Art Office
Midori Nishizawa

Midori Nishizawa is an independent curator/producer, art dealer and advisor specialized in post-war Japanese Art.
Curatorial projects between 2000-2018 explored the work of more than fifty artists and advanced the re-assessment of post-war Japanese art.
She is currently based in Nagoya, Japan.

■ Exhibition Projects:

2018
Primal Water, Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, Las Vegas.
June 29 – October 21, 2018

List of Artists: Noe Aoki, Koji Enokura, Noriyuki Haraguchi, Yayoi Kusama, Sadamasa Motonaga, Rei Naito, Yukio Nakagawa, Fujiko Nakaya, Ukichiro Nakaya, Machiko Ogawa, Yasuaki Onishi, Motonao Takasaki, Shoji Ueda, Nao Yoshigai,

This group exhibition of 28 works by four generations of artists explores the theme of water as the source of life on earth.
The idea was inspired by the contrasting environments of Las Vegas, which evolved from a desert oasis, and the island nation of Japan. "Snow Crystal," a seminal 1939 documentary film by eminent scientist Ukichiro Nakaya, and other works in a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, photography, site-specific installations and video, explore the fundamental and protean energy of water.
Four new works have been commissioned for the exhibition.
2013
Takesada Matsutani: A Matrix, organized in collaboration with Olivier Renaud-Clément,Hauser & Wirth, London.
May 18 – July 27, 2013

https://www.hauserwirth.com/hauser-wirth-exhibitions/4675-takesada-matsutani-a-matrix/

The exhibition is the first solo show in London of Takesada Matsutani, who joined the Gutai Art Association in 1963 and has been based in Paris since 1966. The exhibition, which traces the artist's development from his Gutai period in the early 1960s to more recent works, included a special performance by the artist at the opening.
2012
A Visual Essay on Gutai at 32 East 69th Street, organized in collaboration with Olivier Renaud-Clément. Hauser & Wirth, New York.
September 12 – October 27, 2012

List of Artists: Norio Imai, Akira Kanayama, Takesada Matsutani, Sadamasa Motonaga, Shuji Mukai, Saburo Murakami, Shozo Shimamoto, Kazuo Shiraga, Yasuo Sumi, Atsuko Tanaka, Tsuruko Yamazaki, Jiro Yoshihara.
https://www.hauserwirth.com/hauser-wirth-exhibitions/4281-a-visual-essay-on-gutai-at-32-east-69th-street/

This group exhibition features a selection of paintings, sculptures, and drawings created in the 1950s and 1960s by key members of the Gutai Art Association (1954 - 1972).
The title of the exhibition is derived from Hauser Wirth's address, 32 East 69th Street, the former Martha Jackson Gallery, where the 6th Gutai Art Exhibition was held in 1958.
The exhibition provides an opportunity to present a broader range of Gutai activities by presenting works by three artists who emerged in the 1960s and brought a new visual language to the group: Norio Imai, Takesada Matsutani, and Shuji Mukai.
Cosmic Travelers – Towards the Unknown, Espace Louis Vuitton, Tokyo.
January 21 – May 6, 2012

List of Artists: Noriyuki Haraguchi, Ataru Sato, Tomoko Shioyasu, Masakatsu Takagi, Go Watanabe
https://www.espacelouisvuittontokyo.com/ja/past/cosmic/detail

The high-ceilinged glass box space, which appears to be directly connected to the sky, creates a cosmic sense of energy that spirals upwards like a vortex. A selection of five artists were encouraged to explore this 'cosmic' scale while maintaining the exquisite detail.
The space provided a template for each artist to explore the unknown possibilities of multi-dimensionality by also considering Omotesando, the approach to Meiji Shrine as a road trip or "journey".
2011
The Masked Portrait Part II: When Vibrations become Forms, Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York.
October 29 – December 17, 2011

