EX­hi­Bi­tion

NAM JUNE PAIK: THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS PASSING

Media art pioneer Nam June Paik’s relationship with Watari-um extends back to the late 1970s, when he started exhibiting with the museum’s precursor, Galerie Watari. Over the ensuing years Paik produced numerous projects in Tokyo, including site-specific installations for Watari-um’s current Mario Botta–designed space, which opened in 1990. This exhibition marks the 20th anniversary of Paik’s passing by revisiting that creative partnership through works including the immersive Forest of Cage / Revelation of the Forest (1993), featuring a forest of plants interspersed with TV monitors, and the ethereal New Candle (1993), which multiplies a single candle into a concatenation of light through video projection feedback loops. Additional videos, drawings, and collages offer insights into Paik’s visionary practice and its continued significance for an age of smartphones and AI.

WATARI-UM

Watari-um, the Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, opened in 1990. This private museum’s collection is based on works acquired by founding director Shizuko Watari, a champion of postwar Western art in Japan. Watari-um holds three-to-four exhibitions per year that cover a broad range of topics, from contemporary art and Japanese culture to architecture. Guest curators have included such legendary figures as Jan Hoet, Jean-Hubert Martin, and Harald Szeemann. Accompanying lectures, workshops, and other events help visitors gain a deeper understanding of the exhibitions and their significance to contemporary society. The museum also organizes off-site exhibitions and events.

Swiss architect Mario Botta spent five years designing Watari-um’s building, which was his first museum project and is now known as one of his masterpieces. The striped granite and concrete facade, resembling a bird in flight over the city, has become a landmark of the Tokyo art scene.

Dining options on-site.