Hara Museum of Contemporary Art
The Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, standing quietly in a serene residential neighborhood in Shinagawa, Tokyo.
With its calm atmosphere and luxurious construction, it is a museum I love. Its holdings reportedly number a remarkable 1,000 works, and I visited the first term of “The Hara Museum Collection Selected by Toshio Hara,” in which a choice selection of these works is shown across two terms. To put the conclusion first, it has turned out to be a “truly magnificent!” exhibition.
Given that the museum itself grew out of Toshio Hara’s personal vision, his comment on the exhibition is something you’ll definitely want to read.
Comment by Toshio Hara
At the age of 40 I resolved to create a museum of contemporary art in Japan and began collecting works. From then on I visited artists’ studios and homes whenever possible to meet them, and I also traveled abroad. Rather than merely looking at the works, I learned by listening directly to what the creators were thinking as they arrived at their art, and I built the collection with my own eyes. I have maintained this attitude to this day.The collection, which is the face of the museum, is also the trajectory of my own challenges. On a whim, I was seized by the urge to display it by my own hand, and so I decided to try curating an exhibition myself.
That said, choosing from more than 1,000 works is no easy task. Dividing it into a first and a second term, the first term centers on works collected from 1977, when I established the parent Arc-en-Ciel Foundation for the Arts, up to the early 1980s, shortly after the museum opened; the second term is composed of the body of works I encountered and purchased through the museum’s activities.
The Hara Museum Collection Selected by Toshio Hara (Part I)
As for the content, since photography is prohibited inside, it’s a shame I can’t show it to you in pictures, but magnificent works by master artists are lavishly on display. Including the tranquil surroundings, the air here is nothing but pleasant. I was able to drift through the galleries, losing all track of time.
■ 2018/1/6[Sat]- Enchanted by Contemporary Art: The Hara Museum Collection Selected by Toshio Hara [Hara Museum of Contemporary Art] https://t.co/ktmy7oKN68
— Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Hara Museum (@haramuseum) December 25, 2017
What left the strongest impression was the installation. The moment you step into that space, you fall into the illusion of being instantly transported to another dimension. It transforms your state of mind, as if you had warped into another realm. Perhaps this is the feat of a collaboration in which the power of the works and the atmosphere of the museum join hands perfectly to reveal themselves to you.
Yoshitomo Nara’s “My Drawing Room” was also on display as part of the permanent collection. But this room has almost no signage and isn’t listed on the exhibition handout you’re given, so I imagine quite a few visitors leave without stopping by. I think that very atmosphere is what makes it wonderful, and readers of this blog should definitely check it out. Try opening the door in the innermost room on the second floor. You’ll get to see Yoshitomo Nara’s studio!
Unfortunately, for photos please make do with the images permitted to a limited number of media outlets, such as the site below.
https://spice.eplus.jp/articles/171433
Summary
After viewing, I of course relaxed and unwound at the museum’s restaurant, “Café d’art.”
Since Mr. Hara is a collector himself, it’s gratifying that he properly understands visitors’ needs.
https://art-on.jp/cafe-dart/
This wonderful exhibition is divided into two terms.
The second term is sure to be an equally substantial exhibition. I will wait for that day with great anticipation.
