The randomly changing icons at the top of the page were a design idea from former resident artists Andreas & Fredrika (Sweden).
Here they are as a radish and an eggplant in Japan.
We are still uploading archive pages, so please bear with us.
I hope you like the site, and find it easier to navigate compared to the old one.
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AIT ARTIST TALK #46: " Using things the wrong way makes me feel better"
by Israeli Artist Ariel Schlesinger
Ariel Schlesinger is currently artist in resident with AIT in Tokyo,
supported by The Ishibashi Foundation. Born in Israel in 1980, Ariel lives
and works in Berlin.
Ariel makes works of exquisite detail and subtlety as sculptures and
installations. Ordinary objects or situations are altered by the addition of
an unexpected material or circumstance, creating small ruptures in the
fabric of our everyday reality. Alternating between the objects functions
such as in the bicycle work where the wheels of a bicycle are filled with
butane gas, which is slowly released as a flame from the wheel’s air intake.
Two pieces of white paper rotate against each other on a table without ever
collapsing in an eternal mechanical dance. Huge Oriental carpets are rolled
up and burnt over a fire for many hours, and then unfurled in the gallery as
an eerily mesmerizing ‘painting’ or process work. Ariel’s works suggest many
contexts and situations including the tensions of his native region, but
never dwell on this alone.
Ariel has shown in museums including De Appel Holland and The Museum of
Modern Art Warsaw as well as in several galleries in the U.S., Europe and
Israel.
Ariel will introduce his works using slides. The talk will be in English
with consecutive translation into Japanese.
[Biography]
Ariel Schlesinger, born in Jerusalem, 1980 and lives and works in Berlin.
He has received awards from Künstlerhäuser Worpswede, Germany 2009, Cité
Internationale des Arts, Paris, 2007 and America Israel Cultural Foundation,
New York 2003-4, amongst others.
Selected solo exhibitions
2010: Galerija Gregor Podnar, Berlin(Germany)
2009: Dvir GALLERY, Tel-Aviv(Israel)
2008: Galerija Gregor Podnar, Berlin(Germany), “Togetherness” (with Jonathan Monk),
Dvir GALLERY, Tel-Aviv(Israel)
Selected Group exhibitions
2010: “Christmas in July”, Gallery Yvon Lambert, New York(U.S.), “I'm Not Here.
An Exhibition Without Francis Alÿs”, De Appel Art Center, Amsterdam(Holland)
2009: “Magic Show”, Hayward Gallery, London(U.K.), touring exhibition, various venues
across U.K.,
Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw(Poland)
2008: “Can art do more?”, 5th Jerusalem Biennial and “Signs of Life”, Israel Museum,
Jerusalem(Israel)
[Weblinks]
・Galerija Gregor Podnar(Berlin)
www.gregorpodnar.com/_index.php?p=p_78&sName=ariel-schlesinger
・Dvir GALLERY(Israel)
www.dvirgallery.com/artists/artist_multimedia.asp?contentCatID=7&contentPageID=8&artistID=27
[Outline]
Date and Time: SAT, July 17 2010, 14:00 - 16:00
Organized by: Arts Initiative Tokyo [AIT]/ Supported by: Ishibashi Foundation
Venue: AIT Room Daikanyama
AIT ARTIST TALK #45: "Journeys to the Memory of Place"
by British Artist Simon Starling
AIT will host a talk by the British artist Simon Starling on March 31st, starting 19:00.
This talk is supported by The Hiroshima Museum of Contemporary Art, where Simon
Starling will hold a one person exhibition in 2011.
Simon Starling (b.1967) was the winner of The Turner Prize in 2005, and is currently in Japan
visiting Hiroshima, Kyoto and Tokyo researching towards his exhibition next year.
Starling uses various research methods to draw out episodes and histories, exposing
the changing relationships, conflicts and mobility of culture.
His works manifest the passage of time and processes. This research based attitude
is perhaps similar to the anthropologist or explorer who journeys towards some truth.
