Art Tower Mito Collection Exhibition “Reunion” from November 7; About 50 Works by 17 Artists, Including Arata Isozaki and Boltanski

The collection exhibition “Reunion: Messages from 17 Artists” will be held at Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito (Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture) from Saturday, November 7, 2026 to Sunday, January 31, 2027. The gallery, which has focused on temporary exhibitions since it opened in 1990, traces the path of its own exhibitions with about 50 works from its collection. Paintings, sculptures, photographs, installations and participatory works from the 1960s onward by 17 artists, including Arata Isozaki, Christian Boltanski and Christo and Jeanne-Claude, are on display.

Why now? A “Kunsthalle” traces 36 years through its collection

Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito has been run, in the words of the press materials, as a “Kunsthalle (German for an exhibition facility specializing in temporary exhibitions).” This exhibition brings together the works the institution has collected and looks back on the history of the exhibitions it has held in the 36 years since it opened.

According to the gallery, apart from works purchased before it opened, its collection consists of works actually shown in exhibitions held there or representative works by artists it has introduced. The press materials position these collection works as evidence of the center’s exhibitions. The works on display range from those acquired in the late 1980s, just before the opening, to new acquisitions in 2026, and include works that have never had a chance to be shown at the gallery and are on view there for the first time.

In 1991, exhibiting artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude created a landscape in California (U.S.) and northern Ibaraki Prefecture in which 3,100 giant umbrellas, each about as tall as a two-story building, opened at once. The press materials also include an image of Christo’s “The Umbrellas, Joint Project for Japan and USA” (1987, 1988). During the exhibition, the documentary film Umbrellas (1994, directed by Albert Maysles), which follows the project from conception to realization, will also be screened.

What can visitors see? About 50 works by 17 artists

The 17 exhibiting artists are INFORMATION FICTION PUBLICITÉ (IFP), Magdalena Abakanowicz, Takehiro Iikawa, Arata Isozaki, Kaoru Ueda, Tatsuo Kawaguchi, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Susumu Koshimizu, Xu Bing, Tomoko Sugiyama, Toeko Tatsuno, Hidetoshi Nagasawa, Hitoshi Nomura, Rieko Hidaka, Christian Boltanski, Aiko Miyawaki and Robert Mapplethorpe.

Works shown as reference images on the exhibition page include IFP’s “Another World (View of the Sky)” (1992), Tomoko Sugiyama’s “each-all” (2005), Susumu Koshimizu’s “Floating Forms (Eight Boats, Four Vessels, Three Ships, One Piece)” (1987), Toeko Tatsuno’s “Central Concentration” (2010), Hidetoshi Nagasawa’s “Land of Flowers” (1985), Arata Isozaki’s “Utsuri” (2019) and Rieko Hidaka’s “Looking Up at Trees VI” (1992).

Some works were conceived for the gallery’s spaces and, according to the gallery, can be seen only there. Installations and sculptures arranged to fit the galleries will be shown again based on the artists’ instructions.

Highlights: Newly restored works and this year’s new acquisition

Works restored for the exhibition are also shown: Aiko Miyawaki’s “Work TL11-0” (1962) and Magdalena Abakanowicz’s “Standing Figures on a Bench” (1989). The new acquisition, Takehiro Iikawa’s “Making Rumors – Night Rumor” (2026), was made to fit the building for Iikawa’s solo exhibition held at the gallery this year and has now been donated.

There are also features for children and people unfamiliar with contemporary art. Easy-to-understand explanatory texts are posted in the venue, and a viewing guide for children in the middle grades of elementary school is available.

