists and challenge their work with provoking questions.



In the episode dedicated to Takashi Murakami - Toying with Art, Lewis keeps asking critics, curators and collectors what are their theories about Murakami. Is it as superficial as it looks? He doesn't seem much convinced by their savant answers.

portraits macabre

He calls himself modern reincarnation of Hokusai. Daikichi Amano is the director, photographer, columnist and pornographer. He produces weird films and photos of mostly women entangled in octopus and other sea creatures all of which he eats afterwards to avoid wasteful animal cruelty. Supposedly the most exciting new visual artists working in Japan today. Itadakimasu!






















photo: www.daikichiamano.com

WRO'09

Yoshihito Mizuuchi, a, performance, 2008

The 13th Media Art Biennale in Wroclaw (Poland) features only one Japanese contemporary artist - Yoshihito Mizuuchi. His art originates from experiments with tape recorders which he was doing back in elementary school mixing various sounds from different sources to create highly original & personal tapes. This approach applies also to his recent works in which he creates new qualities and significance of everyday objects.

parody of a Murakami image

by Olaf Breuning at Kodama Gallery in Tokyo

photo: rogermc.blogs.com