[News] The VOCA Exhibition 2019: "The Vision of Contemporary Art — Emerging Artists of the New Plane"

The VOCA Exhibition 2019

For the VOCA exhibition, “The VOCA Exhibition” Executive Committee asks museum curators, journalists, and researchers from all over Japan to recommend young artists under 40, and the recommended artists then submit new two-dimensional works. Through this format, the exhibition introduces outstanding, previously unrecognized talent from every corner of the country.

For 2019, 33 artists (or artist groups) have been selected, and the exhibition runs for 17 days starting March 14 at The Ueno Royal Museum. Along with the work by Shinnosuke Tojo, who received the VOCA Prize, the show brings together an impressive lineup of ambitious pieces and is drawing considerable attention.

VOCA Prize: Shinnosuke Tojo

Comment from VOCA Prize winner Shinnosuke Tojo
When I visited Athens in 2017, I overlaid the walls I saw there onto my hometown (Nagano).
Around that time I was traveling the world photographing walls, and in every country I found walls in which the times were imprinted as images, forcing me to confront them.
I doubt certain objects, yet I obsess over what others have touched. By making these tensions the medium of my work, I dispel that anxiety and bring it back down to earth as my own concern.
I cannot yet know how the coming global events will be reflected here, but I am sure I will see similar walls.

VOCA Encouragement Prize

Ayako Ishiba

Jung Yugyung

VOCA Honorable Mention

Kaori Endo

me (Haruka Kojin, Kenji Minamigawa, Hirofumi Masui)

Ohara Museum of Art Prize: Mika Kitamura

Related Programs at the VOCA Exhibition 2019

A variety of programs are being held during the exhibition.

– Symposium “Where Do We Think, and Where Do We Paint?” *Advance application required (see below) / Capacity: 150
Date: Wednesday, March 13, 15:00-17:00 / Venue: The Ueno Royal Museum
Moderator: Atsuhiko Shima
Panelists: Yuri Mitsuda, Hideyuki Yanagisawa, Reiko Kokatsu, Tsutomu Mizusawa, Satoshi Utsumi, Meo Saito *Honorifics omitted

Please apply by fax or email, stating your name, address, and your wish to attend the symposium.
Applications will close as soon as the venue reaches capacity.
Application: “VOCA Exhibition” desk at The Ueno Royal Museum, FAX: 03-3833-4193 / Email: voca2019_v@ueno-mori.org
*Personal information provided at application will be used only to contact the applicant and to communicate any schedule changes.
Inquiries: 03-3833-4191 (The Ueno Royal Museum)

– Artist Talks by the Award-Winning Artists *No application required. However, an admission ticket is required.
Dates: Saturday, March 16, 15:00-16:00: Kaori Endo (VOCA Honorable Mention), Jung Yugyung (VOCA Encouragement Prize)
Saturday, March 23, 15:00-16:30: Ayako Ishiba (VOCA Encouragement Prize), Mika Kitamura (Ohara Museum of Art Prize), Shinnosuke Tojo (VOCA Prize), me (VOCA Honorable Mention)
Venue: The Ueno Royal Museum

– Gallery Talks by the Curators *No application required. However, an admission ticket is required.
Dates: Sundays, March 17 and March 24, from 15:00 / Venue: The Ueno Royal Museum

– [Concurrent Exhibition] Satoshi Utsumi, “Soft Painting”
Dates: Thursday, March 14 – Saturday, March 30, 10:00-18:00 / Venue: The Ueno Royal Museum Gallery
In the annex gallery of The Ueno Royal Museum, a small exhibition featuring an artist with ties to the VOCA Exhibition will be held in parallel with the main show. This time it is a solo exhibition by Satoshi Utsumi, who took part in “The VOCA Exhibition 2005”.

– Tokyo Spring Festival “Museum Concert: Motoko Oya (Ondes Martenot) – When Contemporary Art Meets Music”
Date: Friday, March 22, from 19:00 / Venue: The Ueno Royal Museum
Tokyo Spring Festival “Museum Concert: Yuki Koyama (Flute) & Lee Jina (Flute) – When Contemporary Art Meets Music”
Date: Friday, March 29, from 19:00 / Venue: The Ueno Royal Museum
As part of the annual Tokyo Spring Festival – Tokyo Opera no Mori 2019 – museum concerts will be held inside the VOCA Exhibition galleries. Listening to contemporary music in a space filled with contemporary art offers a truly special experience unavailable elsewhere.
*For tickets and details, please see the festival’s official site: http://www.tokyo-harusai.com

– Dai-ichi Life Concert “Classical Music for Children, Heard in an Art Museum”
On Thursday, March 21 (holiday), a gallery concert will be held at The Ueno Royal Museum by a quartet of graduates of the “Chamber Music ArtReach Seminar” hosted by the certified NPO Triton Arts Network.
(This program is by invitation only for Taito Ward residents and Dai-ichi Life customers, so applications from the general public are not accepted.)
– “Dai-ichi Life Gallery” Exhibition Schedule
Opening hours: 12:00-17:00 (until 19:00 on Fridays) *Closed Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays
Venue: 1F Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co., Ltd. Hibiya Head Office, 1-13-1 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Exhibition: VOCA Award Winners Exhibition “CONNECT VOCA!”
Dates: Friday, March 1 – Friday, April 19, 2019

Overview

The VOCA Exhibition 2019
The Vision of Contemporary Art – Emerging Artists of the New Plane
Organizers: “The VOCA Exhibition” Executive Committee, The Japan Art Association / The Ueno Royal Museum
Special sponsor: The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Limited
Venue: The Ueno Royal Museum (1-2 Ueno Park, Taito-ku, Tokyo)
Dates: Thursday, March 14 – Saturday, March 30, 2019 [17 days, open throughout]
Opening hours: 10:00-18:00 *Opens at 13:00 on Thursday, March 21 (holiday) *Last admission 30 minutes before closing
Admission: General 600 (500) yen; University students 500 yen; High school students and younger free *Figures in ( ) are advance ticket prices

Participating artists: Takashi Arai, Wataru Ishigaki, Ayako Ishiba, Kaori Endo, Yukari Ohira, Noriko Okaku, Takayuki Okamoto, Tatsuki Katayama, Mika Kitamura, Tetsu Kinjo, Erika Kusumi, KOURYOU, Keisuke Kondo, Naoki Sasayama, Sunao Sano, Haruyuki Shirai, Ryoichi Suzuki, Kohei Sekigawa, Hiroshi Takizawa, Tomomitsu Tada, Kotaro Tategami, Shingo Tanaka, Takeshi Tanaka, Jung Yugyung, Yuki Teshima, Shinnosuke Tojo, Mugi Nakajima, Asuka Nakayama, Yu Nishimura, Yukio Hori, Toshihiko Miike, Kyoko Miwa, me