Our weekly event roundup will now cover events happening throughout the week. Because not all great events happen on the weekend, including More Than Music’s Moonromantic event, a Scottish-inspired whiskey event in Roppongi and more. Now that the weather is gloomy no more, get out and enjoy the city.
1. MTM X Moonromantic Live Music & Art Show
More Than Music and Aoyama Moon Romantic collaborate on a great converging of music and painting.
Kohei Kondo is a live painter who improvises on the spot in accordance with musicians’ performances. He uses the palm of his hands to paint directly onto large canvases. The music performance will be by Astrohelix, The Shamanz and Nokki.
Astrohelix is a brand-new team of three solo artists: shamisen player Jack, guitarist Gian and human beatboxer Reatmo. Shamanz is a multinational genre-bending band led by the charming Tama Tsuboi. Finally, Nokki is a respected rapper with a 20-year career behind him representing Yokohama and hyping up okonomiyaki forever. So, you know you can expect peak creativity at this show.
When: Apr 14 | More info (includes a special discount for TW readers)
2. Bruichladdich The Pop-up 2022
Islay Whisky Festival is an event held in Islay, Scotland, the holy land of whiskey, and Remy Cointreau Japan once more seeks to reproduce the experience in Roppongi after its very well-received premiere event last year.
Bruichladdich Distillery’s motto, “Know What’s in Your Whisky,” aims to prove its worth by stubbornly adhering to the traditional manufacturing method, transparently disclosing its general process and revealing its passion for the terroir of Islay. Whisky and liquor lovers alike can enjoy this event, all while listening to music, talking with friends and eating a variety of classic street food dishes.
When: From Apr 14 | More info
3. Glass Artist Takeyoshi Mitsui: “Melting”
Tension and relaxation – an ambiguous gap is formed between the amalgamation of these two opposing elements. In this exhibition, Takeyoshi Mitsui will exhibit a variety of works such as cups and tumblers offering beautifully overlapped colors from his “Silence” series, as well as katakuchi (sake server) and tea bowls of his “Amber on Gray” series.
Born in Hiroshima and currently living in Toyama Prefecture, Takeyoshi Mitsui is an artist and glassblower pursuing new expressions that feature a soft and gentle expression in a unique color sense. Created based on the artist’s very own sense of aesthetics and form, Mitsui’s glassworks possess the ability to calm the viewer’s mind. On the first two days of the exhibition, viewers will be able to participate in a dialogue with the artist.
When: Until Apr 23 | More info
4. Mark Ryden: “Yakalina 9”
Perrotin and Kasmin are delighted to announce a jointly organized exhibition of new works by American artist Mark Ryden. Encompassing the newly created series of bronze sculptures and drawings of the mysterious entity Yakalina, the exhibition is conceived as a component of the artist’s upcoming exhibition, Animal Secrets, opening at Perrotin
Paris in May.
Mark Ryden’s imaginative creations probe into the invisible and interpret the life of things filled with spiritual essence. Yakalina 9 features sculptures and drawings of the mysterious animal recently created by Ryden. Yakalina, with an appearance that is both lovely and eerie, has a long conical body covered with fur and outstretched arms symbolizing worshiping and piety.
When: Until May 14 | More info
5. Mayumi Yamase at I AM gallery
Mayumi Yamase, an artist known for her abstract and colorful paintings, drawings and sculptures, is the first domestic talent to be showcased at I AM gallery in Toshima-ku’s Higashi-Nagasaki. Yamase has exhibited her work in London, Singapore and throughout Japan and worked with an array of brands including Nike, Comme des Garçons and Beams.
Through art, Yamase hopes to spark a unique dialogue between objects. In this exhibition, she seeks to express herself with various materials such as oil, acrylic, colored pencils, pastels and watercolors.
When: Until Apr 30 | More info
6. Aaron Garber-Maikovska: “Cushion of Air”
Blum & Poe presents “Cushion of Air,” the second solo exhibition of Los Angeles-based artist Aaron Garber-Maikovska.
The work presented depicts Garber-Maikovska in a state of performative movement where he channels the human condition through his gestures captured and recorded in ink and oil on fluted polypropylene boards. Furthering the artist’s explorations of communication, interpersonal connection, urban sprawl and the body, the pieces that comprise this exhibition act as memorandums of the visual language that he has developed throughout his works of art.
When: Until May 7 | More info
7. Yayoi Kusama Museum New Exhibition: A POEM IN MY HEART
The Yayoi Kusama Museum in Tokyo has completely changed its selection, making the visit a fresh new experience even for frequent patrons. The latest exhibition is titled “A POEM IN MY HEART,” showing some of Kusama’s rare works such as nihonga paintings and collages. Also on display are her latest works, some as late as 2020. A few of the works in the museum are being exhibited for the first time.
The room-size installation and the rooftop sculpture have been changed too. “I’m Here, but Nothing” is a new room-size fluorescent installation on the fourth floor, while the rooftop sculpture that used to be a pumpkin when the museum first opened is now a mesmerizing work called “LIFE.”
When: Until Aug 28 | More info
