[2023] My Top 10 Exhibitions

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A summary of the exhibitions I went to in 2023, my Top 10 favorite exhibitions of 2023, and the exhibitions I want to go to in 2024.

Conclusion: I started writing my thoughts on exhibitions on note around June 2022. While looking at other people's notes, I realized that there are many art museums I have never been to. In 2023, I visited a total of 75 exhibitions. Among my Top 10 favorite exhibitions, 7 were at art museums I visited for the first time. I hope to continue making new discoveries by visiting various art museums in the future 😀

▶︎ Exhibitions I went to in 2023

I went to a total of 75 exhibitions in 2023. The breakdown by prefecture was: 52 in Tokyo, 7 in Kanagawa, 6 in Nagano, 4 in Nagasaki, 2 in Nara, 2 in Kyoto, 1 in Niigata, and 1 in Shizuoka.

Around June 2022, I started writing my thoughts on the exhibitions I visited on note. By starting note, in addition to being able to record and organize my own thoughts on exhibitions, I started reading other people's thoughts.

Before I started note, I often went to "the art museums" like the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. On the other hand, by reading various posts, I learned that there are many art museums I have never been to and high-quality galleries that you can enter for free.

In addition to being easy to drop by, such galleries offer things that can be gained from a different perspective than "the art museums," so they have become a new option for my days off.

▶︎ My Top 10 favorite exhibitions of 2023

Out of the 75 exhibitions I went to in 2023, I will introduce 10 that were particularly memorable. Summarizing them in a ranking format is also useful for getting to know myself later when I ask myself, "What was 2023 like?" Also, it is interesting to see other people's reflections because their perspectives are completely different from mine.

■ 1st Place: MOA Museum of Art "Iwasa Matabei's World of Vivid Colors: Important Cultural Property 'The Tale of Joruri'"

Excluding business trips, this was almost my first solo trip to Atami. The MOA Museum of Art I visited there was, even removing the memory filter, a wonderful art museum. This is because the museum itself is in harmony with nature, and in addition, the easy-to-view exhibition rooms supervised by Hiroshi Sugimoto and the quality of the exhibited works were both wonderful. I understand why Hiroshi Senju also highly praised it in "What is Art? 147 Questions Answered by Hiroshi Senju."

■ 2nd Place: Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo "David Hockney Exhibition"

My first visit to the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo in a while. Regardless of the beauty or ugliness of the works, I felt Hockney's stance of questioning the fundamentals of how we see things, and I felt like I saw the origin of art.

■ 3rd Place: Idemitsu Museum of Arts "Introduction to Appreciating Japanese Beauty: Shiritori Japanese Art"

My first visit to the Idemitsu Museum of Arts. It was a wonderful exhibition that I could not have imagined from its inconspicuous exterior. In addition to the easy-to-understand exhibition presentation, the curation that skillfully guides the viewer's intellectual curiosity was the best I felt this year.

■ 4th Place: Enoura Observatory

I stopped by the Enoura Observatory as part of my Atami sightseeing trip. The exhibition method integrated with nature, which does not fit into the framework of an "art museum," was unlike anything else I have seen. The grounds, which felt like a cross between an art museum and a shrine, left me with a sacred and refreshing feeling.

■ 5th Place: The National Art Center, Tokyo "Tate Modern Exhibition"

In addition to Impressionist paintings, I felt a great sense of taste in the exhibition method that included a wide range of works, including large-scale three-dimensional contemporary art. Also, I was highly satisfied because I was able to see many high-quality works at once.

■ 6th Place: Okada Museum of Art "Utamaro and Hokusai: The Ukiyo-e Artists Who Defined the Era"

I stopped by the Okada Museum of Art while sightseeing in Owakudani. Although I hesitated at the high admission fee (2,800 yen), the sense of style and storytelling within the exhibition rooms was outstanding. The large number of works and the breadth of genres were also wonderful.

■ 7th Place: Hikarie Hall "Saul Leiter: The Origin of His Work - Colors of New York"

I felt a Ukiyo-e-like sensibility in Saul Leiter's work and thought it had an affinity for Japanese people. The color slide projection that utilized the characteristics of Hikarie Hall was fresh because the way the same photograph is presented can completely change how it is perceived.

