[Art Exhibitions 2024] My Top 5 Picks of the Year (Contemporary Art Edition)

The 2010s were a decade where I tended to drift away from art exhibitions, making various excuses like being busy with work or having children, but a few years have passed since I decided to visit as many as possible, triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
During that time, I visited a fair number of exhibitions, and I decided to make a fresh start to record the memories that were constantly slipping away, starting a note-based art exhibition memo in 2024.

Putting my thoughts into words after viewing an exhibition became a great opportunity to think objectively about what I had seen, and allowed me to reflect more deeply on art and myself.

I wrote 100 articles.
If I included the ones I didn't write about, the number of visits would be even higher, but in any case, I spent a considerable amount of time, money, and effort.
Continuing was quite difficult, but thanks to the many "likes" and comments I received, I managed to keep going.

To everyone who gave me "likes" or comments, thank you very much.

So, I will look back on this year's 100 exhibitions.
Since it was impossible to choose if I mixed all the genres together, I divided them into (Contemporary Art Edition) and (Ancient to Modern Art Edition) and tried to select five exhibitions for each.
Also, since each had its own unique merits, they are listed in ascending order of their numbering rather than by rank.
This is strictly a subjective selection based on my own tastes.

This time, it is (Contemporary Art Edition).

[Art Exhibitions 2024] My Top 5 Picks of the Year (Contemporary Art Edition)

・#21 Could This Become a Room Where Future Artists Sleep? @ The National Museum of Western Art

The shock of holding a contemporary art exhibition at the National Museum of Western Art. The session exhibition between the museum's proud, world-class collection and contemporary artists was impactful. I think it was an important exhibition that will remain in the history of Japanese exhibitions.

・#40 Theaster Gates: Afro-Mingei @ Mori Art Museum

Scent, sound, light, scenery, display, composition... everything was simply comfortable. It seemed to me that the venue was overflowing with Gates' gratitude, respect, praise, and blessings, and his own process toward peace was condensed there.

・#51 Takashi Murakami: Mononoke Kyoto @ Kyocera Museum of Art, Kyoto, New Wing Higashiyama Cube

Even those who know nothing about art would have felt an aura that he is no ordinary person upon seeing the overwhelming power and obsession of Murakami's works in person. Even now, there are many who hold negative opinions, but I could feel that he is executing his plans in a highly strategic and multi-layered way, incorporating even those controversies to approach various demographics with a robust body of work that is also easy to translate into the market.

・#57 Philippe Parreno: This Place, That Sky @ Pola Museum of Art

From beginning to end, there is no easy-to-understand explanation, and you are half-violently drawn into a strange experience. It is a mysterious space that even feels like madness, created by utilizing equipment and devices that seem to have had a considerable budget poured into them, and cutting-edge technology that is obsessively refined for no reason. However, this strange experience was fresh, light, and strangely, it didn't feel unpleasant.

・#67 SIDE CORE Exhibition: Concrete Planet @ Watari Museum of Contemporary Art

SIDE CORE's works utilize cutting-edge technology to create a stylish atmosphere, yet there is a sense of urban grit that can be felt somewhere within them.
I feel that SIDE CORE and the Watari Museum of Contemporary Art were a very compatible combination.
The works enhance the space, and the space enhances the works.
That relationship felt very comfortable.

(Ancient to Modern Art Edition) is here ↓

[Art Exhibitions 2024] Summary Magazine ↓