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.