3 August 2023—Neo Japan: Pop Art Explored at Artspace@Helutrans
If you love all things Japan, you simply can’t miss Neo Japan: Pop Art Explored, an ongoing group show featuring young to established contemporary Japanese artists. You’ll spot familiar names like Takashi Murakami and Yoshitomo Nara alongside emerging practitioners such as Masato Yamaguchi and Hiromi.
On display is a mix of striking portraits, canvases filled with whimsical anime-style characters, and works that reference digital culture, reflecting a new age of Japanese contemporary artists who explore the aesthetics associated with Japan’s animation, video game, fashion, and design industries.
Additionally, the show offers a rare glimpse into a private collection, as many of the works on display are on loan from Beijing-born, Hong Kong-based art collector Chloe Chiu, who exclusively collects Japanese contemporary art.
Check out our photos below for a look at the show!
Neo Japan: Pop Art Explored runs till 8 August 2023 at Artspace@Helutrans.
Is it a Japanese pop art exhibition without Takashi Murakami? Here’s Panda & Panda Cubs (2015), depicting several grinning pandas on top of a mound of floating colourful skulls and bamboo shoots. This is on loan from collector Chloe Chiu.The same can be said about Yoshitomo Nara, who’s known for her depictions of emotionally expressive children. This is a colleague of previously unreleased drawings from 2014. This is on loan from collector Chloe Chiu.Two works by Japanese artist Kojiro Matsumoto. They feature close-ups of two girls depicted in a graphic anime style, with vibrant colours being blended into each girl’s hair and eyes.(Left) A series of portraits by Shigeki Matsuyama. They feature faces overlaid with monochrome patterns, though each person’s eyes remain depicted. (Right) Hiroyuki Matsuura’s acrylic painting Enola over drive Beat (2013) depicts an anime-style female character dynamically playing a guitar, as her pale blue hair whips all around her.A work from Hiromi Niimi’s 2023 series JUNK ROBOT, which depicts a massive teal-and-yellow mecha robot with several hands standing in a field surrounded by flra and foliage. With overlaid text panels and vibrant colours, the work recalls the graphic style of comic books.Exhibition visitors admiring Bell Nakai’s glitter-laden works, which depict a girl with round, pink-and-white glasses and an assortment of cute accessories in her hair.
