Exhibition
Highlights of Ryan Gander THE MARKERS OF OUR TIME
First major solo exhibition in Tokyo
Ryan Gander's first solo exhibition in Japan was at the National Museum of Art, Osaka in 2017. His work has been presented in various art festivals, group exhibitions, and art fairs around the country. Ryan Gander THE MARKERS OF OUR TIME is the artist's first major solo show at a Tokyo art museum. The exhibition was originally planned for 2021, but had to be postponed due to the pandemic, and will finally open in July 2022. The whole of the gallery space at Tokyo City Art Gallery is dedicated to Ryan Gander to provide a full taste of the current output of an exciting artist whose reputation continues to grow worldwide.
Questions and imagination emerge from “seeing”
Gander's diverse works include objects, installations, paintings, photography and video. The breadth of his creative practice is tied together by his observations on the act of seeing. He directs our attention to things that we normally fail to notice, things that we take for granted and things that we have forgotten about entirely, driving a multitude of questions about what we are seeing anew. Those questions lead us to think from new perspectives about things that had been settled in our minds, creating fertile ground for new discoveries. In that way, his works orient us towards being creative.
Time/values/education/things that get overlooked…
For this exhibition, Gander is combining a variety of new and older works to turn an expansive gallery into a single work. Each of the individual works splays open one or more of the elements that have fascinated the artist from early in his career—time, values (or value), education and things that get overlooked. What is the true nature of things that are important to each and every one of us? Gander's world is one where we can think about the origins of things, with a touch of humour. Loosen up your mind and dive in. That way, you should start to see the signs of the age that we live in today—the markers of our time.
![In the very beginning, before words, there were…](/ag/exh252/image/exh/pic-01.jpg)
Courtesy the artist and gb agency, Paris
photo: David Tolley
![Overturned Frank Lloyd Wright and Arata Endo chair after a couple of inches of snowfall](/ag/exh252/image/exh/pic-02.jpg)
Courtesy the artist and TARO NASU
photo: David Tolley
![Time well spent](/ag/exh252/image/exh/pic-03.jpg)
TAGUCHI ART COLLECTION
Courtesy the artist and TARO NASU
photo: Thierry Ball, TARO NASU
![Only a matter of time](/ag/exh252/image/exh/pic-04.jpg)
Courtesy the artist
![A weight around your neck (to remind you that you've not wasted your time)](/ag/exh252/image/exh/pic-05.jpg)
(to remind you that you've not wasted your time) 2019
Courtesy the artist and TARO NASU
photo: Stevie Dix
![Because editorial is costly](/ag/exh252/image/exh/pic-06.jpg)
Ishikawa Foundation
Courtesy the artist and TARO NASU
photo: Yasushi Ishikawa, Okayama Art Summit
![The world no longer revolves around you](/ag/exh252/image/exh/pic-07.jpg)
Obayashi Collection
Courtesy the artist and TARO NASU
photo: TARO NASU