MOT Collection

The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo houses approximately 5,700 artworks in its extensive collection, which spans the modern and contemporary periods with a focus on art of the postwar years. Each “MOT Collection” exhibition introduces artworks in the collection from a different angle, to demonstrate the diverse appeal of contemporary art.

List of Works
Pamphlet

"o to da te" and "no zo mi" (PDF)

Walking, Traveling, Moving―From the Great Kanto Earthquake to the Present

The first-floor section of this exhibition, “Walking, Traveling, Moving: From the Great Kanto Earthquake to the Present,” comprises a variety of works, from sketches drawn by KANOKOGI Takeshiro on a visit to Tokyo immediately after the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake to document the devastated city, to works by Olafur ELIASSON produced for his solo exhibition at MOT in 2020, when restrictions on “moving” were in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. FUJIMAKI Yoshio’s masterpiece Scenes from the Sumidagawa River (1934) will also be on display, along with newly acquired works by KUSANAGI Shinpei, MITSUSHIMA Takayuki, and Wataridori Keikaku [ASO Tomoko, TAKEUCHI Akiko] created for the “MOT Satellite” exhibitions. We hope that by tracing the footsteps of artists from different eras and countries, the works shown here will serve to enhance our perspective on the world, and the society in which we live.

Eye to Eye

The third floor, under the title “Eye to Eye,” focuses on different types of gaze, presenting the “painted gaze” in the works of artists including Alex KATZ, Roy LICHTENSTEIN, NAKAMURA Hiroshi and NAKAZONO Koji, and “involving gaze” in, for example, the sculptures and reliefs of TADA Minami and Monir Shahroudy FARMANFARMAIAN using reflective materials. This section also covers a plethora of techniques, with a special emphasis on looking and seeing, including the “camera eye” of MATSUE Taiji capturing the workings of cities and nature around the world; and “critical gaze” directed on minute landscape details by the video work of Maya WATANABE.

*This exhibition is a continuation of the previous term, with some of the exhibits replaced.
*Please be informed that the contents of the exhibit may be subject to change.

Artists

ASAKURA Setsu, ANZAI Shigeo, KATSURA Yuki, KANOKOGI Takeshiro, KUSANAGI Shinpei, KUBOTA Shigeko, KURITA Koichi, SUZUKI Kenji, SUEMATSU Masaki, TADA Minami, NAKAZONO Koji, NAKANO Jun, NAKAMURA Hiroshi, NARA Yoshitomo, BITO Yutaka, FUKUDA Naoyo, FUJIMAKI Yoshio, MATSUE Taiji, MATSUMOTO Shunsuke, MITSUSHIMA Takayuki, MIYAWAKI Aiko, YANASE Masamu, Wataridori Keikaku [ASO Tomoko, TAKEUCHI Akiko], Anthony CARO, Olafur ELIASSON, Monir Shahroudy FARMANFARMAIAN, Alex KATZ, Roy LICHTENSTEIN, Gerhard RICHTER, Andy WARHOL, Maya WATANABE and more

Highlights

- The first floor presents works from the MOT collection on the theme of “Walking, Traveling, Moving.” This diverse selection spans a century of art, starting with works related to the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 such as KANOKOGI Takeshiro’s sketches: After the Great Kanto Earthquake, and moving on to FUJIMAKI Yoshio’s masterful Scenes from the Sumidagawa River, reportage paintings from the postwar period, and Olafur ELIASSON’s Memories from the critical zone (Germany–Poland–Russia–China–Japan no. 1-6), first presented at his solo exhibition at MOT in 2020. This continuation of the exhibition will also mark the first showing of Eliasson’s Beyond-human resonator and KURITA Koichi’s PIECES OF THE EARTH as part of the MOT collection.

- The exhibition also features works added following the “MOT Satellite” shows organized from 2017 to 2020 as part of the museum’s commitment to connecting with the surrounding community, including offerings from KUSANAGI Shinpei (2017), MITSUSHIMA Takayuki (2019), and Wataridori Keikaku [ASO Tomoko, TAKEUCHI Akiko] (2020), and the first collection showing of NAKANO Jun’s Sketches (1974–78), in the process shedding new light on places local to the museum such as Kiyosumi-Shirakawa and Kiba.

- On the third floor, visitors are treated to a range of works from the collection, from paintings to sculptures, photographs and video, this time with a focus on “seeing.” This includes paintings by artists of all ages from Japan and further afield, and works by three female sculptors active in the 1960s. A special feature of this section is the photography of MATSUE Taiji, while a work on video by Maya WATANABE makes its first appearance as part of the MOT collection.