DESIGNART tokyo 2020: highlights, not-to-miss exhibitions, and shows

DESIGNART tokyo is a design and art festival annually held every fall. the many exhibitions, and the range of creative fields they cover, bring together diverse objects and experiences created in the crossover between interior design, art, fashion, and food from around the globe. the event ‘venue’ is the city of tokyo, one of the world’s leading mixed culture cities. for 12 days — from october 23 – november 3, 2020 — the 2020 edition sees over 100 exhibitors join the event across more than 60 venues. under the theme, ‘power to the creatives!’, the goal of DESIGNART tokyo is to generate a mind-enriching, modern version of the arts and crafts movement, which took place in the UK in the 19th century. just as it placed value on the return to nature and indigenous culture for the purpose of realizing artistic life, the event also aims to change society through our own approaches.

as a media partner of DESIGNART tokyo 2020, and following our preview feature, designboom highlights the not-to-miss exhibitions and shows at this year’s landmark event.

denis guidone x ARTIA @ REBOOT at JASMAC AOYAMA

all images © designboom

denis guidone is a design and architecture studio based in milan and tokyo. fascinated by the contrasts between the east and the west, he merges the aesthetics of these two extremes with unconventional and strict precision into an elegant, eye-catching appearance. as part of REBOOT — an exhibition which offers domestic and foreign companies and creators an opportunity to bring their works from japan, to italy, and to the global stage — guidone shows his research from working in arita, in saga prefecture, kyūshū, japan.

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A post shared by Denis guidone (@denisguidone) on Oct 21, 2020 at 7:45am PDT

the exhibition comprises sketches, drawings, moulds, tools, mockups and final products developed by riso kiln during his creative residency in the area. items rarely accessible to the public and hidden elements of the design and development process reveal the essence of creativity and design.

the venue for REBOOT is JASMAC AOYAMA, the architectural work of aldo rossi, which boasts an avant-garde expression seen in italy’s postmodern design.

guidone shows his research from working in arita, in saga prefecture, kyūshū, japan

the exhibition comprises sketches, drawings, moulds, tools, mockups and final products

mari kawakami

paper skin / hiroki furukawa @ BUNKITSU, roppongi area

japanese designer hiroki furukawa presents PAPER SKIN, a structure and material made simply from the edges of paper. while being ‘just paper’, the structure acts and feels like the skin of a living being. the thin edge of one sheet of paper hardly registers in our consciousness, but even one piece has a thickness that carries color. this thickness increases by stacking several sheets of paper, and manifests as a vibrant, colorful surface.

while a thin piece of paper with a string threaded through tears easily, arranging the paper with several layers and using precision laser cutting for string hole placement creates a strong and uniform material. PAPER SKIN’s smooth undulating surface movement of the structure is from the perfect balance of size and thickness – small enough for fluid movement, but strong enough to resist tearing. PAPER SKIN was selected as a PANEL FINALIST of the LEXUS design award 2018.

projects by YOY @ REBOOT at JASMAC AOYAMA

‘unroll’ is a table lamp that is completed by unrolling a scroll

YOY is a tokyo-based design studio founded in 2011 by naoki ono and yuki yamamoto. their designs revolve around the theme ‘between space and object’ related to design furniture, lighting and interior spaces. at the REBOOT exhibition JASMAC AOYAMA, YOY presents a selection of new projects — ‘unroll’ is a table lamp that is completed by unrolling a scroll. it stands with its curl and has the shape of a lamp shade, as there are slits to create the opening. various patterns can be printed on it, and it’s made from synthetic paper.

‘unroll’ lamp in closed position, which looks like a scroll

‘undigital’ is a special model for swiss watch brand’s rado’s ‘true square’. the whole form is the same as the original, but the hands were designed with the motif of seven segment display that is used in a digital watch. the hands were finished with white luminescent paint, which glows in the dark.

‘undigital’ is a special model for swiss watch brand’s rado’s ‘true square’

‘revolve’ is a pendant lamp with an acrylic plate and a pattern. when switching the light on, the plate starts revolving and a three-dimensional image appears. a motor is inside the socket and various images can appear according to a pattern drawn in the plate.

‘revolve’ is a pendant lamp with an acrylic plate and a pattern that rotates when turned on

PETIT BATEAU / norihiko terayama @ petit bateau omotesando

a delicate network of discarded fibers reproduces elements of the natural world

a special exhibition highlights the collaboration of french fashion brand PETIT BATEAU and japanese designer norihiko terayama with deyrolle, a parisian institution for natural sciences and pedagogy. the work mixes fabric samples of product inspections that were originally discarded, with delicate patterns of roadside branches and fallen leaves, and educational boards by deyrolle. the installation delicately reproduces the ephemeral life of animals and plants living in the natural world using fibers and otherwise discarded materials.

the installation delicately mimics the ephemerality of nature

opening ceremony @ a lighthouse called kanata, roppongi area

embrace (2020) by osamu yokoyama

formerly known as yufuku, a lighthouse called kanata presents opening ceremony, the inaugural exhibition at its new gallery in nishi-azabu. the group exhibition commemorates the official opening of the venue, featuring paintings and sculptures by 20 artists including sueharu fukami, niyoko ikuta, satoru ozaki, nobuyuki tanaka, takafumi asakura, ken mihara, and shigekazu nagae.

! lll (2019) by satoru ozaki

view into the exhibition

home office exhibition @ world kita-aoyama building, omotesando area

a key feature of DESIGNART TOKYO 2020 is an attempt to redefine the new vision of the home office. the exhibition NEW HOME OFFICE centers around flexible office furniture that could adapt to today’s current challenges, feelings and attitudes. ‘remote work at home was experienced by many people, and this was an opportunity for us to think more than ever about the interior space, furniture, and other interiors that would let us work comfortably in our homes,’ the team at DESIGNART TOKYO 2020 says. ‘even people with stay-at-home work held more online meetings, presumably becoming conscious about their backgrounds and personal appearance on screen.’ the venue for the showcase is the world kita aoyama building, an incubation space, where exhibitors including 1518, SEMPRE/vitra, varier/shinwa shop, steelcase/wsi, emu, and muuto present collections related to the theme.

practical information

event name: DESIGNART tokyo 2020
period: october 23 – november 3, 2020
official website: http://designart.jp/designarttokyo2020/en/
area: omotesando, gaien-mae / harajuku, meiji-jingu-mae / shibuya / daikanyama / roppongi / shinjuku / ginza
organizer: DESIGNART tokyo committee
the founders of DESIGNART: akio aoki (miru design) , shun kawakami (artless inc.) , hiroshi koike (non-grid), okisato nagata (timeless) , astrid klein & mark dytham (klein dytham architecture)