Exhibition

Past exhibitions of the Takahashi Collection have borne titles encompassing Japanese art and culture—such as neoteny japan and Mindfulness!—to convey the appeal of the works to people unfamiliar with contemporary art. The title of this exhibition, Mirror Neuron, refers to nerve cells that react as if the person is performing the same action that they are watching someone else perform, like a mirror. These neurons are thought to be responsible for empathy and allelomimetic behaviour. Nazorae (imitation) is a technique that is widely seen in Japanese contemporary art, and in this exhibition the term becomes a watchword to remind us that this is not only global trend in contemporary art, where copying and sampling are important tools, but it is also consistent with traditional Japanese aesthetics such as mitate (allusion) and yatsushi (parody).

The Takahashi Collection is widely perceived as being focused on Japanese contemporary art from the 1990s onwards. But the exhibition will also show works by Kusama Yayoi, who inspired the collection, and other veteran artists such as the Mono-ha artists who emerged in the late 1960s, a watershed moment for contemporary art, making this an opportunity to think about contemporary art from a broader perspective. Nawa Kohei is a new force in large scale projects inside and outside of Japan, and his latest work, created for Takahashi, will also be exhibited for the first time. This is an opportunity to experience the world of contemporary art and discover its joy and allure through this collection, which reflects Takahashi's desire to invigorate Japan through the power of art.