Special Exhibition Takehiro Iikawa “DECORATOR CRAB: Measuring the Future, Pulling Time”

Special Exhibition Takehiro Iikawa “DECORATOR CRAB: Measuring the Future, Pulling Time”

The Kirishima Open Air Museum is pleased to present the solo exhibition by artist Takehiro Iikawa (1981-) as a special exhibition of contemporary art. 

The title “Decorator Crab” is taken from the actual crustacean that inhabits the world’s oceans and changes its appearances by wearing seaweed and pebbles in response to imitate its surrounding environment. For some time now, Iikawa has been engaged in a practice that takes a positive view of the difficulties in communicating to others surprising moments that they do not encounter themselves. While visualizing the gap between perception and reality, Iikawa proposes new experiences that deal with the relationship between the site and the viewer.

In this exhibition, the artist presents a new series of work based on the motif of a ruler and a rope. Incorporating the physical actions of the viewer, which at first glance may appear like acts of play, the artist creates a large-scale installation that is extended from the exhibition room out into the open-air place. Iikawa takes upon a brand new challenge never seen before since the museum has opened. The exhibition will also include past works that are humorous and perceptive, such as Very Heavy Bag, which seems like a lost-and-found object left behind, as well as the enormous sculpture Mr.Kobayashi, The Pink Cat that cannot be captured in full view. Iikawa’s works, which focuses on the imperfections of communication and the ‘meeting point’ that comes late into understanding, will provide an opportunity to imagine the diverse possibilities that lie behind a single ‘event’.

【Sponsors】Kagoshima Prefecture Cultural Foundation / Minami-Nippon Shimbun Co.Ltd. / Minaminihon Broadcasting Company Co., Ltd. (MBC) / Kagoshima Television Station Co., Ltd. (KTS)

【In cooperation with】Yūsui Township / Kirishima-sanroku Yūsui Town Tourism Association / Daiichi Kōtsū Sangyō /N īzono Jidousya Co., Ltd.

【Special Sponsorship】Toyota Corolla Kagoshima

【Subsidary Body】The Mitsubishi UFJ Trust Cultural Foundation

【Curation】Takuya Tsutsumi(independent curator)

【Related Programs】

①Opening Ceremony

July 14 [Fri] 2023 / 14:00–

 

②Talk Session 1

July 14 [Fri] 2023 / 15:00–

Guest: Lai Yi-Hsin (Director, Chiayi Art Museum) 

Language: Mandarin/Japanese

 

③Gallery Tour by the Artist

July 15 [Sat], September 9 [Sat] 2023 / 14:00–

Language: Japanese

 

④Workshop by the Artist

August 11 [Fri] 2023 / 14:00–

Language: Japanese

 

⑤Talk Session 2

August 13 [Sun] 2023 / 15:00–

Guest: Areum Lee (Co-director, YPC SPACE)

Language: Korean/Japanese

 

⑥Gallery Tour by the Museum Curator 

August 14 [Mon], 27 [Sun], September 3 [Sun] 2023/ 14:00–

Language: Japanese

 

⑦Talk Session 3

September 10 [Sun] 2023 / 14:00–

Guest: Mayumi Hirano (Co-founder, Load na Dito) 

Language: Japanese

 

【Outline of Exhibit】(About 10 installations, sclptures, videos, etc.)

Production scene of DECORATOR CRABMeasuring the Future, Pulling Time, 2023

Photo: Takehiro Iikawa

DECORATOR CRAB —Mr. Kobayashi, The Pink Cat, 2022

Exhibition view at The Hakone Open-air Museum “DECORATOR CRAB: Occurring simultaneously or awareness being delayed”

Photo: Takafumi Sakanaka

DECORATOR CRAB—Make Space, Use Space, 2022

Exhibition view at Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art “DECORATOR CRAB: Make Space, Use Space”

Photo: Takafumi Sakanaka

DECORATOR CRAB—Arrangement Adjustment Movement, 2018

Exhibition view at AMAGASAKI A-Lab “Decorator Crab: Arrangement Adjustment Movement”

Photo: Hyogo Mugyuda

DECORATOR CRAB—Make Space, Use Space, 2022

Exhibition view at The Hakone Open-air Museum “DECORATOR CRAB: Occurring simultaneously or awareness being delayed”

Photo: Takehiro Iikawa

 

Click here for the exhibit flyer

Information

Venue
Kirishima Open-Air Museum (Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan)
Holding period
2023/07/14 〜 2023/09/10
2023 July 14 [Fri] - September 10 [Sun] 2023
*Closed on Mondays (except July 17, July 31 and August 14)
Viewing time
9:00-17:00*Open until 19:00 on Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays from July 20 to August 31.*Admission until 30 minutes before closing.
Admission fee
Adults 1,200 yen (900 yen)Students (University/High school) 800 yen (600 yen)Children (Elementary/Junior Highschool) 600 yen (400 yen)*Prices in parentheses indicate admission for advance-sale tickets and groups of more than 20 people.*The museum’s permanent exhibition can also be viewed with this ticket.

ARTIST

133

Takehiro Iikawa
Born 1981 and based in Hyogo, Japan. He is a graduate of Seian University of Arts and Design. Iikawa's work provokes thought through the participation of others, such as Expecting Spectator, in which spaces and objects that are transformed by the viewer's involvement with the work appear as different events in other places. Recent solo exhibitions include “OCCURRING SIMULTANEOUSLY OR AWARENESS BEING DELAYED” (The Hakone Open-Air Museum, 2022-23); “DECORATOR CRAB: Make Space, Use Space” (Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, 2022). Participation in group shows include “Range of the Senses: What It Means to ‘Experience’ Today” (The National Museum of Art, 2022); Yokohama Triennale 2020 “Afterglow” (PLOT 48, 2020); “Roppongi Crossing 2019: Connexions” (Mori Art Museum, 2019). Iikwa was awarded the Encouragement in Hyogo Prefecture Arts Award in 2022.