The third installment of the year-long "Takeover" series, a collaboration between CADAN (Japan Contemporary Art Dealers Association), an organization of leading contemporary art galleries in Japan, and Isetan Men's, titled "Autumn Takeover," will begin on Wednesday, September 23rd. Special installations tailored to the theme of each floor will appear in the cubic exhibition space SI (Store Identity) located on four floors of Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building .

What does the promotional term "Takeover" mean?

The Contemporary Art Dealers Association Nippon (CADAN) is a non-profit industry organization that aims to promote and popularize contemporary art in Japan, establish and develop the contemporary art market, increase the international recognition of contemporary artists, and support and nurture young artists. Established in 2015 with the aim of contributing to the development of contemporary art in Japan, it currently has 47 member galleries.

The name of this collaborative project, "Takeover," originates from a promotional term used on social media platforms such as Instagram. By taking over each other's offerings, the project will utilize the ISETAN MEN'S building to present contemporary art handled by the galleries that make up CADAN to customers as something of new value.

This series features contemporary art that reflects the current era, with various contemporary art pieces appearing on the museum's floors throughout the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Four artists represented by CADAN member galleries will present their works in the cubic exhibition spaces SI (Store Identity)* installed on the four floors.

Four installations, each themed to the floor, will be featured.

Yosuke Takayama (Affiliated gallery: ANOMALY)

"Untitled (Venus)" is a work that earnestly explores the concept of "sculpture" in the modern era.

Takayama's work, based on traditional wood carving, earnestly pursues the very concept of "sculpture" in the modern era through the creation of woodblock prints and reliefs that are close to two-dimensional, and presentation methods that carefully consider the nature of the pedestals. Many of his works depict everyday life and people, and his series of busts, which mimics the head of a human being, comprises as many as 60 pieces. The rough traces of the chainsaw and the drips of paint flowing down the wood surface reveal Takayama's spirit in confronting the material, as well as various memories and layers of time.

• Yosuke Takayama
  Yosuke Takayama ● Born in Gunma Prefecture in 1980. Completed his Master's degree in Sculpture at the Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tama Art University.

Yusuke Shibata (Affiliated gallery: WAITINGROOM)

The latest work in the "Public and Freedom" series focuses on the ambiguity and uncertainty of the real world.

• Yusuke Shibata
  Yusuke Shibata: Born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1980. Completed the Printmaking course in the Department of Fine Arts at Musashino Art University Graduate School in 2007.

Takashi Hinoda (Affiliated gallery: Imura Art Gallery)

What are the "pluripotent stem cells" that inspired a ceramic artist to create regenerative cells?

The work "Pluripotent Cells" was originally inspired by the topic of regenerative cells, which are being developed for medical applications. I felt that the process by which reprogrammed cells specialize in specific shapes, qualities, and functions resonated with the process by which they themselves form soil. I think that at its core, there is an image of the blind, powerful force of life expanding outward, transcending the concepts of good and evil. (Takashi Hinoda)

• Takashi Hinoda
  Takashi Hinota: Born in Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture in 1968. Graduated from the Department of Crafts, Ceramics Course, Faculty of Arts, Osaka University of Arts in 1991. Professor at Saga University of Arts.

Takuya Ikezaki (Affiliated gallery: Satoko Oe Contemporary)

The work "I love you, Daddy ♡" is based on a message my daughter sent me on my wife's phone.

The message my daughter sent me on my wife's phone was a jumble of incomprehensible characters, like some kind of code. When I asked her, "What did you send?", she replied, "I love you, Daddy." It was an answer I could never have imagined from that coded message.

The "codes" that children who can't yet read or write create by tapping on their phones or computers might be easily forgotten as nothing more than a random string of letters and symbols, typical of what children do. However, I decided to take these "codes," which are often treated the same way, and turn them into a work of art based on my own experiences.

Upon closer reading, this "code" offers many discoveries, and there's a fascinating aspect to imagining things from the connections between the letters. It feels like deciphering an abstract painting made up of a series of symbols and letters. (Takuya Ikezaki)

• Takuya Ikezaki
  Takuya Ikezaki: Born in Tokunoshima, Kagoshima Prefecture in 1981. Graduated from Musashino Art University, Department of Oil Painting, Faculty of Art and Design in 2005. Studied experimental art at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China from 2008 to 2010. Currently lives in New York.

Organizer: Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building
Cooperation: Japan Contemporary Art Dealers Association

Text: ISETAN MEN'S net

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