SHOW-CASE PROJECT Extra-1 Motohiro Tomii: The Presence of Objects and Matters
The Keio University Art Center (KUAC) plans exhibitions of contemporary art motivated by the conviction that universities—as formative places of learning for the next generation—should create opportunities for students to be able to encounter diverse perspectives, including the works of artists who are still alive and experiencing current events. As an experiment, KUAC will be hosting an art project that will span over the next three years in collaboration with Motohiro Tomii, a sculptor known for his readymade works that unveil new aspects of and perspectives on everyday objects. This exhibition is an “event” set apart from time or space. In most cases, the draw of an art exhibition is its temporary and fleeting nature. By thinking about this “event” over a continuous three-year period, the organizers will push the boundaries of what can be achieved by an exhibition and attempt to reframe the concept of an “event” from the confines of a small exhibition room.
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For the upcoming program under “SHOW-CASE PROJECT Extra,” a single artist will introduce his approach to a new type of exhibition, one which will span three years in the same space.
“Showcase” here plays a double meaning, both referring to the literal “showcasing” of art, but also how artists must “show their case.” In other words, it is a “case” for showcasing given responses or attitudes towards topics. In the past, there was one particular artist who suggested a “case” exhibition thought process: Motohiro Tomii. Together, he and KUAC crafted a pilot project that would incorporate various approaches to this play on words.
Are not approaches shaped by the very frameworks of an exhibition? The limited 45m2 of a single exhibition room at KUAC, for example, becomes in itself a case study of a show-case. Or, to expand the lens even further, is not the very concept and framework of an exhibition a function of a “show-case”? This is where the “extra” in the title SHOW-CASE PROJECT Extra comes from: the “meta” or “extra” commentary being projected on and through this exhibition.
The three rounds of this exhibit will interrogate both the relationship of the art pieces to the exhibition as well as to the very framework of an exhibition. It takes an “event”—one that would normally be a momentary experience—and turns it into a continuous examination of spatiality when seen through iterations in time. We hope that this presents an opportunity for everyone, from organizers to artists to visitors, to think about and savor the phenomena and feelings that are elicited by this experiment.
The first round of the exhibition, “Extra-1,” is titled The Shape of Things, and probes the depths of the fundamentals of sculpture. We welcome everyone to come and see this artist’s undertaking.
Date
October 21 (Mon), 2024 - January 24 (Fri), 2025
11:00-18:00
Closed on Saturday, Sunday, Holidays, December 28 (Sat) - January 5 (Sun)
Venue
Keio University Art Center (KUAC)
[Keio University Mita Campus South Annex]
Audience
Everyone welcome
Cost
Free participation
Enquiries and bookings
Keio University Art Center (KUAC)
+81-3-5427-1621
pj.ca.oiek.tsda@ijnet-ca
Exhibition［SHOW-CASE PROJECT Extra-1］
Date
October 21 (Mon), 2024 - January 24 (Fri), 2025
11:00-18:00
Closed on Saturday, Sunday, Holidays, December 28 (Sat) - January 5 (Sun)
Venue
Keio University Art Center (1F Keio University Mita Campus South Annex, Keio University Art Space)
2-15-45, Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8345
Tel. 03-5427-1621 Fax. 03-5427-1620
JR: Tamachi station on Yamanote - and KeihinTohoku Line
Subway: Mita station on Mita Line, Akabanebashi station on Oedo Line
Audience
Everyone welcome
Cost
Free participation
Related events
- Conversations
Date
14:00-15:30 November 30 (Sat), 2024Venue
Global Research Lab (G-Lab)
6F East Research Building, Mita Campus, Keio UniversityLecturer
Motohiro Tomii
Takayuki Hayashi (Professor at the Tokyo University of the Arts)* Free participation
* Everyone welcome- Workshop
Date
14:00- December 7 (Sat), 2024Lecturer
Motohiro Tomii* Free participatio
Application form
Dead Line: 12/2 12:00
Enquiries and bookings
Keio University Art Center (KUAC)
+81-3-5427-1621
pj.ca.oiek.tsda@ijnet-ca
Organiser(s)
Organised by: Keio University Art Center (KUAC)
Works to be Exhibited / Reference
Motohiro Tomii, relationship of dustpan #1, 2020 dustpan, bolt and nut
photo: Masaru Yanagiba ©Motohiro Tomii, Courtesy of Yumiko Chiba Associates
Motohiro Tomii, waste paper and space (trial piece) #1, 2020 paper
photo: Masaru Yanagiba ©Motohiro Tomii, Courtesy of Yumiko Chiba Associates
Motohiro Tomii, balloon and freestanding #17, 2024 plaster and sisal
photo: Motohiro Tomii ©Motohiro Tomii, Courtesy of Yumiko Chiba Associates
Motohiro Tomii, relationship of line #1-7, 2022-23 dustpan, bolt and nut
“Motohiro Tomii : Sculptures” | Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts, Japan | 2023
photo: Masaru Yanagiba ©Motohiro Tomii, Courtesy of Yumiko Chiba Associates
Motohiro Tomii, bulky and connection #6, 2023 binder, bolt and nut
photo: Masaru Yanagiba ©Motohiro Tomii, Courtesy of Yumiko Chiba Associates
Motohiro Tomii
Photo©️Kuge Yasuhide
Born in 1973 in Niigata Prefecture, Tomii graduated from the Musashino Art University with an MA in Fine Art (Sculpture) and is currently a professor at Musashino Art University. His career evolution is marked by an initial period of creating diminutive plaster figures, after which he transitioned to assembling three-dimensional works from an eclectic array of household objects such as superballs, clips, pencils, and hammers.
Employing straightforward techniques like arranging, layering, binding, and folding, Tomii releases these objects from their original meanings and uses, thereby persistently seeking novel modalities of sculpture. In addition to sharing “Today’s Sculpture” daily on X (previously Twitter), the artist also undertakes efforts to critically assess traditional exhibition venues and frameworks.
Major exhibitions include ‘Yokohama Triennale 2011: OUR MAGIC HOUR – How Much of the World Can We Know?’ (Yokohama Museum of Art/BankART Studio NYK, 2011), ‘MOT Annual 2011: Nearest Faraway’ (Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2011), ‘Artist File 2015 Next Doors: Contemporary Art in Japan and Korea’ (The National Art Center, Tokyo/National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea), and ‘Re construction’ (Nerima Art Museum, 2020). In 2023, the artist appeared in several solo exhibitions, ‘Time to See’ (Niigata City Art Museum) and ‘Motohiro Tomii: Sculptures’ (Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts).
Visitor Information
The Keio University Art Space is a small exhibition room. If you wish to schedule a group of 15 or more people for a student field trip or other group, please contact the Art Center in advance. We will prepare leaflets and other material to make sure that your visit goes as smoothly as possible. We also ask that everyone in your group take care not to distract or inconvenience other visitors while at the exhibition. You will need to coordinate with the Art Center in advance if you plan to conduct a class or other activities for a field trip in the Keio University Art Space. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
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