友達と – “tomodachi to”. With friends
21.8. – 24.10.2021

Some 8,400 Japanese people currently live in Düsseldorf—the largest Japanese community in Germany and the third-largest in Europe after London and Paris. In addition to numerous Japanese companies, institutions, businesses and initiatives, the Japanese influence is also evident in the city’s art scene: since the 1960s, more than three hundred artists of Japanese origin have completed their studies at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf.

The members of the Japanese community have established friendships with the people of Düsseldorf. In 2021, the Japanese-German friendship will also officially commemorate its 160th anniversary. In the context of this anniversary year, the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf thus aims to celebrate friendship and invited five of its friends of Japanese origin to a joint group exhibition.

Each of these artists associated with the Düsseldorf Art Academy was in turn asked to invite an artist friend of his or her own to the group show.

Artists: Takeoka Yūji, Nara Yoshitomo, Murase Kyōko, Andō Yukako, Kinoshita Ryō, Karin Sander, Nakahara Masao, Anca Muresan, Magdalena Jetelová und Arakawa Sōya

The exhibition is curated by Alicia Holthausen and Gregor Jansen.