COEXISTCOEXIST
Sandwiched in between quiet, industrial office buildings in the Taito-ward of Tokyo, art space and gallery COEXIST is a contemporary display and exhibition space which adheres to the principle of seamlessly blending art with lifeCOEXISTは、東京、台東区の静かな産業オフィスビルの間に挟まれたアートスペース。人生とアートを継ぎ目なく融合させることを原則に、展覧会スペースとしてコンテンポラリーな作品を展示している。
重たい金属製のドアの横にある小さな文字だけが、そこがアートスペースであることを告げている。色あせた「富岳通運」の看板が掛かる灰色のビルの外観から隠れて佇むギャラリーには、アートと周辺の環境がCOEXIST(共存)している。
COEXISTの背後にあるコンセプトは、地球と調和し、共存することのできるアートであり、環境に優しいテーマ、エコ、自然に関するアートワークの展示を中心としている。COEXISTでは定期的にローカルなアーティストの作品を展示している他、頻繁に中国、カナダ、フランス、ドイツなど国際的なアーティストとも協力し、国際的な現代アートの流れを展開するなど、国際的な芸術スペースとしてその地位の確立を行っている。
COEXIST
住所:東京都台東区台東1-23-12
開廊時間:11:00〜19:00(月曜日休廊)
TEL:03-6803-2035
http://www.coexist-art.com
Text: Bonnie Oeni
Translation: Asami Miyamura.
At this gallery, art does COEXIST with its surroundings, and tucked inside a building with a stone grey façade and washed out sign that reads ‘Fugaku Shipping Company’, the gallery is a testament to the cheeky playfulness found in contemporary art today. Challenging our interpretation at first glance, the design of the gallery tricks the viewer into looking deeper, beyond the surface and the exterior front it shows us.
Hiding underneath a huge company sign and only identifying itself as an art space in small letters near its heavy metal doors, the gallery isn’t something you’d identify at first glance as an art space, because of how it has effectively adapted the industrial look. Even before one enters, COEXIST encourages us to rethink our usual interpretations of symbols and signs, and the meanings embodied in them.
The concept behind COEXIST is for art to be able to coexist harmoniously with life on earth, so it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that it displays or exhibits artwork with an environment-friendly theme, or artwork regarding nature. With growing concerns of global warming and how wastefulness is generated in modern consumerist societies today, COEXIST’s concept as an exhibition space is a positive step in the right direction. COEXIST regularly displays artwork by homegrown artists, and also frequently collaborates with international artists coming from countries such as China, Canada, France and Germany, firmly establishing itself as a forward-looking, globalised art space following developing trends in international contemporary art.
COEXIST
Address: 1-23-12 Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo
Opening Hours: 11:00-19:00 (Closed on Moday)
Tel: 03-6803-2035
http://www.coexist-art.com
Text: Bonnie OeniCOEXIST
地址:東京都台東区台東1-23-12
开放时间:11:00-19:00
休息日:星期一
电话:03-6803-2035
http://www.coexist-art.com