AWT

FOCUS

AWT Focus is a curated sales platform with a historical scope. Each year a guest curator is invited to experiment with new narratives of modern and contemporary art through works drawn from Art Week Tokyo’s participating galleries. 

This year’s edition of AWT Focus is led by Mami Kataoka, one of Japan’s most accomplished curators. “Earth, Wind, and Fire: Visions of the Future from Asia” surveys Japanese contemporary art in relation to new practices in Asia and beyond. The exhibition is divided into four sections addressing the themes of cosmic structures; hand, body, and prayer; invisible forces; and natural cycles and ecosystems. 

The 57 participating artists and groups hail from places as varied as Brazil, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Mexico, the Philippines, and Taiwan as well as Japan. Alongside 26 Japanese galleries, three international galleries—Kukje (Seoul), Silverlens (Manila/New York), and TKG+ (Taipei)—are contributing works to the exhibition. 

CURATORIAL STATEMENT

New divisions and conflicts keep breaking out around the world, while the global environmental crisis only continues to deepen. Alongside these pressing issues, recognizing previously marginalized identities and cultures has become a major concern of contemporary art. What kind of future can we envision under these conditions? Is it possible for different values to coexist in diversity? What is the necessity of art right now? 

Although there are no right answers to these questions, I believe the natural principles and invisible energies that have sustained our existence from long ago can give us a broader sense of the world in times of uncertainty. Numerous thought and faith systems in Asia conceive holistic worldviews based on dynamic practices of sense and wisdom that account for the integration of the microcosm of the body within the macrocosm of the universe, the fluid equilibrium of the five cosmic elements, and the presence of the spirits that dwell in the earth and in natural phenomena. This outlook in turn reminds us of a world understood through the inquiry of physics, chemistry, astronomy, and geology, rather than one ruled through power and the forced categorizations of politics and economics, as well as a world beyond science altogether.  

Entitled “Earth, Wind, and Fire: Visions of the Future from Asia,” this edition of AWT Focus examines the cosmic elements of earth, wind, fire, water, and wood and the invisible energies that generate their circulation. The exhibition brings together representations of the universe and its energy cycles in contemporary art, spanning from Asian worldviews to those of other diverse cultures. 

The host venue, the Okura Museum of Art, was established in 1917 as the first private art museum in Japan; the design of its building by the pioneering modern architect Chuta Ito, who traveled to China, India, Myanmar, the United States, Europe, and beyond, reflects the influence of his encounters with different world civilizations. In this space watched over by lions, dragons, and other imaginary beasts, I hope to cross national and cultural borders to offer a new perception of the cultural dialogues, connections, and continuities that emerge from among the works on view while also reconsidering the sensitivity and imagination that humanity has developed over the course of its existence in the universe.   

ABOUT MAMI KATAOKA

Mami Kataoka is Director of the Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, and Director of the National Center for Art Research, Tokyo. From 2007 to 2009 Kataoka was the first International Curator at Hayward Gallery, London. From 1997 to 2002 she was Chief Curator at Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery. She was Artistic Director of Aichi Triennale 2022, Artistic Director of the 21st Biennale of Sydney (2018), and Co-Artistic Director of the 9th Gwangju Biennale (2012). From 2020 to 2022 Kataoka served as President of CIMAM (International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art.

AWT Focus is organized with the special cooperation of the Okura Museum of Art. Located on the grounds of the Okura Tokyo, the Okura Museum of Art was established by Kihachiro Okura in 1917 as Japan’s first private art museum. The museum’s collection of premodern Japanese and East Asian art includes three National Treasures and 12 Important Cultural Properties. Designed by pioneering modern architect Chuta Ito, the current building was constructed in 1927 and has since been expanded and renovated.

LOCATION

Okura Museum of Art
2-10-3 Toranomon, Minato-ku

DATES AND TIMES

November 7–10, 10am–6pm (last entry 5:30pm)

ADMISSION

Ticketed admission. Online ticketing will be available from September.