The National Art Center, Tokyo (NACT)

With ‘Prism of the Real: Making Art in Japan 1989–2010’, the National Art Center, Tokyo offers an illuminating look at how Japanese and international artists responded to an era of seismic change – namely the two transformative decades that followed the end of the Showa era (1926–1989), when the Cold War’s conclusion and the onset of globalisation reshaped the world’s cultural landscape. Featuring works by over 50 artists, the exhibition traces the evolution of contemporary art in Japan from the early stirrings of internationalisation in the 1980s through a period of creative fermentation marked by technological shifts, socio-political upheaval and the expansion of global dialogue. Across three thematic sections, visitors will be able to view a diverse array of works that grapple with identity, memory, war trauma, and the forging of new communal bonds. Like a prism refracting light into myriad wavelengths, the exhibition highlights the multiplicity of perspectives that shaped artistic expression in Japan between 1989 and 2010, offering visitors a powerful lens on a pivotal cultural moment in Japan’s (and the world’s) history.

Classical elegance and Mediterranean heritage meet daring innovation in the artisanal jewellery of Bulgari, the Rome-based luxury house that’s become synonymous with exceptional craftsmanship over its 140-year history. This show, the brand’s largest in Japan and its first in a decade, offers an opulent journey through nearly 350 pieces of jewellery and contemporary art. Its name a portmanteau of the Greek words kalos (beautiful) and eidos (form), the show presents a kaleidoscopic narrative where colour is both the medium and the message. It showcases Bulgari’s use of hues as a hallmark of its innovation, from the postwar ‘chromatic revolution’ in gemstones to the vibrant combinations that define the brand’s legacy today. Divided into three thematic chapters, the exhibition explores colour through scientific, cultural and sensory lenses. Contemporary artists Mariko Mori, Lara Favaretto and Akiko Nakayama offer personal meditations on the theme, while scenography by architect Kazuyo Sejima and design studio Formafantasma unites Roman grandeur with Japanese minimalism.