It's always a pleasure to discover an exhibition space in Tokyo that you've never been to before, especially during these difficult economic times when old favorites are closing down. My latest find is Gallery Senkukan, tucked into a tiny Yoyogi side street, which opened a little more than a year ago.
This is a great little space, with an eight-tatami-size exhibition space on each of its two floors. It is a hybrid kashi/kikaku gallery -- in Japanese artspeak this means that some of the shows are arranged on a kashi or rental basis, the artist paying to exhibit; while others are done in the world-standard kikaku or commercial style, the gallery working on a commission basis with the artist.
The Senkukan's current offering is "Tiny Trace, Calm View," an installation by Toshio Iguchi. This 41-year-old Nagano-born, Tokyo-based artist has long had an interest in unorthodox materials and processes. Recent work shown in a Tokyo office building featured strips of Styrofoam painstakingly sliced and shaved to appear like foliage, then stuck up on the ceiling where they drooped down invasively, like branches. With his Senkukan show, Iguchi's art has reached a new level of maturity.