From June 29, 2023, the National Art Center, Tokyo and Saint Laurent will present "Cai Guo-Qiang: Space Journey - Beginning with the Primordial Fireball," a major solo exhibition by internationally acclaimed contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang (b. 1957).


Cai Guo-Qiang, "The Primordial Fireball: The Project for Projects," installation view at P3 art and environment, 1991. Photo: Yoshihiro Hagiwara, courtesy of Cai Studio

Prior to the opening of the exhibition, Cai Guo-Qiang will be hosting a daytime fireworks project, "A Sky Full of Cherry Blossoms," a commissioned piece by Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello, organized by the Project Executive Committee, on the same beach in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, where he collaborated with local friends on "Horizon: Project No. 14 for Aliens" 30 years ago. For Saint Laurent, led by Anthony Vaccarello, this exhibition marks the latest opportunity to fulfil the brand's mission of supporting various creative forms, including visual art, film, and music.


Cai Guo-Qiang, working on "Stirring II: Project No. 9 for Extraterrestrials," 1991. Courtesy of Cai Studio

For decades, Cai has been fascinated by the universe and the invisible world, grounded in ancient Eastern philosophy and thought, and also connected to feng shui and astrology. At the same time, his creative work is driven by his interest in science and technology as a modern approach to this limitless world, as well as his sensitivity and reflection on contemporary social issues. A distinctive feature of Cai's art is his creative use of gunpowder. His large-scale works, such as gunpowder drawings, installations, and outdoor explosion projects, which express a grandiose mythological and anthropological worldview, have been highly praised internationally.


Cai Guo-Qiang "Shadow: A Prayer for Protection" 1985 – 86 Gunpowder, ink, candle wax, oil on canvas, wood panel 155 x 300 cm Courtesy of Cai Studio

This exhibition, Cai Guo-Qiang: Space Journey - Beginning with "Primordial Fireball", regards Cai Guo-Qiang's exhibition "Primordial Fireball" 30 years ago as the origin of his artistic cosmic explosion, and explores what caused this explosion and what has happened since then to this day. This solo exhibition, centered on a dialogue between the universe and the invisible world, traces Cai's creative activities and thoughts from his time in China, when he began his career as an artist, to his formative years in Japan, and up to the present, when he is active in the United States and on the world stage. It is a grand journey that follows Cai's activities, which have expanded like the universe itself. Cai Guo-Qiang, "Ice Play in the Galaxy," 2020, Gunpowder, glass, mirror, 205 x 915 cm, Photo: Cai Wenyu, Courtesy of Cai Studio.

In the spacious, plaza-like space of the National Art Center, Tokyo's large, pillar- and wall-less, 2,000-square-meter Special Exhibition Room 1E, the historic installation "Primordial Fireball" is recreated on one side, featuring three new gunpowder paintings made from glass and mirrors. The adjacent focal point is a large-scale kinetic LED light installation, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," which visitors can freely walk through and experience. This exhibition displays approximately 50 works from the collections of national and public art museums and artists in Japan, as well as a large number of unknown and valuable archival materials and video recordings, and first-person explanations by the artists themselves.







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Cai Guo-Qiang Profile

Major Awards
- International Golden Lion at the 48th Venice Biennale (1999)
- 7th Hiroshima Art Prize (2007)
- 20th Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize (2009)
- 24th Praemium Imperiale Award (Painting) (2012)
- United States State Council Medal of Arts (2012)
About the National Art Center, Tokyo
The National Art Center, Tokyo opened in 2007 as the fifth facility of the National Museum of Art, an independent administrative institution, with the mission of contributing to the creation of a new culture based on the perspective of mutual understanding and coexistence through art. Instead of having a collection, it has operated as an art center where people can experience and learn from a variety of artistic expressions and appreciate diverse values. Specifically, we are committed to hosting a wide variety of exhibitions, utilizing one of Japan's largest exhibition spaces (14,000m2), collecting, displaying, and providing information and materials related to art, and implementing a variety of educational and outreach programs.


About Saint Laurent
Founded in Paris, France in 1961, Yves Saint Laurent is one of the world's most renowned fashion houses. Originally an haute couture house, it later became a pioneer of ready-to-wear, and its legendary founder revolutionized the relationship between fashion, art, and society. Since its founding, Saint Laurent has engaged with and influenced various creative forms beyond fashion. This dialogue with diverse artistic expressions continues today under the visionary vision of Anthony Vaccarello and the leadership of Francesca Bellettini, and through this, the brand continues to expand its global outlook and further develop.



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