The body remains a subject and an issue that is indivisible from artistic expressions and acts – i.e., the body of the artist, model, and viewer; physical representation; nudes; and portraits and self-portraits. Moreover, in contemporary society we are repeatedly faced with questions surrounding the body in terms of our relationship with others, and as a battlefield for power struggles. Other examples include body boundaries; the body as it relates to social norms and sexuality, and life and death.

The 2023 Collection 2 exhibition is titled “Body–––Body.” Along with Couple (1996), a work by the 20th- and 21st-century contemporary artist Louise Bourgeois that is being shown in Japan for the first time, we focus on recently acquisitions such as an installation by BuBu de la Madeleine, photographs by Mao Ishikawa and Ryudai, Takano and a painting by Izumi Kato.

In addition, this marks the long-awaited return of a number of works by artists such as Paul Cézanne and Pablo Picasso which had been loaned to the National Museum of Art’s traveling exhibition. Also, in connection with a project to clean the surface of the work while the museum is closed, Jiro Takamatsu’s Shadow has been temporarily moved to the B2 floor, where it will be on view only during this exhibition. In this more expansive space, the work will be presented alongside Takamatsu’s studies and related drawings.

The triple dashes (–––) between “Body” and “Body” in the title visually represent the distances between bodies.

• List of Works (Japanese/English)
• List of Works (Chinese/Korean)