“Sekai no Kotowari” Exhibition at the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art from January 2027; 20 Japanese Artists Since the 1990s

The Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art (Higashi-ku, Nagoya) will hold the special exhibition “Sekai no Kotowari: Art of Our Time” from Friday, January 29 to Sunday, April 4, 2027. It introduces the work of 20 Japanese artists, centered on works from the 1990s, when globalization advanced and Japanese artists had more opportunities to show their work abroad, to the present. The exhibition is organized by the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art and the Melco Group, with planning cooperation from the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto. It is a tour of an exhibition held at the Kyoto museum from December 2025 to March 2026.

What is “Sekai no Kotowari”? Art since the 1990s read through four keywords

The exhibition reads the artists’ reflections and practices through the keywords “identity,” “body,” “history” and “globalized society.” The title “Sekai no Kotowari” (roughly, “the logic of the world”) is written in katakana, the way loanwords and new concepts are written in Japanese, to express an attitude of withholding easy interpretations of, or meanings for, the unknown and continuing to update one’s thinking.

The exhibition poses the question “Where do we stand now?” and hopes to give each visitor a chance to find their own “Sekai no Kotowari.” Its English title is “#WhereDoWeStand? - Art in Our Time.” The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, described the Kyoto exhibition as an attempt to portray the viewing experience as a narrative like a “sea chart” recording the currents of a voyage and encounters with unknown islands.

Which artists take part? The 20 artists and main works of the Kyoto exhibition

According to the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto’s exhibition page, the 20 artists in the Kyoto exhibition were Satoru Aoyama, Tomoaki Ishihara, AKI INOMATA, Motohiko Odani, Emiko Kasahara, Sachiko Kazama, Akane Saijo, Nobuhiro Shimura, Tadasu Takamine, Kei Takemura, Koki Tanaka, Aiko Tezuka, Yuki Harada, Yukio Fujimoto, Teiji Furuhashi, Chie Matsui, Tatsuo Miyajima, Yuko Mohri, Yasumasa Morimura and Miwa Yanagi. The Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art’s page also mentions “20 Japanese artists,” but as of October 19 it did not list them.

Major works in the Kyoto exhibition included Tatsuo Miyajima’s “Monism/Dualism” (1989), Yasumasa Morimura’s “Star Man (at Heian Shrine)” (1990/2004) and Motohiko Odani’s “Phantom-Limb” (1997). Recent works such as Koki Tanaka’s “10 Years” (2025) and Akane Saijo’s “Planet” (2024) were also included, and works owned by the artists and other museums were shown alongside those in the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto’s collection. The Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art’s exhibition page features an image of Kei Takemura’s “Repaired Globe Piggy Bank” (2002–2021, National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto).

From Kyoto to Nagoya, organized with the Melco Group

The Kyoto exhibition ran from Saturday, December 20, 2025 to Sunday, March 8, 2026, organized by the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto and the Melco Group. The Kyoto museum’s exhibition page lists the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art’s dates as the next venue.

The Melco Group is also a special co-organizer of the 1st Maebashi International Art Festival 2026, now under way in Gunma Prefecture. The Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art’s special exhibitions for fiscal 2026 proceed from an Utagawa Kuniyoshi exhibition and an exhibition of Swedish painting to the Bigelow exhibition, opening on Friday, October 30. This exhibition is the fourth special exhibition of fiscal 2026 on the museum’s annual schedule.

Opening hours, closing days and access

Opening hours are 10:00 to 17:00, and until 20:00 on Fridays (last entry 30 minutes before closing). The museum is closed on Mondays and on Tuesday, March 23, but open on Monday, March 22 (substitute holiday). As of October 19, admission prices had not been announced.

The venue is on the 10th floor of the Aichi Arts Center, about a 5-minute walk from Sakae Station, which can be reached on the subway Higashiyama Line from Nagoya Station or the subway Meijo Line from Kanayama Station.

Editor’s perspective

The katakana title carries an attitude of continuing to think without rushing to assign meaning. The exhibition is structured to reexamine the work of Japanese artists since the 1990s, when opportunities to show work abroad increased, from angles such as identity, the body and history.

While the artists and works of the Kyoto exhibition are public, the works and admission prices for the Aichi exhibition have not yet been announced. Other events in the Tokai region are introduced in our feature on art and light events in Nagoya, Aichi and the Tokai region.

Overview

Name: Sekai no Kotowari: Art of Our Time (#WhereDoWeStand? - Art in Our Time)
Dates: Friday, January 29 – Sunday, April 4, 2027
Hours: 10:00–17:00 (until 20:00 on Fridays; last entry 30 minutes before closing)
Closed: Mondays, Tuesday, March 23 (open on Monday, March 22, a substitute holiday)
Venue: Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art (Aichi Arts Center 10F)
Address: 1-13-2 Higashisakura, Higashi-ku, Nagoya
Admission: Not announced as of October 19
Organizers: Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, Melco Group
Planning cooperation: National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto
Official website: https://apmoa.museum/exhibition/wheredowestand
*Information as of October 19, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Aichi Arts Center, home of the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, May 2008 (photo: Hide-sp, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on information on the official websites of the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art and the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team