■ 8th Place: Tokyo Photographic Art Museum "TOP Collection: Serendipity - Unexpected Wonderful Discoveries in Daily Life"

I visit the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum (TOP) nearly 10 times a year. Although it was a collection exhibition rather than a special exhibition, I was impressed by the innovative challenges in exhibition methods unique to TOP, such as the idea of sitting on the floor to view the works.

■ 9th Place: Kitazawa Museum of Art "Émile Gallé: A Gaze Toward Nature - My Roots Are Deep in the Forest"

I stopped by the Kitazawa Museum of Art on a whim when I went to Lake Suwa. In addition to the scenic location near the lake, I was impressed by the depth of Gallé's Art Nouveau works, which reflect Japanese aesthetic consciousness. Even though it was small in scale, it was a museum with a shining personality.

■ 10th Place: Hotel Gajoen Tokyo "Wa no Akari x Hyakudan Kaidan 2023 - The Hyakki Yagyō of Rich Colors"

An exhibition that makes good use of the stairs, which are a Tangible Cultural Property designated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and owned by the hotel. You can see art and also explore a luxurious hotel that you don't usually visit. I thought it was recommended for people who are not good at art museums or for dates.

▶︎Summary

What did you think? Summarizing it like this, I feel like I can see my own preferences and what I am looking for in an art museum. In my case, it would be ❶wanting to relax in nature, ❷wanting to gain new perspectives from art, ❸wanting to use the curator's taste as a reference, and so on.

Since I started posting on note, the number of art museums I visit for the first time has increased. Out of the 10 listed above, 7 were first-time visits. When visiting an art museum for the first time, I also write about the history of the museum in my post as a way to study it myself. It is fun when I make new discoveries or connect them with my existing knowledge. Thinking about it that way, the reason I go to art museums might simply boil down to "wanting to know new ways of thinking and new things."

▶︎Exhibitions I want to visit in 2024

Finally, I will make a note of the exhibitions I want to visit in 2024, focusing on Tokyo. I do not set a goal for the number of visits. It is impossible to go to every exhibition I want to see. However, I believe that every exhibition is a once-in-a-lifetime encounter. I will not regret the exhibitions I could not go to, and I want to learn a lot from the exhibitions I did visit.

Tokyo and surrounding areas

✔️SOMPO Museum of Art "Van Gogh and Still Life: From Tradition to Innovation"
✔️Tokyo Photographic Art Museum "Improvisation: Takashi Homma" exhibition, "Jump Before You Look: New Japanese Photographers vol. 20"
✔️The National Museum of Western Art "Paris Pompidou Center Cubism Exhibition: A Revolution in Beauty"
✔️Setagaya Art Museum "Shiro Kuramata's Design"
✔️DIC Kawamura Memorial Museum of Art "Carl Andre: Sculpture and Poetry, In Between"
✔️Suntory Museum of Art "400th Memorial Special Exhibition: Daimyo Tea Master Oda Urakusai"
✔️Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum "De Chirico Exhibition"
✔️Mori Arts Center Gallery "MUCA Exhibition: ICONS of Urban Art ~From Banksy to KAWS~"
✔️Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum "40th Anniversary Exhibition: Decoding the Former Asaka Residence A to Z"
✔️Artizon Museum "Marie Laurencin: The Eye that Reflects the Era", "Brancusi: Sculpting the Essence"
✔️Seikado Bunko Art Museum "Happy Dragon Year! ~Enjoying Dragons in Paintings and Crafts~", "Painting Demon Kawanabe Kyosai x Eccentric Genius Matsuura Takeshiro"
✔️Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo "Personal View of Japanese Contemporary Art: The Ryutaro Takahashi Collection"
✔️The Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan "Techniques and Beauty Coloring the Modern Imperial Family"
✔️N&A Art SITE "Wim Wenders’s Lucid Gaze"
✔️Yokohama Museum of Art "The 8th Yokohama Triennale 'Wild Grass: Our Lives'"

Outside the Tokyo area

✔️Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art "Takashi Murakami Mononoke Kyoto"
✔️Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka "Chiharu Shiota: The Soul Trembles"
✔️Asahi Beer Oyamazaki Villa Museum of Art "Tsuguharu Foujita: Tracing the Journey of the Heart - Using Letters and Handiwork as Clues"