THE GROUP 1965 - We are boys!20110521
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Installation view, THE GROUP 1965 – We are boys!
Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, 2011
Photo: Achim Kukulies, Düsseldorf
On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the treaty of friendship and commerce concluded between Japan and Prussia in 1861, the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf realizes in co-operation with the Japan Foundation the exhibition “THE GROUP 1965 – We are boys!” . Düsseldorf is considered a centre of Japanese-German relations: it is home to the largest Japanese community in Germany, numerous Japanese companies have expanded here, and in nearby Cologne the Japan Foundation has maintained the Japan Cultural Institute since 1972 as the base for its cultural work in Germany.
The exhibition shows works by the artist group THE GROUP 1965, whose six members – AIDA Makoto, ARIMA Sumihisa, OIWA Oscar, OZAWA Tsuyoshi, KINOSHITA Parco and MATSUKAGE Hiroyuki – were all born in 1965. They thus belong to a younger generation than artists such as MURAKAMI Takashi or NARA Yoshitomo, who were born around 1960. The exhibition title points to the tension between individual artistic voice and collective appearance: despite considerable stylistic differences, the group also acts as a collective of peers, for example by publishing books together. For the opening in Düsseldorf, all six artists travel to Germany, accompanying the show with performances, readings and workshops for a broad audience ranging from children to adults.
With this exhibition, the Japan Foundation also expresses its sympathy for those affected by the 2011 earthquake in Japan, along with the hope that presenting contemporary Japanese art will further deepen the cultural ties between the two countries.
Please find here the catalogue of the exhibition.
