The first solo exhibition in Japan of the renowned French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel A retrospective featuring his large-scale jewelry-like glass sculptural works, with approximately 60 pieces on view, including examples from early in his career
The Hara Museum of Contemporary Art is pleased to present the first solo exhibition in Japan of the French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel. Reconstructed within the unique space of the Hara Museum, formerly a private residence, is the artist's retrospective exhibition that was first launched at the Centre Pompidou in Paris where it proved to be one of the most popular shows in the history of the museum.
As one of France's most prominent contemporary artists, Jean-Michel Othoniel is known for his large-scale glass sculptures, such as the sculptural piece Le Kiosque des Noctambules (2000) which adorns the entrance of the Palais-Royal–Musée du Louvre metro station in the center of Paris. He has also held exhibitions at major museums around the world. In Japan, the artist installed a large outdoor sculpture entitled Kokoro (2009) at Hara Museum ARC, the Hara Museum's annex in Shibukawa, Gunma prefecture. This permanent installation, a unique heart-shaped work made of red-colored glass globes, now provides a warm welcome to every visitor to the museum.
The present exhibition showcases works spanning 25 years of the artist's career. Numbering some 60 pieces, they range from early works made with sulfur and beeswax to his most recent large-scale sculptures made with colorful Murano glass from Italy. The title of the exhibition is taken from the song made famous by Frank Sinatra, ―My Way,‖ which is symbolic of a unique vision unswayed by popular trends.
You are invited to experience life and death, freedom and suffering, beauty and sensuality through the work that comprises Othoniel's world.
Overview
Jean-Michel Othoniel, My Way is the long-awaited solo exhibition of the artist. First launched at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in March 2011, the exhibition travels to three other cities—Seoul, New York and Tokyo. Ranging from early works made with sulphur and beeswax to his most recent large-scale sculptures made with glass, the exhibition assembles together some 60 pieces that provide an overview of a 25-year career distinguished by a unique vision unswayed by popular trends. Filled with Othoniel's innumerable beads, the space of the Hara Museum will truly be transformed into a labyrinth of gems. A large-scale outdoor glass sculpture is scheduled to be displayed.
About the Artist
A Paris-based artist, Othoniel has received widespread recognition for his sparkling, jewelry-like artworks made with glass globes crafted on the Venetian island of Murano. Among these is the much-beloved sculptural piece Le Kiosque des Noctambules that he created in 2000 for the entrance to the Palais-Royal–Musée du Louvre metro station in Paris, a work that glitters vividly under the daylight sun and mysteriously under the street lights at night, conjuring up an entrance to another dimension.
Jean-Michel Othoniel was born in 1964 in Saint-Etienne, France. From the 1980s, he made art with materials of a mutable nature such as sulfur, lead, and beeswax, and from 1993, he began using glass. Distinguished by the decorative and sensual aspects of his art, he has had solo exhibitions at such venues as the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain (2003) and Centre Pompidou (2011) and has participated in international exhibitions that include Documenta IX (1992), Kwangju Biennale (2000) and 10th Istanbul Biennial (2007). In 1991, he participated in a group exhibition at Hara Museum ARC called Too French. At that time, he stayed for three weeks and created his artwork on-site. In 2006, his work was introduced at the Collection of the Foundation Cartier pour l'art contemporary exhibition at the Museum of ContemporaryArt Tokyo.HecurrentlylivesinParis.
