Our Lives
Dates | September 7 – 29, 2024
Venue | MEM
Hours | 13:00 – 19:00 ( No regular viewing on September 29 from 14:15-17:30 due to a talk event.)
Closed | Monday (Open if Monday is a public holiday, closed the following weekday)
Phone | 03-6459-3205
Admission | Free

Somewhere a Trumpet Sounds
Dates | September 14 – 20, 2024
Venue | Ueno Royal Museum Gallery
Hours | 10:00 – 17:00 (Doors will close at 2:30 p.m. on September 14 due to a talk event)
Closed | Open every day during the exhibition
Organizer | MEM
Cooperation | Ueno Royal Museum Gallery
Admission | Free

Talk Event 1
Yasumasa Morimura and Natsuko Tanihara
The Art of Possession
15:30–17:00 on 14th September at Ueno Royal Museum Gallery
Participation Fee 1200yen, Capacity of 50 persons, reservation only, Japanese version only

Talk Event 2
Man’ichi Yoshimura and Natsuko Tanihara
As the Creator God
15:00–17:00 on 29th September, at MEM
Participation Fee 1200yen, Capacity of 20 persons, reservation only, Japanese version only
After the talk event, a closing party will be held at the same venue from 17:30-19:00. (Free of charge)

↓↓対談企画参加チケット、オンライン配信視聴チケット販売中↓↓

After her solo exhibition at the Creative Center Osaka in March last year to celebrate her receipt of the Sakuya-Konohana award and a subsequent solo exhibition at the Ohara Museum of Art in July as an ARKO2023 invited artist, Natsuko Tanihara will present her first solo exhibition in Tokyo in two years at the Ueno Royal Museum Gallery and MEM.

Natsuko Tanihara earned her doctorate in fine arts at Kyoto City University of Arts. Her doctoral thesis, titled “The Streak of Light in the Depths of Darkness: A Study of Dark Paintings Beginning with Derori,” contextualizes her own work with the lineage of ‘dark paintings’ that has continued from medieval Japan. By connecting folklore and mythology from around the world, Tanihara’s art explores mythological themes of her own creation, delving into the violence, fear, malice, and conflict inherent to human society.

The series of large-scale oil paintings presented at the Ueno Royal Museum Gallery is based on the theme of the Apocalypse.
In her work, Tanihara has consistently placed importance on the creation of her own original narratives. The story behind this exhibition centers on young women who transform into airplanes. In the past, Tanihara depicted a giant airplane rising vertically from a cluster of buildings in her work Somewhere a Trumpet Sounds (2021), accompanied by a written narrative of the unfolding events. The work in this exhibition draws inspiration from the Revelation as described in the New Testament, where trumpet blasts of the seven angels signal the end of the world. In Tanihara’s version, the ‘end of the world’ arrives abruptly as girls, unwittingly chosen, transform into airplane parts one by one, setting off towards the hidden ‘rift of the world’ in hopes of halting the impending Apocalypse.
In addition to this work, the Ueno Royal Museum Gallery will also exhibit her early oil paintings and pastel works related to the ‘end of the world.’

Juxtaposing the sweeping thematic scope of the Apocalypse, the exhibition at MEM will feature works exploring small human darknesses.
This exhibition includes scenes such as people living adrift on a raft surrounded by orcas, a woman embracing a faceless man, and a body consumed by the cosmos. These surrealistic works delve into the darkness burrowed in the depths of the human heart.
Also on display will be Tanihara’s drawings from her role as lead puppet designer for the Edo Ito Ayatsuri Ningyo, a form of traditional puppet theater dating back to the Edo period. Additionally, the original artwork used for the promotional poster of the performance of Metamorphosis at the Youkiza theater.

During the exhibitions, Tanihara will hold discussions with artist Yasumasa Morimura at the Ueno Royal Museum Gallery, and Man’ichi Yoshimura at MEM.

We are pleased to provide the information below on the exhibitions where you can see the works of Natsuko Tanihara this year.
A Powerful Gather of Women from the Collection: Art Made by and Depicting Women
Dates | August 20 – December 8, 2024
Venue | Hyogo Prefectural Art Museum

Collection 1: Portraits of Her
Dates | November 2, 2024 – January 26, 2024
Venue | The National Museum of Art, Osaka

‘Watashi’ no ‘Tanin’, ‘Tanin’ no ‘Watashi’ (“‘The Stranger’ of ‘Myself’. ‘Myself’ of ‘the Stranger’”)
Dates | November 1, 2024 – April 6, 2025
Venue | morimura@museum (Osaka)

Nakanoshima Bunraku 2024
Dates | October 25 and 26, 2024
Venue | The Main Hall, 1st Floor, Osaka City Central Public Hall