The "Masterpieces of the Centre Pompidou" exhibition is running until September 22nd at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Ueno, Tokyo.
The Georges Pompidou National Center for Arts and Culture (commonly known as the Centre Pompidou), which opened in central Paris in 1977, comprises the National Museum of Modern Art, the Center for Industrial Creativity, the Public Information Library, and the Acoustics and Music Research Institute. It is now a cultural hub in Paris, attracting approximately 5 million visitors annually. The factory-like building, replete with exposed pipes, glass, and transparent, tubular escalators, was designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers and sparked controversy upon its opening.
The National Museum of Modern Art, the center's core museum, is one of the world's leading art museums, housing approximately 110,000 works spanning the early 20th century to the present. In 2000, it underwent a major renovation, expanding its exhibition space. In May 2010, the Centre Pompidou-Metz opened in the Lorraine region of northeastern France. As a branch of the Pompidou Center, it serves as a place where people can interact and expand the possibilities of art and creativity. This exhibition will feature Pablo Picasso's masterpiece, "Muse," making its Japan debut. It will also feature Henri Matisse's colorfully expressed worldview in "The Large Red Interior," Marc Chagall's over two-meter-tall masterpiece, "Portrait of Two People Holding Wine Glasses," depicting a happy moment with his beloved wife, Bella, Marcel Duchamp's kinetic artwork, "Bicycle Wheel," which combines a bicycle wheel with a stool, and Christo's "Package," which explored new artistic possibilities through packaging using string, cloth, and plastic. The exhibition will also feature masterpieces by artists less well known in Japan, including hidden gems. Approximately 70 works will be on display, spanning a diverse range of genres, including painting, sculpture, photography, video, and design. The exhibition is structured along a timeline from 1906 to the center's opening in 1977, showcasing one work by one artist per year: Léonard Foujita's Portrait of the Artist in 1928, Pierre Bonnard's Nude in the Bathtub in 1931, Wassily Kandinsky's 30 in 1937, and Marie Laurencin's Ile-de-France in 1940. This is a fantastic opportunity to experience a panoramic view of 20th-century French art while encountering works from a diverse range of genres. The exhibition design was handled by Tsuyoshi Tane, a renowned Paris-based architect active both domestically and internationally. Why not savor these exquisite works in an unprecedented, captivating exhibition space?
【Event Information】
"Masterpieces from the Centre Pompidou"
Venue: Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum
Address: 8-36 Ueno Park, Taito-ku, Tokyo
Dates: June 11th - September 22nd
Hours: 9:30am - 5:30pm
*Until 8pm on Fridays
*Until 9pm on August 5th, 6th, 12th, and 13th, September 9th and 10th
*Last entry 30 minutes before closing
Admission: 1,600 yen for adults, 1,300 yen for university and vocational school students, 800 yen for high school students, 1,000 yen for those 65 and over
Closed: Mondays (except July 18th and September 19th), July 19th