In this talk Starling will introduce his works, which extend the horizons of the imagination
and contemporary art now.
【Outline】
Date and Time: Wed., March 31 2010, 19:00 - 21:00
Organized by: Arts Initiative Tokyo [AIT]/ Supported by: The Hiroshima Museum of Contemporary Art
Venue: AIT Room Daikanyama
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Yoshinari Nishio, former MAD Artist course student, held a document exhibition in AIT Room for one week in February 2010. Titled Overall Project in Nairobi, it presented video, photographs and textiles from his recent Overall series of works made in Nairobi.
Nishio has recently participated in many art projects in Japan and abroad, including the Echigo Tsumari Art Triennale 2009.
The artist made a talk at the opening.
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Artist Talk #43: “Hungry Tunes” by William Engelen
For the first artist talk of 2010 we are happy to present the current Artist in Resident
supported by the FONDS BKVB of Holland, William Engelen. William will stay in
Japan between January and April.
William Engelen works in various media including drawing, sound pieces and large-scale
outdoor installations. He is well known for sound-based works and his use of graphical
scores which often develop through close collaborations with classical musicians. He has
also developed complex and humorous sound installations using the weather or bird song
as the triggers for the work, and made a series of sound pieces which are composed from
the diaries of the artist or musicians. William Engelen works mostly in-situ.
In this talk William will introduce his work over the last twenty years using slides and sound.
The talk will be in English with consecutive translation into Japanese by AIT staff Roger McDonald.
William would like to enlist the assistance of attendees for a new sound piece he is preparing
while in Tokyo – details will be explained at the talk!
【Biography】
William Engelen (b. 1964, Holland). Lives and works in Berlin and Rotterdam.
He has participated in the 2005 Documenta, and has had a solo exhibition “Verstrijken voor ensemble”,
at the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam in 2008.
【Outline】
Title: AIT ARTIST TALK #43：“Hungry Tunes” by William Engelen
Date and Time: Monday, February 15 2010, 19:00 - 21:00
Organized by : Arts Initiative Tokyo [AIT]
Venue: AIT Room Daikanyama
DECEMBER MINGLIUS
FRIDAY DECEMBER 18th, 19:00 – 22:00 / FREE ENTRY
AIT will host the final Minglius event this year!!
From 8pm, there will be a few talks as follows.
◆ 11th Istanbul Biennale Report
Started in 1987, the 11th Istanbul Biennale "What Keeps Mankind Alive?"（Sep-Nov, 2009）
was directed by WHW / What, How & for Whom,a curative collective of 4 female curators.
AIT staff, Naoko Horiuchi will give a talk of her visit to this biennale.
Istanbul Biennale URL: http://www.iksv.org/bienal11/anasayfa_en.asp
AIT members Keisuke Ozawa and Roger McDonald will also briefly look back on the art industry
this year of both Japan and overseas.
◆ Published: “AMERICA MADE” by Arcus Project Director, Mizuki Endo
Director of the Arcus Project, which has an artist in residence program in Ibaraki prefecture,
has published a book which is a collective of interviews he has done to get a better understanding of
a country he has long shunned; America. Interviewees include the famous Takashi Murakami, Yuko
Hasegawa(Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo Curator), and more.
Mr. Endo himself will give a brief talk, and the books will be on sale.
URL: http://03150.net/tontuu/2009/11/post.html *Note: The book is published in Japanese only.
As usual, there will be a bar, tasty snacks and drinks will also be served.
Bring along your friends for a night of fun with art, good food/drinks and music!
【OUTLINE】
DECEMBER MINGLIUS
Date: Friday December 18th, 2009
Time: 19:00-22:00, Talk Events begin 20:00
Venue: AIT room Daikanyama
MINGLIUS WITH ARCUS 3 “3 Artists with ARCUS Director Mizuki Endo”
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 13th, 19:00 – 22:00, FREE ENTRY
Following our successful Minglius collaboration with ARCUS last year, we
welcome the 2009 artists in residence to AIT to make short presentations
about their works and hear from ARCUS Director, Mizuki Endo. The
presentations will be translated consecutively into Japanese from English.
