WHAT CAFE to Host Special Co-Curated Exhibition “u.n.l.o.c.k. tube++” with Noboru Tsubaki Starting Friday, Sept. 4, 2026

The exhibition welcomes guest curator Noboru Tsubaki, a contemporary artist who has brought many young talents into the spotlight as a professor at Kyoto University of the Arts. As founder of the artist-driven art fair “ARTISTS’ FAIR KYOTO,” Tsubaki views art within the context of its relationship to society, constantly evaluating and implementing new models for how artwork circulates. This special co-curated exhibition intersects Tsubaki’s innovative practice in discovering and supporting the next generation with WHAT CAFE’s initiatives for creating opportunities to showcase and sell works by emerging artists.

The venue will showcase a wide array of works — including Japanese painting, oil painting, photography, ceramics, glass, and installation art — by 37 of today’s most exciting artists selected by Tsubaki and WHAT CAFE. Presenting a broad range of expressions beyond genres under one roof offers visitors the opportunity to discover their “first piece of art” — the very first artwork they choose to purchase. Ultimately, the exhibition highlights the joy of bringing art into daily life and envisions the potential of a future lived alongside art.

Images are self-consuming. Images that survive become symbols.
To revel in chaos by endlessly warping an image, or to succeed in imprinting the society by circulating symbols in the mass.
To reject the image and narrative, and conjoin with the absolute abstract idea of eternal time is also an option; whichever way, suffering will not end, and the future is even more obscure.
This must be exactly why we were born into this world as artists.

Title: WHAT CAFE EXHIBITION vol.47: WHAT CAFE x Noboru Tsubaki Special Co-Curated Exhibition “u.n.l.o.c.k. tube++”
Dates: Friday, Sept. 4 – Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026
Time: 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. (Closes at 5 p.m. on the final day)
Venue: WHAT CAFE (2-1-11 Higashi-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo)
Admission: Free
Guest Curator: Noboru Tsubaki
Guest Artist: Toru Kamiya
Exhibiting Artists: IKENANA, xorium, Masamitsu Okada (OMD), Ryoka Onoda, Joe Katayama, kawata erika, Mana Kawamura, Kiyu Kisu, Aya Kurashiki, Kaori KUROSAKI, Risako Kokubu, Mika Kobashi, Yui Kobayashi, Leo Sasaki, Mika Shinagawa, Sakurako Shirai, Sato Sugamoto, Ruca Tairaku, Jukan Tateisi, Sae Tsuchiya, Mao Togami, Keito Tokoi, Hayaki Nishigaki, Ryohei Nishi, Haruka Takahashi, Aina FUNAKOSHI, Sun Honma, BCBG YUNA, Saki Matsumura, Kaho Marui, Mii, Mishima Reika, Yuri Minagawa, Saya Mimura, Yosuke Morigami, Monami Yabe
Planning: WHAT CAFE
Planning Cooperation: ARTOTHÈQUE, Kyoto University of the Arts
Official Website: https://cafe.warehouseofart.org/exhibition/what-cafe-exhibition-vol-47:u-n-l-o-c-k-tube
The exhibit may close during the dates above. Please see the WHAT CAFE website for the latest information.

A space to exhibit and sell artworks by up-and-coming artists in Japan. It boasts 800 square meters of luminous, expansive floor space. Works on display are constantly updated––a year-round flow of beauty and cool from the new pantheon of creative visual geniuses. This maximizes the opportunities for artists to be seen, be loved, and sell their work. We hold workshops, events, and meet-ups related to the exhibitions, so you can dive deep and meet like-minded art lovers. It’s a space to experience art with all five senses while enjoying a meal and drinks.
https://cafe.warehouseofart.org