Artists / Works on Display
■Front Entrance
Takis “Signal” 1956 | iron | 120 x 20 x 90 cm
■Entrance Lobby
Jackson Pollock “Black, White and Brown” 1952 | oil on canvas | 91 x 70 cm
■1st Floor, Gallery I
Tetsumi Kudo “Proliferative Chain Reaction on a Flat Torus” 1958 | mixed media on board | 151.5 x 152.1 cm
Jean Dubuffet “Two Mechanics” 1944 | oil on canvas | 74 x 61 cm
Tomio Miki “Ear 1972 WA32” 1972 | aluminum | 72.1 x 60 x 3 cm
Yayoi Kusama “Self-Obliteration” 1980 | mixed media | dimensions variable
■Mezzanine
George Rickey “Ripples” 1965 | stainless steel | 24.5 x 106.7 x 25.4 cm
■1st Floor, Corridor
Andy Warhol “The Shot President” 1968 | silkscreen (set of 11) | each 53 x 53 cm
James Rosenquist “Expo ’67 Mural — Firepole” 1967 | lithograph on Italian paper | 83 x 43 cm
■1st Floor, Gallery II
Kumi Sugai “Moon” 1957 | oil on canvas | 130 x 97cm
Antoni Tàpies “Untitled” 1961 | oil and sand on canvas | 162 x 130 cm
Lee Ufan “From Line” 1979 | pigment on canvas | 181x 227cm
Mark Rothko “Red on Red” 1969 | acrylic on paper on canvas | 134.4 x 101.4 cm
Robert Rauschenberg “Makeshift” 1964 | oil and silkscreen on canvas | 147x 101.5 cm
Roy Lichtenstein “Frame IV” 1968 | oil on canvas | 140 x 170 cm
Lucio Fontana “Spatial Concept” 1953 | oil and glass on canvas | 46.0 x 54.5 cm
Buckminster Fuller “Star Dual Regular Tetrahedron” 1980 | thermoplastic, bronze, acrylic, epoxy resin | 211 x 211 x 183 cm
Aiko Miyawaki “Untitled” 1964 | oil, marble powder and mirror on board | 162 x 242.8 cm
Jim Dine “Oberlin A.R. #7 (The Same Curtain)” 1966 | enamel, rubber and aluminum on canvas | 214 x 122 cm
Josef Albers “Homage to the Square” 1961 | oil on Masonite | 40 x 40 cm
César “Valentine” 1956 | iron | 29 x 80 x59 cm
Ai Weiwei “Mao Portrait Set 1” 1985 | acrylic on canvas | 167.4 x 146.5 cm
■Staircase
Tom Wesselmann “Seascape No.13” 1966 | oil on canvas | 219.5 x 181.5 cm
■Stair Hall / 2nd Floor Corridor
Nam June Paik “Candle TV” 1980/ television, candle 33 x 41 x 24 cm
Tunga “Braided Hair” n.d. | lead | 162.5 x 10 x 5 cm
Yves Klein “Monochrome, Red” n.d. | pigment on canvas | 44 x 34 x 1 cm
Robert Mapplethorpe “Flowers” 1981 | gelatin silver print | 35 x 35 cm
Robert Mapplethorpe “Flowers” 1977 | gelatin silver print | 48.3 x 38.3 cm
Robert Mapplethorpe “Flowers” 1979 | gelatin silver print | 34.5 x 34.5 cm
■Gallery III
Hiroshi Sugimoto “Sea of Buddha” 1995 | gelatin silver print (set of 48) | each 41.9 x 53.7 cm
■Gallery IV
Christo & Jeanne-Claude “Store Front Project” 1964 | wood, Plexiglas, Masonite,
paper, electric light, enamel paint, charcoal | 70.2 x 60.9 x10.3 cm
Jasper Johns “0 through 9” 1976 | lead relief | 79.5 x 60.0 x 3.3 cm
Jean Tinguely “Pelican’s Egg” 1958 | wood, iron, motor | 79 x 71.7 x 20.4 cm
Arman “Raw Garbage” 1969 | garbage and other materials | 102.2x 50.8 x 11.6 cm
Edward Ruscha “Nothing and Everything” 1990 | acrylic on canvas | 91.8 x 121.8 cm
On Kawara “18 JUN. 1984” 1984 | acrylic on canvas | 25.8 x 33.1 cm
■Gallery V
Toshimitsu Imai “Black Sun” 1963 | oil on canvas | 195.1 x 129.8 cm
Ushio Shinohara “Motorcycle Mama” 1980 | cardboard, acrylic, polyester resin | 117 x130 x 66 cm
James Rosenquist “Four 1949 Men” 1962 | oil on canvas | 152.7 x 120.1 cm
Erró “Che Guevara” 1976 | oil on canvas | 200x 300 cm
Karel Appel “Child of Hiroshima” 1958 | oil on canvas | 158 x 128 cm
Willem de Kooning “Untitled” 1970 | oil on paper | 59 x 47 cm
Download the list of works here (PDF download)
