Warehouse TERRADA Announces Exhibition for Opening of Collectors’ Museum of Contemporary Art “WHAT”

Warehouse TERRADA has been working to turn Tennoz into a major center for the arts. Focusing primarily on building collections of works of art in addition to artwork restoration, transport and exhibitions, Warehouse TERRADA also operates facilities that promote art and culture, such as the art materials lab PIGMENT TOKYO and TERRADA ART COMPLEX, Japan’s largest gallery complex.
With the increase in globally active contemporary artists in recent years, it has become increasingly normal to see contemporary art in our everyday lives not only at art museums, but also at shopping facilities, hospitals, local art events and in art installations set up around town. However, many also tend to think of contemporary art as difficult or unapproachable.

Opening December 12th (Sat), the Collectors’ Museum of Contemporary Art “WHAT” aims to promote art and culture by showcasing precious art properties entrusted to Warehouse TERRADA by collectors so that their value and beauty can blossom forth in the public eye. The opening exhibition, “Inside the Collector’s Vault, Vol. 1 — The Unleashed Collection,” focuses on the work of two collectors who, based on their respective perspectives and values, have put together a collection of roughly 70 works of fascinating contemporary art, including new and previously unreleased works.
There are also several special events planned throughout the exhibition period. Details will be posted to the official website when available.

WHAT will open in Tennoz, promoting art and culture by aiming to make collectors’ precious art properties that have been entrusted to us accessible to the public. We have used our unique insight as a warehousing company to explore the concept of what an art facility should be. The result is WHAT — an art exhibition facility that allows members of the public to experience the artworks gathered in our warehouse by Japan’s leading collectors based on their own exacting ideas of value. The name itself — WHAT (WAREHOUSE OF ART TERRADA) — reflects our unique concept of opening up the warehouse to offer the public a look at art that they would not ordinarily have the opportunity to see. The museum exhibits works by artists active in the contemporary art scene side-by-side with the thoughts of the collectors, and also features a regularly changing lineup of works on display, setting itself apart from the permanent exhibitions seen in most art museums, and thereby creating a new kind of space for the appreciation of art that changes with every visit. Note that the precursor to WHAT, the ARCHI-DEPOT Museum, which has been storing and exhibiting works related to architecture since 2016, has been renamed the ARCHI-DEPOT Project and will continue to host exhibitions specializing in architecture in the same facility.

Title               : Inside the Collector’s Vault, Vol. 1 — The Unleashed Collection
Organizer     : Warehouse TERRADA
Cooperation: TAKAHASHI COLLECTION and the anonymous collector
Planning      : Warehouse TERRADA
Dates            : December 12th, 2020 (Sat) – May 30th, 2021 (Sun)
(Updated on May 10th: Temporary closure due to the State of Emergency Declaration has been extended. Please note that there will be no changes to the exhibition dates.)
Venue           : WHAT 1F and 2F (2-6-10 Higashi-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 140-0002)
Open Hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM (Admission until 6:00 PM), closed on Mondays
(but open when Monday is a public holiday, then closed the following Tuesday)
Admission   : Adults 1,200 yen / University or vocational college students 700 yen / junior and senior high school students 500 yen / Students under elementary school age Free
* Including the admission for the exhibition “The Words for Architecture” by ARCHI-DEPOT Project
* Admission of the tour of Architectural Model Warehouse (optional): 500 yen
* Ticket: Online ticket system
* Free admission for visitors with a physical disability certificate and one of their carers
* Presentation of your school identification card indicating your age or a disability certificate will be required on admission.
U R L           : https://what.warehouseofart.org/en/

– On display are the collections of two collectors of contemporary art
The Ryutaro Takahashi Collection is based on the theme of kakizome, which in this case refers to the first piece of art drawn or created in the year. The other collection is from the anonymous collector, and focuses on the works of Yoshitomo Nara produced around the year 2000.
– Planned to feature around 70 works, some of which are new and previously unreleased
Exhibits will be swapped out once during the exhibition period (for a planned total of 70 works)
– The collectors’ reasons for starting their collections and the appeal of the works will be discussed from the collectors’ own perspectives
– Will feature works by 19 artists (planned)
– Will include works by young artists

– TAKAHASHI COLLECTION
Number of works: Approx. 30
Exhibited artists: 18 (planned) (in Japanese alphabetical order)
Makoto Aida, Kei Imazu, Kazuki Umezawa, Enrico Isamu Oyama, Kenjiro Okazaki, Rikako Kawauchi, Yayoi Kusama, Sawako Goda, Aki Kondo, Hiraku Suzuki, Hiroki Tsukuda, Fumika Tsuchidori, DIEGO, Sho Nozawa, BIEN, Nanae Mitobe, Goro Murayama, Yuko Mohri

About Ryutaro Takahashi
Psychiatrist and contemporary art collector. Born in 1946 in Yamagata Prefecture, Dr. Takahashi lived in Nagoya from primary school age through senior high school. After graduating from Toho University Faculty of Medicine, he entered the Department of Neuropsychiatry at Keio University. After working in Peru as a medical specialist for the Japan International Cooperation Agency, he established the Takahashi Clinic in Kamata, Tokyo in 1990, and has since served as its director. He began collecting contemporary art in earnest in 1997, and his collection now totals over 2,000 works. The Takahashi Collection has been exhibited at 21 art museums and other facilities in Japan and around the world. Major exhibitions have included Takahashi Collection “Mirror Neuron” (Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery) in 2015 and “Cosmos/Intime — La Collection Takahashi” (Maison de la Culture du Japon à Paris) in 2015-2016. He is the author of Contemporary Art Collector (Kodansha’s New Library of Knowledge) and many other books.

– The anonymous collector’s collection
Number of works: Approx. 40 (some of which are going to be swapped out during the exhibition period)
Exhibited artist: Yoshitomo Nara

About the anonymous collector
Japanese business person and investor. Born 1969 in Chiba Prefecture. After graduating from university, the collector worked at an investment firm in charge of investing in and fostering start-up companies. The collector took several companies public, and currently head up a listed company while also serving as an angel investor to a variety of start-up companies. The collector began a collection after first seeing Yoshitomo Nara’s works in an art museum in 2001. Although the collection is centered on the work of Yoshitomo Nara, the collector continues to build the collection by including additions that are not contemporary art.