Programs

N03

The National Art Center, Tokyo

Keiichi Tanaami: Adventures in Memory

©Keiichi Tanaami / Courtesy of NANZUKA

[Date]
8/7(Wed) – 11/11(Mon), 10:00 - 18:00 (last admission 17:30)
* 10:00 - 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays (last admission 19:30)
* Closed: Tuesdays
[Place]
The National Art Center, Tokyo, Special Exhibition Room Gallery 1E
[Admission fee]
Adults ¥2,000, college students ¥1,400, high school students ¥1,000
This exhibition is the first major retrospective showcasing the internationally acclaimed artist Keiichi Tanaami (1936‐2024). Tanaami is known for vivid, color-drenched works that intensely reflect his childhood memories of World War II and the impact of the American pop culture he encountered after the war. The exhibition presents an array of works by the astoundingly productive artist, including archival materials from past decades, tracing the entirety of Tanaami’s creative journey over more than 60 years. This unprecedented, comprehensive exploration of Tanaami’s oeuvre is organized around the theme of “memory.”

ARTISTS

Keiichi Tanaami

Born in Tokyo in 1936, and graduated from Musashino Art University. Keiichi Tanaami has achieved unparalleled recognition for his interdisciplinary activities, as an art director, experimental filmmaker, animator and artist.
Tanaami’s recent solo exhibitions include PARAVENTI: KEIICHI TANAAMI (Prada Aoyama, Tokyo, Japan, 2023), Manhattan Universe (Venus Over Manhattan, New York, USA, 2022), A Mirror of the World (NANZUKA UNDERGROUND, Tokyo, Japan, 2022), Keiichi Tanaami (Kunstmuseum Luzern, Switzerland, 2019), Keiichi Tanaami (Jeffrey Deitch, New York, 2019). He is internationally acclaimed as a pioneer of Pop Art in Japan, with work featured in retrospective surveys with a global scope such as International Pop (Walker Art Center, Dallas Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, USA, 2015-2016) and The World Goes Pop (Tate Modern, London, UK, 2015). Tanaami’s works are housed in numerous public collections including The Museum of Modern Art (USA), Walker Art Center (USA), The Art Institute of Chicago (USA), M+ (Hong Kong), National Portrait Gallery (USA), and Hamburger Bahnhof (Germany).