INDEX
A Rare Lens on Japan’s Role in Shaping Creativity
1989 was the year of Emperor Shōwa’s passing and the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany, marking the beginning of globalization both in Japan and abroad. The roughly two decades that followed, up until the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, were marked by the collapse of the bubble economy yet relative political stability. At the same time, the spread of the internet and smartphones brought sweeping changes to the quality and quantity of information, as well as to prevailing values.
Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven (gift of the Foundation for the Promotion of the Van Abbemuseum)
This work was created in response to an invitation by artists Pierre Huyghe and Philippe Parreno, who had acquired the copyright to the Japanese character “Ann Lee” and called on others to produce a series around her. The project points to the conditions of a society increasingly networked through the internet.
Exhibition view of Prism of the Real: Making Art in Japan 1989–2010 at the National Art Center, Tokyo, 2025
At the venue, visitors are invited to encounter the work of renowned artists within the broader contexts of their times, seen against the backdrop of society and in dialogue with their contemporaries. Rather than experiencing each piece in isolation, the exhibition encourages reflection on Japan itself as a platform, a fertile ground that enabled artists to create a wide range of works and flourish on an international stage.
The title Prism of the Times captures this approach, vividly suggesting a reexamination of art’s trajectory through intersecting perspectives, an attempt to view it afresh without being bound by fixed narratives of history.
Collection of The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto
The red and green digital counters shift from 1 to 9, but never display 0, which represents death, instead going dark. While embodying technology, the work expresses transformation, interconnection, and eternity. It stands as one of the emblematic pieces of this exhibition.
Prism of the Real: Making Art in Japan 1989–2010
Exhibition view at The National Art Center, Tokyo, 2025
This exhibition also conveys, through art, the direct impact of the social climate of the time and its chemical reactions with other cultures. The official website offers a rich glossary of keywords, while the exhibition space features a detailed chronology. Together they provide a rare opportunity to experience the trajectory of recent Japanese art not only as knowledge but also as sensation, and to reflect on what lies ahead.
Prism of the Real: Making Art in Japan 1989–2010
Exhibition Period
September 3, 2025 (Wed) – December 8, 2025 (Mon)
Venue
The National Art Center, Tokyo, Special Exhibition Gallery 1E
7-22-2 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-8558
Closed
Tuesdays (except open on Tue, September 23, public holiday, and closed on Wed, September 24)
Opening Hours
10:00 – 18:00 (until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays)
Last admission 30 minutes before closing
Admission
General ¥2,000 [approx. USD 13]
University students ¥1,000 [approx. USD 7]
High school students ¥500 [approx. USD 3]
Free for junior high school students and younger
Free for visitors with disability certificate and one accompanying person
Organizers
The National Art Center, Tokyo / M+ / Japan Arts Council / Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan
Co-organizer
The Nikkei, Inc.
Support
Mondriaan Fonds
Official Website
https://www.nact.jp/exhibition_special/2025/JCAW/