As usual, there will be a bar, snacks, a relaxed sitting on the floor environment
and music.
This year’s artists are:
・Daniel Seiple (Born in 1973, US/Lives and works in: Berlin）
・Doreen Uhlig ( Born in 1977,Germany/Lives and works in: Berlin）
・Wu, Shang-Lin( Born in 1977,Taiwan/Lives and works in: Taipei）
To know more about them, visit ARCUS website! http://www.arcus-project.com/en/residence/
【OUTLINE】
MINGLIUS WITH ARCUS 3 “3 artists with ARCUS Director Mizuki Endo”
Date: Friday November 13th, 2009
Time: 19:00-22:00, Mini Talks begin 20:30
Venue: AIT room Daikanyama
AIT is pleased to host an artist talk by the current artist in resident Bianca Maria Barmen, supported by IASPIS, Sweden.
Bianca works as a sculptor using clay as her primary material out of which the basis
of her forms and little installations emerge. The sculptures are later cast in un-painted
plaster or bronze and the original clay sculptures are lost.
Her forms exude a sense of intense quiet, often presented together as small families of
related objects like compact theatre sets. An image seen in a newspaper or a passage
remembered from a book may be the starting point for her works.
Bianca has written about the importance of clay in her practice, and its ancient links to
the birth of sculpture at the dawn of human history where clay was often placed on the skulls
of the deceased at funeral rites. For her this material is a fundamental, organic compound
temporarily used by the artist before being returned to the earth.
Bianca will introduce her works in this talk using slides.
The talk will be held in English with consecutive translation into Japanese by Roger McDonald (AIT).
【Biography】
Bianca Maria Barmen (b. 1960) lives and works in Lund, Sweden and in Cambodia.
Her works were presented at the Frieze Art Fair in London in 2007 and have been collected by many
institutions including the Moderna Museet, Stockholm.
【Outline】
Title: AIT ARTIST TALK #42：“The Sculpture of Bianca Maria Barmen” by Bianca Maria Barmen
Date and Time: Friday, October 23 2009, 19:00 - 21:00
Organized by : Arts Initiative Tokyo [AIT]
Venue: AIT Room Daikanyama
Voicing Your Body - Part 2
AIT is pleased to host the second voice-body workshop by Meri Nikula on
OCTOBER 9 at AIT Room, Daikanyama, 19:00 - 21:30.
Meri Nikula was AIT artist in resident with support from FRAME and The
Finnish Institute in Japan during early 2009.
Following her very successful Voicing the Body workshop held in April, Meri
is back to lead another session of breathing, movement & voice, inspired by
Qi Gong and yoga as well as contemporary dance and experimental vocal
practices.
We will start with relaxing and warming up of the body and getting gradually into
the voice, moving into group improvisation exercises and experiments.
The workshop is a fun and self-revealing 2.5 hours, and no previous dancing or
singing experience is necessary. This workshop goes deeper from the Voicing
Your Body (Part 1), but newcomers are also welcome!
Please wear or bring loose clothes.
The workshop will include some simple instructions and explanations in
English by Meri.
[Meri Nikula biography] www.merinikula.com
Born in Finland (1977) . Meri graduated in June 2007 from The Royal Academy
of Fine Arts in the Interfaculty Image and Sound/ArtScience in The Hague, The
Netherlands.
http://www.merinikula.com/bio.html
OUTLINE Title: WORKSHOP “VOICING YOUR BODY Part 2"
Date and time: Friday October 9 2009, 19:00 - 21:30
Organized by : Arts Initiative Tokyo [AIT]
Venue: AIT room Daikanyama
http://www.galleripalm.se/galleripalm/3.0/konstnarer/BiancaMariaBarmen.htm
http://www.chatterjeeandlal.com/minam_apang.html
http://qag.qld.gov.au/exhibitions/current/apt6/artists/minam_apang
