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State of the art

Exploring Roppongi and Tennozu, two of Tokyo's artsiest neighbourhoods

We know it'due south hard to believe, but Roppongi, Tokyo's glitzy underbelly of pricey booze, sleazy clubs and bazaar shopping, lives a double life as the city's art hub. The capital letter's nigh famous amusement commune, once known as 'High Touch on Town', prides itself on an impressive array of small galleries and big museums – the cultural legacy of gentrification efforts over the final decade.

Farther southeast, Tennozu Isle is no stranger to the art, or artifice, of transformation from the bottom upwards either. In fact, the bogus island was literally dredged upwards from the depths of Tokyo Bay during the 1920s and '30s. Recently, extensive waterfront planning has seen the hitherto quiet warehouse district re-emerge as a be-muraled boondocks dotted with canalside cafés, high-rising office buildings, hip hotels and fine art galleries.

Roppongi

This year, Roppongi'south art cred was raised to new heights with the opening of the Complex665 building (6-5-24 Roppongi, Minato-ku), which houses a trifecta of influential galleries: Tomio Koyama, ShugoArts and Taka Ishii. The building sits on a residential dorsum street tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Roppongi, only is difficult to miss thanks to what appears to exist a squiggle painted on its side. This symbol is the logo designed for Complex665 past artist Yoshihisa Tanaka, who imagined how a 'fictional artist named 665 might sign their own work'.

A major thespian in Tokyo'due south contemporary art scene, Tomio Koyama Gallery moved into the 2d floor of the edifice from their previous location in Sendagaya, employing young architects Toru Murayama and Ayako Kato to design their new 2-room exhibition space. They correspond an impressive roster of artists in Japan, including wunderkind photographer Ryan McGinley, American post-minimalist Richard Tuttle and Yoko Ono.

Also on the second floor is ShugoArts, who take championed the avant-garde of Japanese art since the mid-'80s. Their gallery was designed by builder Jun Aoki, as well responsible for facelifting the façade of the Louis Vuitton building in Ginza. Unlike their flatmates, ShugoArts continue the shop open on Sundays.

Calling dibs on the top bunk are Taka Ishii Gallery, who represent heavy-hitters similar Elmgreen & Dragset, Nobuyoshi Araki, Daido Moriyama and Thomas Demand. Furniture and interior design gurus Broadbean, whose offices occupy the footing flooring, were enlisted to blueprint the sleek gallery infinite on the third flooring, which wonderfully feeds off natural light coming in from the plant terrace.

If yous've enjoyed killing a whole flock of birds with one rock, so head over to the Piramide Building (6-half-dozen-ix Roppongi, Minato-ku), which is some other great example of the tried-and-tested 'power in numbers' model of art collectives. Leading galleries Ota Fine Arts and Wako Works of Art are amidst its famous tenants.

Ascension to a higher place the residue both in height and, arguably, in might, the 238-metre Roppongi Hills Mori Tower is home to the Mori Art Museum, which holds some of Tokyo'due south most ambitious and influential exhibitions. A retrospective dedicated to the Indian artist N South Harsha will be unveiled in Feb 2017.

The brainchild of fashion (and fragrance) designer Issey Miyake and boyfriend design greats Taku Satoh and Naoto Fukasawa, 21_21 Design Sight more than than underscores Roppongi'due south role as the focal point of Tokyo'southward art scene. The mutual focus of their ever-changing lineup of exhibitions is interdisciplinary design.

The National Fine art Center (NACT), designed past Kisho Kurokawa of Nakagin Sheathing Belfry fame, boasts the largest exhibition space of any museum in Nippon. Unlike most of its counterparts, NACT is an 'empty museum', which ways it does not have a permanent collection, instead choosing to commission one-off exhibitions – their Monet show was the second about visited exhibition in the world in 2007.

Located in Tokyo Midtown and designed by renowned builder Kengo Kuma, the Suntory Museum of Art possesses the biggest collection of Japanese arts and crafts in the state, comprised of a whopping 3,000-plus objects. Their tea ceremonies, staged on the 6th flooring every second Thursday, are a must do.

And for the 'Peanuts' fans out in that location, Roppongi has a Snoopy Museum, showcasing Charles M Schulz's original drawings and art for the beloved series. A number of the cartoonist's early works, vintage collectibles and other materials are besides on display.

Tennozu Isle

Backed past the Terrada warehouse company, which does far more than simply stock Tokyoites' leftover property, Tennozu's new Archi-Depot museum displays a whopping 116 architectural models by Japanese starchitects, including works past Kengo Kuma, Shigeru Ban and Riken Yamamoto. While the exhibition warehouse isn't exactly a sight to behold, the architectural models – depicting both real buildings and unrealised projects – gleam like miniature cabinets of curiosities. Subsequently paying a visit to Archi-Depot, you're sure to walk away with a renewed appreciation for Tokyo's beautiful buildings, often disregarded in the relentless hustle and hurry of our dear city.

Just a rock'southward throw away from Archi-Depot lies the striking fine art supplies 'laboratory' Pigment, designed by Kuma and inspired by the look and feel of bamboo. It stocks more than 4,500 colour pigments, 50 kinds of animal glues, and a number of tiptop-quality traditional painting tools including over 200 antique ink sticks. The staff are all well-versed in the intricacies of the products and are happy to show you how to use them.

Taking a cue from their comrades over in Roppongi, four contemporary fine art galleries recently decided to nestle confronting each other on the 3rd floor of the Terrada Art Complex. The quartet is comprised of Kodama Gallery, who are getting prepare for a solo show by Japanese artist Gaëtan Kubo opening January fourteen; Urano, representing domestic talents such as Takahiro Iwasaki, who will be flying the flag for Nippon at the 2017 Venice Biennale; Yamamoto Gendai, who count the legendary luminary Richard Serra amongst their artists; and Yuka Tsuruno Gallery, known for their collaborations with renowned artists Candida Höfer and José Parlá. Lest you lot forget your surrounds, the galleries are located inside a fully operating warehouse and are just accessible by a service elevator.

As the former and electric current residents of neighbourhoods like London'south Shoreditch and New York's Brooklyn will tell you, gentrification is a double-edged sword that tears through the former to make way for the new. Whichever side of the third wave café/local caff divide you lot're on, the number and density of art galleries is often a skilful litmus exam for how far a neighbourhood has come downward the line. Less than one-half an hour apart, Roppongi and Tennozu Isle offering 2 different cases to report for those interested in the sociocultural effects of Tokyo'due south urban planning. Or you could but look at the art.

Terrada'due south master warehouse (2-6-ten Higashi-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku) is belongings an exhibition on David Bowie from January 8 to April 9 – exist certain to go your tickets in advance.

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