List of Artists: Noriyuki Haraguchi, Yuichi Higashionna, Norio Imai, Akira Kanayama, Aiko Miyanaga, Rei Naito, Natsuyuki Nakanishi, Jiro Takamatsu, Shomei Tomatsu, Tsuruko Yamazaki
https://marianneboeskygallery.com/exhibitions/139-masked-portrait-part-ii-when-vibrations-become-group-show-curated-by-midori-nishizawa/press_release_text/

Inspired by Akira Kanayama's Music Series (1988), a visualization of classical music expressed through vibratory frequency on paper, Part II, a follow-up to Part I held in 2008, consists of new works by artists exploring the relationship between the invisible realm and matter.
2010
Tsuruko Yamazaki, Beyond Gutai: 1957-2009, organized in collaboration with Olivier Renaud-Clément. Almine Rech Gallery, Paris.
March 13 – April 30, 2010

https://www.alminerech.com/exhibitions/2880-tsuruko-yamazaki

This is the first overseas solo exhibition of Tsuruko Yamazaki, an important member of the Gutai Art Association.
The exhibition featured her early representative works on tin, as well as the latest canvas works made for this exhibition.
2008
Rose is a Rose is a Rose, organized in collaboration with Olivier Renaud-Clément, Foundation De Elf Lijnen, Oudenburg , Belgium.
December 14 – February 21, 2008

List of Artists: Yayoi Kusama, Atsuko Tanaka, Tsuruko Yamazaki
https://de11lijnen.com/project/rose-is-a-rose-is-a-rose/

The exhibition consists of early and recent paintings and installations by three of Japan's leading post-war women artists.
The title of the exhibition is taken from Rose is a Rose is a Rose (1913), a masterpiece of poetry by Gertrude Stein, a prominent American writer, poet and collector of Picasso, Cezanne and Matisse. The venue is a former farmhouse with a unique atmosphere, renovated and designed by the Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza.
The Masked Portrait, Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York.
January 11 – February 9, 2008

List of Artists: Genpei Akasegawa, Atsushi Fukui, Yuichi Higashionna, Tetsutaro Kamatani, Akira Kanayama, Yayoi Kusama, Takashi Murakami, Yasumasa Morimura, Sadamasa Motonaga, Natsuyuki, Nakanishi, Hideki Nakazawa, Yoshitomo Nara, Motohiko Odani, Kazuo Shiraga, Aya Takano, Atsuko Tanaka, Jiro Takamatsu, Tadanori Yokoo, Sakuji Yoshimoto, Nobuyoshi Araki, Minoru Hirata, Eikoh Hosoe, Yukio Nakagawa, Mika Ninagawa, Shomei Tomatsu, Shoji Ueda, Tsuruko Yamazaki
https://marianneboeskygallery.com/exhibitions/181-the-masked-portrait/press_release_text/

The exhibition was conceived to provide a broader perspective on the development and diversity of contemporary Japanese art at a time when the Japanese version of Pop Art was highly regarded in the United States.
Bringing together 78 works produced between 1949 and 2007, it offers a selection of important post-war groups and collectives such as Gutai, Hi-Red-Center and VIVO, as well as Takashi Murakami and the subsequent younger generation of artists working today.
Atsuko Tanaka and Akira Kanayama, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.
January 17 – February 18, 2008

https://www.paulacoopergallery.com/exhibitions/atsuko-tanaka-and-akira-kanayama

The exhibition features a selection of works from the 1950s by Atsuko Tanaka and Akira Kanayama, whose minimalist/conceptual tendencies were prominent in the Gutai Art Association, from which they left in 1965.
The exhibition is designed to provide a closer look at the innovative ideas that emerged during this period.
2004
Atsuko Tanaka Painting and Drawings, 1980-2002, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.
September 14 – October 23, 2004

https://www.paulacoopergallery.com/exhibitions/atsuko-tanaka#tab:slideshow

This exhibition was Atsuko Tanaka's first solo show in the US gallery and consisted of large-scale paintings and drawings from the 1980s and 90s. It provided a complementary overview of Tanaka's oeuvre, as around the same time, the New York University Gallery held Tanaka's survey exhibition of her early work from the 1950s and 60s.
2000
Process/Reprocess: Japan and the West, Leslie Tonkonow Gallery, New York.
(Joint project with Leslie Tonkonow.)
November 4 – December 23, 2000

