DESIGNART TOKYO 2018
The design and art festival “DESIGNART TOKYO 2018,” now in its second edition, kicks off on October 19.
For ten days from Friday, October 19 to Sunday, October 28, design products and artworks will be exhibited at more than 100 venues, including shops, facilities, galleries, and rental spaces across Omotesando/Gaienmae, Harajuku/Meiji-jingumae, Shibuya/Ebisu, Daikanyama/Nakameguro, and Roppongi/Hiroo. The scale has expanded to 1.5 times that of last year, with 70,000 visitors expected during the run.
What deserves attention is that “DESIGNART TOKYO 2018” is not merely an event for viewing your favorite design products and artworks — you can also purchase them. This may well be the occasion that inspires you to refresh your interior or spark something new.
Below we introduce the highlights of the event.
Highlights of “DESIGNART TOKYO 2018”
Bold and beautiful installations
Spaces you can see only here
Essential to enjoying DESIGNART TOKYO are the special spaces created by the collaboration between venues and artworks that you cannot usually see. At LB&B Italia Tokyo, Hiroto Yoshizoe will present a new installation inspired by the beautiful showroom, using his own work “PIXEL.”
At the acclaimed fashion brand kolor, media artist Yoichi Ochiai will exhibit “SILVER FLOATS,” created in collaboration with TDK.
Encounter the latest designs by world-renowned designers
New works from international brands such as Cassinaixc. and HAY will be unveiled in Japan in conjunction with DESIGNART TOKYO.
At Cassinaixc., the leading brand of Italian modern furniture, an installation centered on the sofa “SOFT PROPS” — designed by Konstantin Grcic and unveiled in Milan in 2017 — will be held at its flagship store in Aoyama.
From the buzzed-about Danish interior product brand HAY, “Élémentaire” by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec makes its Japan debut. It is a chair that combines refined form with practicality.
The 5 UNDER-30 creators announced!
UNDER-30 is a first-ever young-talent support project launched in the festival’s second year. Sculptors, glass artists, digital creators, and others working in a range of genres were selected from the initial pool by five initiators.
Yu Minamimura creates sculptural works that examine contemporary Japanese “beauty.” Using clouds and paper as motifs, and taking “the senses and sensibilities in Japanese phenomena” as its theme, the work combines materials such as marble and bronze.
A must-see group show gathering works by cutting-edge creators
This year, to keep pace with increasingly diverse digital communication tools, the interior shop Francfranc has opened its own photography studio “Francfranc Forest.” At the highly talked-about Aoyama studio, normally accessible only to insiders, product designer Yoshiki Matsuyama will exhibit his “CUT OUT THE SKY” series — light objects that generate color through the same mechanism as blue skies and sunsets.
Stylish flag / bag & stand
The markers for each venue are stylish flag/bag & stands designed to be usable even after the exhibition period.
With so many exciting projects lined up, expectations are running high!
Overview
DESIGNART TOKYO 2018
Dates: Friday, October 19 – Sunday, October 28, 2018 (10 days)
Venue areas: Omotesando/Gaienmae, Harajuku/Meiji-jingumae, Shibuya/Ebisu, Daikanyama/Nakameguro, Roppongi/Hiroo
Organizer: DESIGNART Executive Committee
Grant: Arts Council Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture)
