The BEST 10 Exhibitions of 2018
Although we have not counted precisely, we visited quite a large number of exhibitions in 2018.
There were many shows we breezed through in a few minutes, and many more we lingered over for a long time. Out of all that we saw, we have put together a Best 10 list of the exhibitions that made the strongest impression on the author.
Since our site publishes a Best 10 every quarter, this list is chosen from those 40, so there may be no surprises — but every one of them was superb.
《No. 1》Tomoko Konoike, “Hunter Gatherer”
We traveled all the way to Akita to see this one. We want to shout it out: it is fine for artists to reach beyond simply “being viewed” and to engage every one of the viewer’s senses. Bring in music, create opportunities to touch the works — the moment you extend your thinking to expressive modes other than seeing, some kind of clue is bound to appear.
《No. 2》Yoshitomo Nara, “Drawings: 1988-2018 Last 30 Years”
《No. 3》Michinoku Art Festival, Yamagata Biennale
The first time we visited Yamagata’s “Michinoku Art Festival.” We spent two days participating and it turned out to be an excellent festival.
Although it is held in the distant Tohoku region, this is an art festival well worth the long journey.
There are messages and sensibilities you can only receive precisely because you are somewhere apart from your daily life.
Rather than viewing the festival negatively as “a distant, time-consuming place,” we recommend flipping that thinking around and embracing it positively.
《No. 4》Tsuguharu Foujita: 50 Years After His Death
An exhibition in which Foujita’s world came into full bloom. It may well have been the greatest solo exhibition ever devoted to him.
We still remember the pleasant atmosphere that filled the museum’s galleries.
It is doubtful that such a substantial exhibition will be mounted again in the future.
A truly wonderful exhibition.
《No. 5》Kohei Nawa, “Biomatrix”
Although the number of works on display was small, the air ruled the gallery in taut stillness; viewers absorbed in the works forgot time and were simply drawn in. The depth of an artist who conceives works like these is genuinely chilling. As a rare artist, we are increasingly looking forward to his future activities.
This exhibition also ranked in our first-ever “DM of the Year 2018.”
《No. 6》Toshiyuki Hasegawa, “Seven-Color Tokyo”
We made the trip out to the Fuchu Art Museum, a little away from central Tokyo, and it was extremely worthwhile.
Toshiyuki Hasegawa is a self-taught, highly distinctive painter, and the way the show traced the course of his life through its layout was very well done.
《No. 7》Ai Kumehara, “Garden of Ephemera”
She also held a solo show in Osaka in October. The author did not have the chance to visit, but 2018 brought her work in front of a great many viewers. It seems her prices rose significantly as well over the course of the year. She has clearly grown as an artist, moving up one, two rungs.
《No. 8》Munch Exhibition: “A Retrospective”
Munch is inevitably associated with his famous The Scream, for better or worse, but we were blown away by the many works beyond this signature piece that made you go, “As expected of Munch!” The prints were extremely impressive as well.
The collaboration with Pokémon was honestly surprising, but seems to have drawn in a great many visitors.
《No. 9》Xylology — Origin and Point of Origin
The pleasant scent and gentle presence of wood-carved works filling a Japanese-style house came back as a wonderful memory. An excellent exhibition where you could feel the resolve of leading artists working in this medium.
《No. 10》Koji Nakazono, “The Outer Edge — Scenery I Wanted to See”
Held at the Yokosuka Museum of Art, this was his first solo museum exhibition. The show was held in the hometown of the late Koji Nakazono.
The museum, with its large open atrium, was a comfortable space.
For any exhibitions above that caught your eye, please refer to the individual articles via the links.
We also wanted to include Ma Jiahao’s solo exhibition and the Gordon Matta-Clark exhibition, but it was a painful Best 10 to compile.
For reference, please see the links below for the quarterly Best 10 lists of 2018.
Some of the exhibitions below might have made the current Best 10 as well — depending on the timing of writing, the picks could easily shift; the margins are that fine.
https://art-on.jp/2018/12/best10-20181012/
Now, what kind of year will 2019 be?
While looking forward to the exhibitions yet to come, we wish to close this final article of 2018.
Thank you for your support throughout 2018.
We look forward to your continued support in 2019!