List of Artists: Ellen Brooks, James Lee Byers, Jessica Diamond, William Klein, Yves Klein, Yayoi Kusama, Kyupi Kyupi, Nikki S. Lee, Roy Lichtenstein, Yasumasa Morimura, Daido Moriyama, Yoko Ono, Richard Serra, Richard Tuttle, Ushio Shinohara, Kunie Sugiura
https://www.tonkonow.com/process_reprocess.html

Focusing on the relationship between Japan and the West, the exhibition includes works by artists who have developed their own unique aesthetics under the influence of the other culture, including a rare book written by Yves Klein on his return to France in 1954 after studying Judo in Japan, and works by the young artist Nikki S. Lee that express the complexity of Korean identity.
The exhibition offers a process/re-process overview of the creative chain between the West and Japan through paintings, drawings, videos, photographs, sculptures and objects.

■ Art Fair：

1997
Paris Photo, Carrousel du Louvre, Paris
Artists Represented：Doug &Mike Starns, Kunie Sugiura, Miwa Yanagi

■ Publications：

Takesada Matsutani. A Matrix (artist’s monograph published on the occasion of Takesada Matsutani solo exhibition),
Zurich: Hauser & Wirth + JRP Ringier, August 2013. pp. 6-7.
“Matsutani: A Matrix”（exhibition essay writing and the monograph editing.）
A Visual Essay on GUTAI at 32 East 69th Street(exhibition catalogue)
Zurich: Hauser & Wirth, 2012.
pp. 1-5, “Gutai at 32 East 69th Street” (exhibition essay writing and the catalogue editing.）
COSMIC TRAVELERS Toward the Unknown(exhibition catalogue)
Tokyo: Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo, 2012.
pp.6-38, “Cosmic Travelers – Toward the Unknown” (exhibition essay writing and the catalogue editing.)
The Masked Portrait（exhibition cataluge）
New York: Marianne Boesky Gallery, 2011,
pp.11-15 “The Masked Portrait Part II: When Vibration Become Forms” (edited exhibition catalogue and wrote an introduction text.)
Tsuruko Yamazaki, Beyond Gutai: 1957-2009(exhibition catalogue)
Brussels / Paris: Almin Rech Gallery, 2013.
pp. 14-16 (ENG)/ 18,19 (FR) “Tsuruko Yamazaki, Beyond Gutai: 1957-2009” (exhibition essay writing and the catalogue editing.)
Rose is a Rose is a Rose (exhibition catalogue)
Oudenburg : Fondation De Elf Lijnen, 2009.
pp. 7-9 “Rose is a Rose is a Rose” (exhibition essay writing and the catalogue editing.)
Ainu, L’esprit des Motifs/Ainu, Spirit of Design
an essay written for KAOS - Parcours des Mondes 2004, no.4, pp.120-133. Published by RG Consulting, 2004
Art Random
Vol 4 Saint Clair-Cemin, Vol.8 Ray Smith, Vol. 86 Enzo Cucchi, Vol. 92 Annette Lemieux, Kyoto Shoin, 1989-91.

■ Positions and Education：

1996 -
　Present
Independent curator and Art dealer/Adviser
 
1994 - 96
Representative, Akira Ikeda Office, New York
1992 - 94
Chief Director, Akira Ikeda Gallery, New York
1986 - 92
Director, Akira Ikeda Gallery, Tokyo
1982 - 86
Akira Ikeda Gallery, Tokyo
1978 - 82
B.A. English Literature, Sophia University, Tokyo