Related programs: A talk with Susumu Koshimizu and the film Umbrellas

• Opening event: Saturday, November 7, 14:00–15:30, Conference Hall, Art Tower Mito. Sculptor Susumu Koshimizu (Professor Emeritus, Kyoto City University of Arts) and art historian Kenji Kajiya (Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo) hold a talk. Capacity 80 (no application required; first come, first served)

• Talks by former artistic directors: On Sunday, November 22, Eriko Osaka (former Director General of The National Art Center, Tokyo) speaks mainly about Boltanski, Arata Isozaki, Aiko Miyawaki and Xu Bing. On Sunday, January 10, 2027, Toshio Shimizu (artistic director and art critic) speaks mainly about Abakanowicz, Mapplethorpe, IFP and Hidetoshi Nagasawa. 14:00–15:00 each day, Workshop Room, capacity 60 (first come, first served)

• Artist talk: Saturday, December 12, 14:00–15:00, with Rieko Hidaka. Workshop Room, capacity 60 (first come, first served)

• Workshop “Looking Up at Trees with Rieko Hidaka”: Sunday, December 13, 14:00–16:00. Participants look up at the trees in the plaza with Hidaka and, while talking with the artist, draw their experience of looking at the trees on paper. For junior high school students and older, about 20 people (first come, first served). A fee applies (to be announced on the gallery’s website once decided), and applications open at 10:00 on Thursday, November 5. Held indoors in bad weather

• Screening of the film Umbrellas and post-talk: Monday, January 11, 2027 (national holiday). The screening runs 15:00–16:21 and is followed by a talk of about 30 minutes by Masahiko Yanagi (art archivist) and Toshio Shimizu. ACM Theatre, about 170 seats (no application required; first come, first served). Free, but an exhibition ticket is required

Tickets, prices and access

Admission is 900 yen for adults and 700 yen per person for groups of 20 or more. High school students and younger, people aged 70 and over, and holders of a disability certificate or similar plus one companion are admitted free on presentation of proof. The “Annual Pass,” a free pass valid for one year, costs 2,000 yen. Students with ID and people aged 65 to 69 can enter for 100 yen on “First Friday” days (proof required). The eligible days during the exhibition are November 13, December 4 and January 8, 2027.

Opening hours are 10:00–18:00 (last entry 17:30). The gallery is closed on Mondays (open on November 23 and January 11), Tuesday, November 24, over the New Year holidays from December 27 to January 4, and on Tuesday, January 12.

From JR Mito Station, take a bus from stops 4 to 7 at the North Exit bus terminal and get off at “Izumicho 1-chome” (about 10 minutes). Cross National Route 50 and walk down the side street for about two minutes. From Tokyo Station, the limited express Hitachi or Tokiwa on the Joban Line takes about 65 to 85 minutes to Mito Station. The Mito-go highway bus (Akatsuka route) from the Yaesu South Exit of Tokyo Station reaches “Izumicho 1-chome” in about 100 minutes. Visitors coming by car can use the municipal Gokencho Parking Lot (217 underground spaces and 283 in a multistory structure). Parking is free for up to 30 minutes, 200 yen for up to one hour and 100 yen for each additional 30 minutes (maximum 700 yen per day), with no discount for Art Tower Mito visitors.

The Natsuyuki Nakanishi retrospective opening on November 12 at The Museum of Modern Art, Ibaraki, also in Mito, is covered in our article on the Natsuyuki Nakanishi exhibition.

Editor’s perspective

Of particular note is the reinstallation, based on the artists’ instructions, of works conceived for specific spaces. It is an opportunity to see how the institution carries on works tied to a place. The talks by the artists themselves and former artistic directors look set to be a chance to hear that history firsthand.

Overview

Name: Collection Exhibition “Reunion: Messages from 17 Artists”
Dates: Saturday, November 7, 2026 – Sunday, January 31, 2027
Hours: 10:00–18:00 (last entry 17:30)
Closed: Mondays (open on November 23 and January 11), Tuesday, November 24, December 27 – January 4, Tuesday, January 12
Venue: Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito
Address: 1-6-8 Gokencho, Mito, Ibaraki
Admission: Adults 900 yen, groups (20 or more) 700 yen; high school students and younger, people aged 70 and over, and holders of a disability certificate or similar plus one companion free (proof required)
Organizer: Mito Arts Foundation
Cooperation: Suntory Holdings Limited
Curator: Yu Takehisa (Artistic Director, Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito)
Inquiries: 029-227-8111 (main)
Official website: https://www.arttowermito.or.jp/gallery/lineup/article_5432.html
*Information as of October 20, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Tomoko Sugiyama, “each-all,” 2005 (from a press release by the Mito Arts Foundation)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on press materials from the Mito Arts Foundation (October 15, 2026) and information on the Art Tower Mito official website.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team