Mori Art Museum, Tokyos New Cultural Centerpiece, Opens October 2003

Japan's new contemporary art museum, the Mori Art Museum, will officially open October 18, 2003 on the 52nd and 53rd floors of the Mori Tower--in Tokyo's new Roppongi Hills development. The Museum, featuring works by emerging and established artists from Asia and throughout the globe, will be one of the largest museums in Asia for contemporary art.

TOKYO (PRWEB) July 7, 2003 -- The Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, a new international center for contemporary art, will open to the public on October 18, 2003. Located on the top floors of the 54-story Mori Tower, the Museum is the jewel in the crown of Roppongi Hills, a revolutionary new commercial, residential and cultural community development. Providing an international platform for emerging and established artists, the Mori Art Museum will present new perspectives on art, architecture and design through an accessible program of exhibitions, public events and research projects.

Led by David Elliott, the first foreign director of an art museum in Japan, the Mori Art Museum has developed a compelling program of exhibitions that highlight the relevance and importance of visual culture as an integral and dynamic part of contemporary society. Shining out like a beacon from one of the citys tallest buildings, the Mori Art Museum will become a place of discovery and experience, focusing not only on contemporary art, but also on photography, film, design, media art, fashion and architecture," says Elliott. The Museum will support creativity and talent, providing a springboard for younger Japanese and Asian artists to show and develop their work."

David Elliott and guest curator Pier Luigi Tazzi are co-curating the inaugural exhibition "Happiness: A Survival Guide for Art and Life," which explores the ways the concept of happiness has been represented through the ages. On view from October 18, 2003 -- January 18, 2004, "Happiness" will feature a range of works, from ancient to contemporary art, including a 5th-century Chinese Bodhisattva statue, 17th-century Indian miniatures, masterpieces by such artists as Claude Monet and Henri Matisse, the art of Yoko Ono and Andy Warhol, and new works by Takashi Murakami and Yasumasa Morimura, among others.

Other inaugural-year exhibitions include "Roppongi Crossing: New Visions of Japanese Art 2004" (February 7 -- May 1, 2004), the first in a series of regular "MODERN Means...Continuity and Change in Art from 1880 to Now" (mid-May -- August 2004), an exhibition of more than 300 works from The Museum of Modern Art collection that presents a new perspective on the development of modern art; and "Ilya Kabakov" (May -- August 2004), an exhibition exploring shifting views of art, space and time that recently premiered at the Venice Biennale.

The Mori Art Museum was founded by Minoru Mori, president of the Mori Building Company and developer of Roppongi Hills, and Yoshiko Mori, chairperson of the Museum board and a longtime collector and supporter of the arts in Japan. The Mori Art Museum will be a new kind of art institution, where people may experience and reflect upon the culture of our times," says Mrs. Mori. We very much hope that the new Museum will become a place for enjoyment, stimulation and discussion."

The 32,300-square-foot Museum, designed by Richard Gluckman of Gluckman Mayner Architects, will be the cultural centerpiece of Roppongi Hills and one of the largest spaces for contemporary art in Asia. Visitors enter the Museum Cone at ground level, a dramatic 98-foot tall elliptical entrance structure with a shingle-style steel and glass façade, which glows softly like a paper lantern at night.

High-speed elevators take visitors from the Museum Cone to the 52nd and 53rd floors, where the Museums galleries are arranged around an internal atrium. As visitors explore the galleries, the spectacular views of downtown Tokyo enhance the visual experience, with the outside world impacting and interacting with artworks in the galleries.

ROPPONGI HILLS

Roppongi Hills, which opened in April 2003, is the most extensive urban development project in Japan ever to be realized by the private sector. It incorporates modern architecture with pre-existing traditional features, including a Japanese garden, a Buddhist temple and a children's park with newly installed play sculptures by Korean artist Choi Jeong Hwa. Called the Rockefeller Center of Tokyo," Roppongi Hills is located on a 28-acre site that includes the Mori Tower, the Asahi Broadcasting Center, the Grand Hyatt Hotel Tokyo, Virgin Cinemas, more than 200 retail shops and restaurants, and residential towers that can house more than 840 families.

The Museum is located within the Mori Arts Center, which also includes the Tokyo City View observation deck, the Roppongi Hills Club designed by Sir Terence Conran, and Roppongi Academy Hills, an international center for learning and cultural exchange.

General Information

Address:    
52-53F Roppongi Hills Mori Tower
6-10-1 Roppongi Minato-ku
Tokyo 106-6150 Japan

Hours:
Sunday through Wednesday: 10:00 a.m.--10:00 p.m.
Thursday through Saturday: 10:00 a.m.--12 Midnight

Website:      
www.mori.art.museum