In 2001, Alexander Gelman was awarded the title of one of the "world's most famous modern and contemporary artists in all media" by New York's Museum of Modern Art. The artist has since chosen Tokyo as one of his bases and often works here on projects such as TV commercials, music videos, publications (Subtraction, RotoVision, 2001) and exhibitions. He collaborated with traditional lacquer artisans from Ishikawa Prefecture on a chess set for a 2009 exhibition.Another of Gelman's projects is Gelmatica, a festival that celebrates contemporary art and music. The artist often ventures into other media (as the $123,600 chess set shows), and the next Gelmatica will combine electronic music with noise, motion graphics and gallery installations. Following a successful first event, Gelman will hold Gelmatica-2 on May 15th at Unit in Daikanyama, Tokyo. As an artist, Gelman has exhibited works at the Nanzuka Underground gallery in Tokyo from time to time, and he hopes Gelmatica will "lure clubbers into visiting an art gallery and draw art gallery goers into going to a club" and create a new vehicle for communication. He believes fusing clubbing and art installations is a new kind of "night out." Gelmatica-2 is being sponsored by the Metamorphose music festival, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, and will feature guest DJs such as Alex Einz of Phonika; Reynold, aka Duplex 100 from Trenton Records; and Berlin and Lusine from Ghostly International.
Gelmatica at Unit in Daikanyama, Tokyo, starts at 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 15th. Admission: ¥3,000. Access: A 2-minute walk from Daikanyama Station via Tokyu Toyoko Line or a 5-minute walk from Nakameguro Station on the Hibiya Line. For more information, call (03) 5459- 8530 or visit www.gelmatica.com. People must be aged at least 20 and have valid Photo ID to enter.
