1. 国立国際美術館
    Photo:Kazuo FUKUNAGA | 国立国際美術館
  2. 国立国際美術館
    Photo:Kazuo FUKUNAGA | 国立国際美術館

The National Museum of Art, Osaka

  • Art
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Time Out says

Architecturally one of the most interesting museums in Japan, the National Museum of Art, Osaka is designed by famed architect César Pelli. The avant-garde metal structure looks like an art installation in itself, whose sail-like formation is inspired by the movements of bamboo. The museum space proper sits largely underground.

Located on the unofficial art island of Nakanoshima in central Osaka, the museum has one of the country’s largest collections of Japanese and international contemporary art, with most of the pieces from the 1950s onwards. These works – which cover a range of influential artists including Christian Boltanski, Chiharu Shiota, O Jun and ​​Michio Fukuoka – are showcased on a rotating basis at the Collection Exhibition. Supplementing this is a programme of thematic temporary exhibitions.

At the museum atrium you’ll find a large-scale painting by Joan Miró, a mobile by Alexander Calder, an installation by Yoshihiro Suda, a photography work by Jiro Takamatsu and an imposing bronze sculpture by Henry Moore – all of which you can enjoy without a ticket.

Details

Address
大阪府大阪市北区中之島4-2-55
Osaka
Transport:
Watanabebashi Station (Keihan Nakanoshima line); Higobashi Station (Osaka Metro Yotsubashi line); Fukushima Station (JR Osaka Loop, Hanshin Main lines)
Opening hours:
Tue-Thu, Sun 10am-5pm; Fri, Sat 10am-8pm / closed Mon (Tue if Mon is a holiday)

What’s on

Prolonged Emergencies

These are troubled times we live in – unpredictable and deeply anxiety-inducing. Just as we begin to move past the shock of a global pandemic, new uncertainties emerge: natural disasters, political unrest and rapidly evolving technologies that blur the line between fact and misinformation. It often feels as though we are living in a constant state of emergency, with no resolution in sight. In moments like these, however, art offers a means of coping, and a way to imagine something beyond the chaos. Using today’s volatile climate as a starting point, 'Prolonged Emergencies' brings together thought-provoking works by eight artists to explore how we could begin to make sense of this ‘new normal’. This is not an exhibition that sugar-coats, and there are no answers here. Instead, through a tightly curated collection of video art, photography, immersive and mixed media installations, you’ll encounter a range of perspectives and narratives on the present and possible futures. Highlights include Kiyoshi Takahashi’s powerful Free Watermelon Bar Stand and FWB Sign Banner in Sapporo; Ishu Han’s poignant reflection on displacement, I carry a home, and a home relocates me; and Ayoung Kim’s dystopian Delivery Dancer’s Sphere, which imagines a future wrought by an AI-enabled gig economy.
  • Contemporary art
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