Poster design: Yokoo Tadanori
Forty years after switching from graphic design to painting, Yokoo Tadanori continues to change without adhering to any given style or subject as both his art and life garner attention in Japan and abroad. In 2021 and 2022, a large-scale retrospective titled Genkyo Yokoo Tadanori will tour the country. Among the hundreds of items in the show are approximately 140 works and documents from the Yokoo Tadanori Museum of Contemporary Art – the largest number that have ever been borrowed from the museum. While on the one hand, as a facility that bears Yokoo’s name, this is a joyous event. But on the other hand, for the museum’s curators, it is like a state of emergency, in so much as many of Yokoo’s major works are not here. Moreover, the spread of the novel coronavirus has deprived us of the opportunity to communicate closely with Yokoo, and we are confronted with a dangerous situation as concerns what form future exhibitions might take.
Thus, in order to emphasize the absence of the artist and his important works, we have organized this exhibition, Curators in Panic, to shed light on their existence. The three participating curators, who have overseen 22 of the 26 exhibitions at the museum, selected their personal favorites from the works that were not included in Genkyo Yokoo Tadanori. They also recount some of the discoveries that they have made in the course of their everyday research as well as some anecdotes related to the exhibitions. It is our hope that by adopting this perspective in which the curators become viewers, the exhibition will give you an opportunity to freely enjoy the viewing experience and rediscover the rich creative world of Yokoo Tadanori.
Following on from Hyogo Prefectural Yokoo Emergency Hospital, which had the misfortune of opening during the coronavirus crisis, and State of Emergency Declaration, which was organized during the crisis, this exhibition is another attempt to reflect the reality of operating a museum in the midst of so much confusion.
Adult ¥700
University students ¥550
Age 70 and over ¥350
High school students and younger Free
Also on View: YOKOO TADANORI COLLECTION GALLERY 2021
We are pleased to announce the establishment of the Yokoo Tadanori Collection Gallery on the fourth floor of the Yokoo Tadanori Museum of Contemporary Art. Its mission is to present, from a variety of angles, not only conventional archival materials, but also other objects of interest, especially the various collections the artist has been assembling for many years… at least, that was the plan, but amid the coronavirus pandemic running rampant since last year, we found ourselves in a “state of emergency” as Yokoo’s collections, the intended centerpiece of the gallery, could not be shipped. The situation perfectly fit the title of the exhibition on view at the time, Curators in Panic. Under these circumstances, a decision was made to present in this space all the posters for shows held at the museum thus far, which embody the curators’ dedication and evoke a flood of memories. These posters, which Yokoo has been designing since the museum first opened, are our own prized collection, which is being shown all at once for the first time. In addition to the exhibition of works now on view, please enjoy this glimpse into the world of behind-the-scenes museum activities during the ongoing pandemic.
Date March 27 (Sat.) – August 22 (Sun.), 2021
Closed: Mondays (except May 3, Aug 9) and May 6, Aug 10
Hours: 10:00 – 18:00 (admission until 17:30)
