A special exhibition "MUCA Exhibition
ICONS of Urban Art - From Banksy to KAWS"  will be held   

 

Europe's renowned museum MUCA makes its debut in Japan!
Germany, Munich
MUCA Exhibition
"ICONS of Urban Art - From Banksy to KAWS"    
Confirmed to be held at Oita Art Museum
Domestic tour including Kyoto (scheduled for October) and Tokyo also confirmed
 

The ICONS of Urban Art Committee is pleased to announce the MUCA Exhibition: 
"ICONS of Urban Art - From Banksy to KAWS" to be held at Oita Art Museum from July 22nd (Saturday) to October 9th (Sunday), 2023.
Featuring over 60 iconic artworks from celebrated artists such as Banksy and KAWS.
The art museum "MUCA," based in Munich, Germany, is an institution that houses one of the largest collections of urban and contemporary art in Europe. It has attracted significant attention as a destination museum in the European art scene.
We will be holding an exhibition featuring seminal artworks from the "MUCA Collection" for the first time internationally. Over 60 rare and illustrious works will be displayed, including a large sculptural piece by Banksy, making its first appearance in Japan, as well as key works by globally known artist KAWS. Furthermore, the exhibition will include career defining works by internationally renowned artists: Invader, JR, Vhils, Shepard Fairey, Barry McGee, Swoon, Os Gemeos, and Richard Hambleton - providing visitors with over four decades worth of insight into this seismic contemporary art movement. This exhibition will be presented on an unprecedented and overwhelming scale.
This exhibition pays homage to the Icons of the Urban & Contemporary Art scene 
Urban art is becoming a trend in Japan today. This genre, which has gained a mainstream status over the past 40 years, including artists such as Banksy and KAWS, is now attracting support. Through the iconic works of these legendary artists, we will follow their trajectory, unravel their secrets and approach the mystery of their popularity.

[Event Details]
Duration: Saturday, July 22, 2023 - Monday, October 9, 2023 
Open from 10:00 to 18:00 (last admission at 17:30)
Closed on September 11 （Mon）, 19 （Tue）, 20 （Wed）, 25 （Mon）
Admission Fee: General Admission 1,800 yen, High School/College Students 1,500 yen (Junior High School Students and Under Free)

*Advance ticket Info*
Advance Tickets: General 1,600 yen / High School and College Students 1,300 yen [Junior High School Students and below: Free]
■ Pre-sale Date: June 3rd (Sat) 10:00 
Ticket sales through "LAWSON TICKET" ⇒ "L-Code: 81604", available online [https://l-tike.com], and at stores [Lawson/Mini Stop].

■ General Sale Date: June 17th (Sat) 10:00 
Ticket sales through " LAWSON TICKET " ⇒ "L-Code: 81604", available online [https://l-tike.com], and at stores [Lawson/Mini Stop].
Ticket sales through "TICKET PIA " ⇒ "P-Code:686-539", available online [https://t.pia.jp], and at stores [Seven-Eleven].
Ticket sales through "e＋ " ⇒ available online [https://eplus.jp].
Oita City Art Museum ⇒ Information Counter [10:00 to 17:30], OAB Garden Studio 5 ⇒ Shop [Weekdays 11:00 to 16:00].

Official website ：mucaexhibition.jp（別ウィンドウで開きます）

 

[Urban Art]
Urban art refers to art that is created in urban spaces, specifically on public surfaces such as walls, buildings, roads, and bridges. Various types of urban art exist, including graffiti art, street art, poster art, stencil art, and mosaic art, among others. These forms of art can change the landscape of a city and often provoke emotions in people. The definition of urban art is not clear-cut, as it encompasses diverse forms of expression, but it shares the commonality of being art in an urban setting. Urban art can also convey political or social messages at times.

[MUCA (Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art)]
Founded in 2016 by Christian and Stephanie Utz, the Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art
(MUCA) is Germany's first museum dedicated to urban and contemporary art. Housed in a disused electrical substation, MUCA is a stone's throw from Marienplatz, in the centre of Munich.
 MUCA's mission is to integrate urban art into the contemporary art discourse and to exhibit the most celebrated artists of the 20th and 21st century. Since its inception, MUCA has become a leading authority in collection building, with a focus on housing significant works by artists renowned for using the urban landscape as part of their practice. 
The MUCA collection now holds over 1,200 art works and is well acknowledged as one of the most important collections of urban and contemporary art in Europe. It has progressively expanded over 25 years to include works from Pop Art to New Realism, covering themes including art in the urban environment, figurative painting, and socio-political issues. 

[Banksy]
Banksy is a street artist, political activist, director and painter. Despite his international fame, his identity remains anonymous. It is suspected that the artist was born in Bristol, England in 1974. He became active in the Bristol underground scene and started spraying graffiti aged 14. After widening his scope and working internationally, Banksy is now the most well-known street artist. Always politically charged, his stencil art alludes to current and past world events in addition to his own personal experiences. The stencils feature striking, humorous motifs that are placed in uncanny contexts, often paired with large block letters. His messages are usually directed against war, capitalism and the systemic abuse of power by the establishment.

[KAWS]
KAWS is an American artist and designer. Born Brian Donnelly in Jersey City in 1974, he started drawing at a very young age and graduated with a BA from the School of Visual Arts in New York. The time he spent studying yielded an impressive portfolio, as his trained eye enabled him to accurately copy some of the most famous masterpieces in history. However, he decided to develop his own unmistakable style. The artist first garnered attention with graffiti in the 1990s. He sprayed his own improved designs on adverts at bus stops and telephone booths, signing off as KAWS. This pseudonym is based on large-scale letter constellations on commercial posters that dominated the streets of New York in the 1990s. Spraying over adverts was part of his provocative initiative to reclaim public space. After New Jersey, his street art spread to other cities, including Paris, Berlin and Tokyo. 
In 1996 he briefly worked in animation. KAWS now lives and works in Brooklyn, where pop culture continues to inspire him.

 

〇MUCA-Press-release vol.1（PDF：654KB）（別ウィンドウで開きます）

〇MUCA-Press-release vol.2（PDF：558KB）（別ウィンドウで開きます）