Frankfurt/Main, August 3 – 11, 2024, https://www.instagram.com/marsfrankfurt/
A group of befriended artists from Japan and Germany organised a show together. Different styles, different media, different gerenrations. The connecting point seems to have been some kind of residency program, and the motivation the obtaining of some Japanese artist mobility grants to enjoy a European summer culture trip.
The exotic orient was a common topic throughout the show. The „occidentals“ showed typical artist-on-a-residency work, that somehow tries to react to the „local land and culture“. The „orientals“ simply did what they are doing „normally“ – that was „oriental“ enough to fit into the show.
The show was well set up, clean and tidy. It was a pleasure to walk around and intellectually interact with the works. I enjoyed that it was not just appearances, but in fact stories (concepts) behind every work on display.
The explanatory texts to the artworks contained just enough information to get into the background oft he works. They reminded me more of artist statements than of the much-too-common curatorial blabla. They also reminded me of the „occicental“ way of doing things, where concepts are usually explained more clearly.
Artists: Masayuki Tamura, Tomoki Matsumura, Tomoya Ishibashi, Felicitas von Lutzau, Nadine Kolodziey, Isabell Ratzinger, Sonja Prochorow
Exhibition leaflet:
