Modern Art Center celebrates 40 years with Japanese Art

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation's Modern Art Center (CAM), in Lisbon, will celebrate 40 years with a season of contemporary Japanese art, with various moments between July and the reopening of the building, scheduled for spring 2024.

The season's programming, announced by Gulbenkian, will include performances, music and Japanese art installations, curated by Emmanuelle de Montgazon, crossing different artistic practices and disciplines.

The idea comes from the architectural concept of 'engawa', which is the basis of architect Kengo Kuma's project for the remodeling of the CAM building, and which designates "a space of passage", interior and exterior, commonly found in traditional Japanese houses, according to a statement released by Gulbenkian.

The season's program starts on the 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd of July with an installation by the Mé collective to be presented in Lisbon, in the morning and at dusk, in places that will be progressively revealed, according to the entity.

With the Gulbenkian Garden as a backdrop, Lei Saito will create an installation with various foods and ceramic objects, offering the public an aesthetic and sensorial experience.

The season resumes in September, with the artist Mieko Shiomi, 84 years old, who became a member of Fluxus in 1964 - a movement in which Yoko Ono was also involved - and will present a work never seen before in other Gulbenkian spaces, performed by musicians and Portuguese artists.

In September, there will also be the presence of multidisciplinary artist Ami Yamasaki, who uses her own body as an instrument, emitting sounds that reflect the invisible vibrations of what surrounds us. Ami Yamazaki will present the performance "Manga Scroll" by Christian Marclay, one of the most important artists working between sound and visual art, and also a solo and duet performance with the musician Ko Ishikawa, an interpreter of the Shõ instrument.

The season will also have several activities in November and throughout 2024, which "will be announced in due course", indicates the entity's statement.

Source: Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation