Gelitin @ Tomio Koyama Gallery

Tuesday, April 28, 2009 | |


From the T Magazine Blog

The gallerist Tomio Koyama represents some of the most influential contemporary Japanese artists and consistently brings new ideas and talent to Tokyo. His current show featuring Gelitin, the four-person collective from Austria known for its provocative installations and performances, is another example of his willingness to challenge us by making us smile while we think.
Bridge to exhibit.

To view the current show you must climb a rickety little bridge, then crawl through a small hole smashed through the wall. As you come through the other side, you see a large installation resembling a traditional Kyoto rock garden.

It’s not until the large garden rocks begin to shift that one realizes that each of them is actually a part of a human body, contorted to fit above the ground. (Since the opening, friends, volunteers and other artists have been filling for the artists as substitute rocks — no small feat when you consider that the gig largely involves being still for hours on end.)

Koyama’s ability to surprise and willingness to provoke a nervous reaction through art has been his gift to Tokyo.

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