For over two decades, Pokémon has won the world over with countless video games, trading cards, anime shows and even a Hollywood blockbuster. Now, the renowned franchise is taking over the art world with a massive Tokyo exhibition in collaboration with American artist Daniel Arsham.
Arsham has once again teamed up with art gallery Nanzuka to present his latest Pokémon project, A Ripple in Time. This is not the first time Pokémon and Arsham have worked together; they collaborated back in 2020 for an exhibition at Tokyo’s Parco Museum as well as another showcase at Perrotin in New York in 2021.
A Ripple in Time consists of five exhibitions, each at separate locations around Tokyo. You'll find artworks at three of Nanzuka's gallery spaces including Nanzuka Underground, Nanzuka 2G, and 3110NZ by LDH Kitchen. There’ll also be public sculptures at Roppongi Hills' 66 Plaza and Isamu Noguchi's indoor stone garden on the first floor of Sogetsu Plaza.
The exhibition features Pokémon characters in Arsham's signature fossilised, decaying style which he calls 'Fictional Archaeology'. Some of his most notable works are his sculptural pieces made from materials such as pyrite, selenite, volcanic ash, glass, crystal, bronze and more.
Nanzuka Underground
Nanzuka Underground holds the largest exhibition. You'll find a mix of artworks including a short anime piece from Arsham's collaboration with Kunihiko Yuyama, the General Director of the Pokémon TV series. In the works for over two years, Arsham was involved in the storyboards, scene-setting, and determining which Pokémon characters would appear in the final animation.
A series of paintings are also on display depicting crystallised Pokémon inspired by scenes from the anime. The exhibition will be running at the gallery until Sunday March 27.
Sogetsu Plaza
At Sogetsu Plaza, there’s a series of new statues standing around Isamu Noguchi's stone garden including monsters like Pikachu and Cubone. The sculptures here will be on display until Sunday February 20.
Roppongi Hills
Roppongi Hills houses six large-scale bronze Pokémon sculptures which are displayed outside at 66 Plaza. Here you'll find Ash, Pikachu, Charmander, Mewtwo, Jigglypuff and Cubone on display until Saturday February 26.
3110NZ by LDH Kitchen
Arsham's Pokémon drawings, which marked the start of his project, are now on display at 3110NZ until Sunday March 6.
Nanzuka 2G
Last but not least, Nanzuka 2G inside Shibuya Parco will house one of the rarest Pokémon of all: Mew. You’ll find a sculpture of the elusive monster plus two bar-reliefs on display until Sunday March 6. You can also pick up limited edition merchandise at 2G including T-shirts, sweats, a keychain and a crystallised Mew card made in collaboration with jewellery brand Eyefunny Objects.
For more information on the exhibitions and artist, visit the website.
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