November 26, 2016 - January 7, 2017

Opening reception: Saturday, November 26, 2017 18:00 - 20:00

Closed on Sun, Mon, National Holidays and 12/25 - 1/4

Supported by AISHO MIURA ARTS, Misa Shin Gallery, PGI, SNOW Contemporary, The Third Gallery Aya

Curated by SHIMABAYASHI Hideyuki

URANO is proud to present a group exhibition “Unclear nuclear” with the theme of nuclear (atomic bomb / nuclear plants), the exhibition starts from November 26, 2016 to January 7, 2017.

Curated by collector Hideyuki SHIMABAYASHI, this exhibition brings together works by seven artists, Takashi ARAI, Ishu HAN, Miyako ISHIUCHI, Tatsuo KAWAGUCHI, Tadasu TAKAMINE, Shomei TOMATSU, and Shuhei YAMADA. While these different generations of emerging and internationally renowned artists work in a diverse range of media including photography, film, drawing, and installation, their works all address the issues of nuclear. Numerous Japanese artists have developed their thoughts on the country’s bitter experience with nuclear disasters including the ones in Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Fukushima. Despite their continuous engagement through art, an exhibition that calls directly on the issues of atomic bomb and nuclear accidents is unprecedented in the country.

Reflecting on the predicaments after the prominent historical events - atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 and Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, this exhibition aims to reveal connections among those events regardless of space and time that extends over seven decades. In the gallery space, those artworks confront visitors about the history of postwar Japan and nuclear. This exhibition’s significance is also highlighted by resonating ideas and sensibilities shared by those artists from different generations as well as by its potential impact on society through art.

- Exhibiting Artists

Takashi ARAI (1978 in Kanagawa prefecture)

Takashi Arai is the only Japanese artist who studied and mastered the first photographic process, the Daguerreotype. Recent exhibitions include the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Mori Art Museum, and the National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo. In 2014, Arai received the Source Code prize in 2014, the Kimura Ihei Award and Newcomer’s Award from the Photographic Society of Japan Awards in 2016. His works are in the collections of the MFA Boston, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, and Guimet Museum. This exhibition presents his 240 daguerreotype photographs that include images of Hiroshima Peace Memorial and dandelions in Nagasaki.

Miyako ISHIUCHI (1947 in Gunma prefecture)

Ishiuchi Miyako is an acclaimed Japanese photographer. Ishiuchi has been awarded the Kimura Ihei Award in 1979 and the Hasselblad Award in Photography in 2014. In 2005, she represented Japan at the 51st Venice Biennale. This exhibition features her Hiroshima series, which captures personal belongings of the deceased victims of atomic bombings. This series became the subject of a grand solo exhibition at a prominent museum for the first time - J. Paul Getty Museum in 2015.

Tatsuo KAWAGUCHI (1940 in Hyogo prefecture)

Tatsuo Kawaguchi is a renowned Japanese contemporary artist. Amongst numerous exhibitions in Japan and abroad, his major exhibitions include “Between Man and Matter-The 10th International Art Exhibition of Japan,” Tokyo Biennale in 1970 and “Magiciens de la terre” at Centre Georges Pompidou in 1989. Kawaguchi’s artistic practice is characterized by its sensible approach to time and object relations. This exhibition presents a new work made after Fukushima nuclear accident as well as his lead-plate work that encapsulates dandelion cottons picked up in Hiroshima five decades after the bombings.

Tadasu TAKAMINE (1968 in Kagoshima prefecture)

Tadasu Takamine has devoted himself to wide-ranging practices including Dumb Type in the 90s, performance, film, and theater. Takamine brings his critical and ironical approach to the latent oppression and control of a social system and collective consciousness. Takamine participated in prominent international art exhibitions including Venice Biennale, Busan Biennale, and Yokohama Triennale. His works also have been the subject of solo exhibitions at prestigious museums including Yokohama Museum of Art, Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, and Art Tower Mito. In 2014, his work was included in “Japanese Syndrome – Art and Politics after Fukushima” at HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Berlin. This exhibition presents Japan Syndrome series, which examines the constant changes in the social conditions of the country and the population’s consciousness after Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011. Taking various forms including theater, movie and public event, the series addresses how individuals resist to the growing collective consciousness and social oppression.

Shomei TOMATSU (1930 in Aichi prefecture - 2012)

Shomei Tomatsu was a leading figure in Japanese postwar photography. In 1959, Tomei established VIVO with Ikko Narahara and Eikoh Hosoe. Tomatsu’s works were presented at prominent museums in Japan and abroad. In his practice, Nagasaki has been his central subject for five decades. Tomatsu deceased in 2012. This exhibition includes photographs, which Tomatsu captured during the interview with the surviving victims of atomic bombs and his visit to the building remnants in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. These works are also included in his photo book <11:02> Nagasaki (1966).

Ishu HAN (1987 in Shanghai)

Born in China and raised in Japan, Ishu Han is one of the most promising young artists. Including a series of photographs made up of coins – a symbol of social trust and power, Han’s works address the issues of community and nationalism. His major exhibitions include the Museum of Fine Arts Boston in 2015, Japan Society, New York in 2016, and Jewish Museum. His work will also be represented at Art Basel Hong Kong next year. This exhibition features a new work made in reference to the photos of mushroom cloud captured by the U.S military.

Shuhei YAMADA (1974 in Shiga prefecture)

Yamada examines power and social conditions through various media including photography, film, sculpture, and installation. In 2003, Yamada received New Cosmos of Photography award. His works have been represented not only in Japan but also abroad including Hong Kong and Vietnam. For this exhibition, Urano presents his Simulated sky series, which was exhibited at Armory Focus in 2013 on the recommendation of the director at Andy Warhol Museum.