In the summer of 2025, special exhibition under the direction of BankART1929 will be held on the MonET corridor.
The MonET corridor, designed by Hara Hiroshi , stands in the midst of the overwhelming natural beauty of Echigo-Tsumari, and the architecture surrounds a symbol of nature called a “pond.
In this exhibition, a variety of artworks that feel “wind” will be placed around the pond (water), creating a unified space that resonates like an orchestra, including the architecture itself. Akinori Matsumoto’s sound objects will resonate cool sounds throughout the building, while Tatsuji Ushijima’s works will spin and rotate with the wind. Aiko Yamamoto’s fabrics, which are carried by the air currents, are eventually covered with the colors of plants and trees, while Ihara Koro’s sculptures, which represent the cycles of animals and other living creatures, move forward in the wind.
The wind connects us to the unseen: time, change, signs, memories, emotions, and the unseen future. We invite you to spend a moment in this space and experience various kinds of “wind”. Workshops by participating artists will also be held.
Direction：BankART1929
Artist: Yamamoto Aiko,Ihara Koro,Matsumoto Akinori,Ushijima Tatsuji
Profile of curators and participating artists
Curators
BankART 1929
BankART1929 is a public-private art and culture facility that has been operating for 21 years since 2004 under Yokohama City’s Creative City Concept, utilizing historical buildings and idle space as a public facility for art and culture, and working across a wide range of fields including art, architecture, design, and performance. From April 2025, based on the various relationships and “urban experiences” cultivated thus far, the project will open up new horizons for society and art by collaborating with a diverse range of people. In Echigo-Tsumari, he opened “BankART Tsumari Kiriyama House” in 2006. He renovated a 100-year-old farmhouse with architect Mikangumi and other artists, and has participated in every Echigo-Tsumari Art Festival since then. In the last exhibition, under the theme of “creative restoration and communication,” the house was opened to the public and welcomed visitors.
Artists
Yamamoto Aiko
Artist; born 1991 in Kanagawa, Japan, currently lives and works in Kyoto. Completed the Graduate School of Inter Media Art, Tokyo University of the Arts (2017). Trained in China as a POLA ART FOUNDATION overseas trainee (2019). Through field research and residencies in Japan and abroad, mainly in Asia, he creates works on the theme of the relationship between the natural environment and humans, mainly using dyeing techniques. His major exhibitions include “I forgot but I am (it is like breathing)” (gallery N, Aichi 2025), “SENSE ISLAND/LAND: Island of Sense and Land of Sense 2024” (Kannonzaki Park, Kanagawa 2024), and “BankART Under 35” (BankART KAIKO, Kanagawa 2021).
《あわいのはた-12種の草木による》
Matsumoto Akinori
Born in 1951, he began his creative activities in 1978 and has exhibited his works at numerous exhibitions including the Contemporary Art Exhibition of Japan, the Japan International Art Exhibition, and the Henry Moore Grand Prize Exhibition, etc. In 1992, he received a grant from the Gotoh Memorial Foundation to study the performing arts of ethnic minorities in seven Asian countries for a year and a half. Since 1981, he has been creating sound objects (works that emit sound) and exhibiting sound installations with automatic musical performances in galleries, museums, and outdoor locations. He is currently developing “Akinorium,” a fusion of music, art, and video using sound objects, as well as “Planet Tralis,” a collaboration with his wife.
《SUNARI-project-in-BALI》2001
Ihara Koro
Born 1988 in Osaka, graduated from Tama Art University, Department of Sculpture in 2011, and completed the Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts, Department of Sculpture in 2013. Focusing on the byproducts of living creatures and their habits, he creates works that stand on their own as sculptures made by living creatures. His works include a piece in which he hardens animal feces with lacquer and returns it to the body from which it was excreted, a piece in which he forms animals from pet food, wool, and other materials and burns and casts them, and a project in which he turns bird nests into vessels in the form that nature created them. By daring to look at the traces of living creatures and their lives, he reexamines ecosystems and their cycles.
《cycling -dead or deer-》 2016
Ushijima Tatsuji
Born in Tokyo in 1958, he began his expressive activities around 1984 with a group of works he called “useless machines” after he came up with the idea of creating a player for found stones. In 2009, he began creating and working on a human-powered mobile studio. As of 2025, he and two young friends have begun to operate a workshop that emphasizes production and relationships with the city and its people. He has also begun planning a large-scale project at a civil engineering heritage site in the port area of Yokohama.
≪Fragments of memorys ≫
Events・Workshops
▼ Opening Gallery Talk Tour
On the first day of the opening, the participating artists will give an opening gallery talk in the form of a tour.
Date｜7/19 (Sat) 14:00
Venue｜Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, MonET corridor
Fee｜Free
▼Yamamoto Aiko”NATURE COLOR PICNIC in Tsumari / Plant Collecting
Participants will walk in the nature to find and collect plants for dyeing. Also enjoy dye tea tasting.
Date｜8/10(Sun) 13:00-15:00
Venue｜BankART Tsumari Kiriyama House
Fee｜500 yen (with tea cakes) *Please pay at the site
What to bring｜Clean clothes, shoes, towel to wipe hands
Number of participants｜15 (elementary school students and above)
▼ Yamamoto Aiko “NATURE COLOR PICNIC in Tsumari / Plant Dyeing
articipants will experience dyeing with plants collected in Echigo-Tsumari.
Date｜8/11(Mon) ①10:00-12:00 ②14:00-16:00
Venue｜Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, MonET
Fee｜1000yen *Please pay on site
What to bring｜Cloth to dye (about 200g per person / material must be cotton, linen or silk), clothes and shoes that can get dirty, towel to wipe hands
Number of people｜ 15 people per session (elementary school students and older)
▼Yamamoto Aiko “A Day of Spinning Voices – Residency Report
The artist, who stayed in Echigo-Tsumari for about a month and conducted research on local plants and dyeing techniques, will talk about the plants that take root in the Echigo-Tsumari region, the process of creating her works, and the content of her research.
Date｜August 30 (Sat) 13:00-14:30
Venue｜Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, MonET
Admission｜Free
Number of participants｜20
▼Matsumoto Akinori “Let’s make Chikuonkin!”
Chikuonkin” is an original musical instrument made of hanging bamboo pieces that mysteriously move and produce tones. Why don’t you make a musical instrument out of bamboo, one of the familiar plants, and play it? This event is not only for those who like crafts and musical instruments, but also for parents and children.
Date｜October 11 (Sat.), 12 (Sun.) from 13:00
Venue｜Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, MonET
Participation fee｜Free
Number of participants｜15 pairs per session (elementary school students and younger: accompanied by a parent and child; adults may participate alone)
Image:Yamamoto Aiko「NATURE COLOR PICNIC in Tsumari」
Image:Yamamoto Aiko「NATURE COLOR PICNIC in Tsumari」
Image:Akinori Matsumoto “Let’s Making Sound Object!”
Summary
| Date and time |
2025/7/19 (Sat.) - 11/9 (Sun.) Closed on Tue. and Wed. except national holidays. 10:00 - 17:00 (last admission 16:30) * Light up until 21:00 |
|---|---|
| Venue |
Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, MonET |
| Admission | Free (corridor only) *Some of Yamamoto Aiko's works will be exhibited in the museum. (Dates: 7/19 (Sat) - 9/15 (Mon) Individual tickets or the “Echigo-Tsumari Artfield 2025” common ticket is required to enter the museum. |
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