06.05.2023  –  03.09.2023

Curated by Bart van der Heide

Press preview: 04.05.2023, 12.00 pm

Opening: 05.05.2023, 7 pm

Bolzano, April 11. Museion, Bolzano's Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, is pleased to announce its highly anticipated exhibition devoted to the renowned Japanese artist, Shimabuku (*1969, Kobe, Japan). The exhibition is the artist’s first museum solo show in Italy as well as his most extensive European survey to date.

Shimabuku's cross-disciplinary art offers a subtle, curious, and humorous approach to the world. His works originate from a private moment of wonder, like an idea, a desired encounter, or a poem. Through his interaction with his surroundings, intimacy becomes public as the artist enacts his thoughts. Ultimately, his photographic, filmic, and sculptural memories of these encounters act as a public declaration in the exhibition space. Hence, Shimabuku successfully captures the affinity between animals, landscapes, histories, ideas, and people as he unfolds unexpected and fleeting moments of sharing and mirroring.

This exhibition, entitled Shimabuku. Me, We, draws inspiration from a saying by the world-famous boxer and activist Muhammad Ali, which is often considered to be the shortest poem in the world and a relationship in itself.

The exhibition will cover two floors of the Museion building and will showcase a variety of artworks dating from the early 90s up until today, as well as pieces produced especially for this context. The third floor will display a retrospective “flow of episodes”, without a linear chronology, while the fourth floor will feature a thematic combination between existing and new productions. Central to this selection is the pairing of different entities, such as objects, animals, fruit, histories, and global geographies. Shimabuku's aesthetic vision blurs the lines between these subjects, creating a sense of mutual magnification. In Shimabuku's realm, there is no polarity between inside and outside; instead, he seeks to explore the interactions between the two.

One of the highlights of the exhibition is Me, We (2023), a large sculptural installation produced in collaboration with the Fondazione Antonio Dalle Nogare, Bolzano, and Ex-Montecatini (ex-Solland Silicon), Merano and created from building materials taken from the Mauracherhof and Ex-Montecatini (ex-Solland Silicon). In this installation, two buildings with very different cultural backgrounds, both of which are currently being demolished or structurally renovated, are joined together by the artist. The Mauracherhof was built in 1278, while the Ex-Montecatini (ex-Solland Silicon) dates back to the period of Italianization in the 1920s. Just like Me, We (2023) the artist gives these different histories a common meaning and a future life as a work of art.

Another new artwork displayed in the exhibition is Bed Peace (2023), a sculpture of a bed with two figures lying next to each other, made from the soil of different South Tyrolean valleys.

Exclusively for this exhibition, the artist has also developed, together with Mutina, a special art edition piece. This edition is part of the Mutina for Art project, organized by this well-known company specialized in high-end designer ceramics, to support contemporary artists. The exhibition is also a direct result of Mutina’s This is Not a Prize award that was won by Shimabuku in 2019 due to the unique character of his artistic language and his multi-faceted and generous imagination. Since then, Mutina has built a close relationship with Museion to support Shimabuku and his exhibition as its main sponsor.

Collateral Events

11.05.2023 h 5 – 7 pm Museion Ink. (it/de)

Creative writing session: To mark the exhibition Shimabuku. Me, We, Museion Ink. is embarking on a journey into experimental writing to document the participants' experience of the world.

With Roberta Pedrini. Subscription required on eventbrite.it/museion or 0471223435/13

25.05.2023 h 7 pm Guided tour with the artist Shimabuku and curator Bart van der Heide (en)

A guided tour of the exhibition with Shimabuku and Director Bart van der Heide.

Subscription required on eventbrite.it/museion

06.06.2023 h 3 – 5 pm Conversation meeting (it/de)

Travelling with the Octopus: what happens when an octopus goes on a journey to change its familiar surroundings? What new views of landscapes, people, animals or objects will emerge from these unfamiliar encounters? At this Conversation meeting, we will share our personal experiences in the context of the humorous poetic works of the traveler and artist Shimabuku.

With Brita Köhler.

Subscription required on eventbrite.it/museion or 0471223435/13

08.06.2023 h 6 – 8 pm In Context (de)

Moving beyond the threshold of the museum into the local area: the educational series In Context is open to all and aims to link artistic exhibition themes with wide-ranging thematic excursions into local fields of action. In June, the playful poetic language of the artist Shimabuku will lead an interactive experience with exciting local guests and the cheerful literary worlds of our South Tyrolean cultural landscape.

With Brita Köhler und Christine Vescoli, Literatur Lana.

Subscription required on eventbrite.it/museion or 0471223435/13

22.06.2023 h 7 pm Curator’s guided tour (en)

Free guided tour with the curator of the exhibition, the Director of Museion Bart van der Heide. An evening to discover more about the themes of the exhibition with a special insight. Free entrance, subscription required on eventbrite.it/museion

Every Sa + Su h 2 – 6 pm ART SPEAKINGS (it/de/en)

Exchange ideas: Every weekend, experienced art mediators are on hand to answer your questions and take you on a fascinating tour of the exhibition (it/de/en).

Every Thursday h 7 pm WELCOME! (it/de)

Free evening guided tour (it/de)

Contact: visitorservices@museion.it / tel: +39 0471 223435/13

Shimabuku

Shimabuku was born in Kobe in 1969. He studied at the Osaka College of Art and then at the San Francisco Art Institute. Since the early 1990s, Shimabuku has traveled to locations around the world to create works featuring various media and performative actions.

In the late ’90s, Shimabuku obtained various grants: in 1997 from the Japan Foundation for the Artist in residence program "ARCUS Project"; in 1998 from the French Government for a residency at Ateliers d’Artistes de la Ville de Marseille; and in 1999 from the Pola Art Foundation, Tokyo, Japan, for the Capacete Project in Rio de Janeiro. In 2000, he travelled through port cities worldwide—in Japan, Brazil, France, the Netherlands, and the US—and in 2002 he stayed in residence at the Banff Center, Canada, with a grant from Shiseido. In 2004, he moved to Berlin, invited by the DAAD Berliner Künstlerprogramm, where he lived for twelve years. In 2005–2006, Shimabuku was Guest Professor at the Braunschweig School of Art, Germany, and at the ZHdk: Zurich University of the Arts, Switzerland. Since 2016 he has lived in Naha on the Southern Japanese island of Okinawa, where his family comes from.

Exhibition information

Shimabuku. Me, We

Opening hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 10 am – 6 pm

Thursdays, 10 am – 10 pm. Closed on Monday.

€10.00 full price

€5.00 reduced price (Age 65+, students, guest card, Fai, Italia Nostra, MART, Ferdinandeum)

In collaboration with Mutina For Art

Supported by Pola Art Fondation & Japan Foundation

Museion Press Office

Mara Vicino

t. +39 0471 223439

m. +39 337 1250198

mara.vicino@museion.it

National Press Office

Lara Facco P&C

+39 02 36565133 | press@larafacco.com

Lara Facco | M. +39 349 2529989 | E. lara@larafacco.com

Claudia Santrolli | M. +39 339 7041657 | E. claudia@larafacco.com