Blum & Poe, a West Coast-based gallery, opened in Harajuku, Tokyo on September 19th. The gallery is located at 1-14-34 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 5th floor, Harajuku Jingu-no-Mori. Blum & Poe was founded in Santa Monica, California in 1994 by gallerists Timothy Blum and Jeff Poe. Currently, they operate the gallery from a renovated industrial warehouse measuring approximately 2,050 square meters in Santa Monica. This marks their fourth location, following locations in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, and New York, which opened in May of this year. Since its inception, the gallery has consistently worked closely with artists, creating ambitious works and aiming to hold many exhibitions at the museum level. Currently, the gallery highlights artists from Japan, China, Europe, and the United States, and strives to promote the work of young artists. Since the mid-1990s, the gallery has been showcasing artists such as Takashi Murakami and Yoshitomo Nara in Japan, and its roster includes recent artists such as Kishio Suga and Koji Enokura.

The gallery's first exhibition in Tokyo will be "Sublime Memory Garden," the first solo exhibition in Japan by Los Angeles-based artist Dave Muller, a former assistant to contemporary artist Mike Kelley. Muller has long had a deep interest in music, focusing on how it permeates everyday life, shapes our lives, and enables dialogue across cultures and contexts. For this exhibition, he has linked his passion for music to "nature" to create a garden of contemplation. A drawing, painted directly onto the wall of the gallery's window, depicts the rise and fall of rock 'n' roll, once the music industry's economic powerhouse. A number of Polaroid-style works are displayed in the center.

An opening reception was held on the 18th, the day before the opening, with owners Blum and Poe, and artist Dave visiting Japan. Dave said with a smile, "I've known the two owners since 1995, and this is my ninth solo exhibition. We're like family now." Also attending the event were artists from the Japanese art world, including painter and sculptor Yoshitomo Nara, making for a spectacular opening.


[Event Information]
Sublime Memory Garden
Venue: Blum and Poe
Address: 5F Harajuku Jingu-no-Mori, 1-14-34 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Dates: September 19th to November 15th
Hours: 10:00 to 18:00
Closed: Mondays, Sundays, and public holidays
Free admission