Curious Space vol.3｜DESIGNART TOKYO 2020 Report (Part 1)

While various events are being held in different shapes due to the corona crisis,
DESIGNART TOKYO, which celebrated its 4th year this year, also included online talk sessions and exhibitions.
It is held in New Normal style.

With the theme of "POWER TO THE CREATIVES", this year's event was positioned as an effort to restart culture.
Focusing on the connection between the exhibition and the real space, the first part reports on the Omotesando-Shibuya area.
(Click here for Part 2)

Holding an event where you can see the ingenuity of the corona misfortune

On October 22nd (Thursday), an opening ceremony was held at the World Kita-Aoyama Building, kicking off DESIGNART TOKYO 2020.

The bright pink graphics at the entrance of the main venue are specs that change color depending on the angle, fueling the anticipation for the event. This year, when social distancing has become a new standard, the much-talked-about VanMoof appears on the official e-bike. The press tour was not a group bus tour, but a style in which each individual traveled around.

VanMoof <<S3>> & <<X3>> with distinctive designs on display in front of the information center, World Kita-Aoyama Building

At the main venue, the title "New Home Office", with the background of the spread of working from home and remote work, there is an exhibition of furniture that colors the time spent at home. Proposals are made to enhance the value of staying home from various perspectives, such as vivid colors, comfortable upholstery, and connections with plants.

Master Aldrossi's Architecture x REBOOT = Reboot

Next, we visited "Jasmac Aoyama" in Jingumae. This is a building designed by Italian master architect Mr. Aldrossi and is currently used as a wedding hall. It's usually difficult to see the interior, but thanks to the openness of the venue, I was able to fully enjoy the interior. The title of the exhibition is a group exhibition with the participation of artists from Japan and abroad, with a strong theme "REBOOT" that overcomes the social situation that has become stagnant due to the new coronavirus.

The entrance hall has a large skylight dome and a spiral staircase leading to the basement. It is a beautiful space where organic curves and shadows of natural light create natural shading on the pink walls.

The basement has an open and deep space centered on a spiral staircase, and the gold detail design shines. The exhibits are composed of low and simple fixtures to respect the interior.

Among the exhibits, the one that caught my eye was the collaboration of the creative unit "9+1" with the glass artists of the Toyama Glass Studio. Jun Kamei's work "A drop of light" is a light that emits light as much as water is poured. The metal foil acts as a sensor that senses water, and it becomes even brighter when touched.

In today's world where everything can be turned on and off with a switch, by creating an opportunity to interact with things, this product reminds us of a more fundamental and human way of life.

When you touch it with your hand, the metal foil inside reacts and makes it brighter.

Apparel store x exhibition space

The next place I visited was hotel koé tokyo. We have 3 exhibitions at the apparel store on the 2nd floor. What I would like to focus on here is how to create a space that combines a permanent store with a temporary exhibition. While using fixtures that are usually used as they are, it is impressive that they are displayed in a natural way like lifestyle miscellaneous goods related to other products by using hanging advertisements to announce the event.

The silicone cups released by INJO JAPAN are very transparent and look like glass, so you will be surprised at how light they are the moment you pick them up. You don't have to worry about it breaking, and you may even get into the habit of using it outdoors, such as on a picnic, or carrying your own glass around in the office or on the go.

Tokyu Plaza Shibuya x Decentralized exhibition with fun encounters

Inside Tokyu Plaza, multiple exhibitions are placed everywhere, and if you go around the floors in order, you can come across new works in the open public space. I feel that it is an effective method for a tour exhibition in a complex facility.

Drape-like chair and partition work―Drapes / NORIKO HASHIDA

Playing with sand in a glass shaped like an hourglass―HAFT DESIGN / Daisuke Akiyama

Every time you turn the page, you will see a visual and sound effect - KARAKURI powered by EPL inc.

In this work, which fuses digital images with the act of "flipping through a book," by looking at a picture book as if looking into a box, the directionality of the sound increases, giving the viewer a sense of being in a small room. The built-in spotlight-type projector has a high degree of design, and you can feel its versatility in spatial presentation.

Extra｜Collaboration Exhibition “dawn” at Hikarie

Although it is not a DESIGNART exhibition, we will also introduce the collaboration exhibition "dawn" between photographer Kyohei Matsuda and the jewelry brand "moil", which was held in the same venue. The theme is the sense of incongruity that arises when photographic works that express the time axis from birth to death in light and darkness overlap with art jewelry created from familiar everyday items.

The models in the photos, lined up in a row, age 0 to 90, are photographed in the same room from morning to evening using only natural light. The realistic texture of the old man in the darkness after sunset conveys the sadness of the final stages of life, as well as the generosity of accepting everything.

It was a splendid exhibition in which the two-dimensional work of photography stood up as a space that made you feel the space and time.

In the second part, we will also visit other areas of DESIGNART. Continue to Part 2​