【MARTIN MARGIELA AT KUDAN HOUSE Tokyo】

naomasaki
Apr 29
2 min read

Starting Saturday, April 11, "MARTIN MARGIELA AT KUDAN HOUSE" — the first large-scale solo exhibition in Japan by Martin Margiela, who withdrew from the fashion world in 2008 and reinvented himself as an artist — will be held at Kudan House, a registered tangible cultural property.

Margiela has expressed strong interest in the contrast of presenting contemporary artworks within the space of a historic residence completed in 1927. For this exhibition, the entire mansion serves as a stage, with numerous works unfolding as ephemeral, temporary installations.

Martin Margiela continues his artistic practice around themes such as the human body, traces, time, and absence, and this exhibition is the first comprehensive, large-scale presentation of that practice in Japan. It explores themes of reuse, deconstruction, and transformation. The human body remains a vital source of inspiration in his creative work. Margiela's pieces are born from keen observations of objects and situations that exist in everyday life yet tend to go unnoticed, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary.

The exhibition features works in a wide range of media, including collage, painting, drawing, sculpture, assemblage, and video. The decision to install works in a historic residence still bearing traces of daily life reflects the sense of "private atmosphere" that is so important to Margiela. Visitors are invited to wander through the various rooms of the mansion and encounter the works at an exceptionally intimate distance. The exhibition design and curation have been entirely carried out by the artist himself.

Our gallery has also been involved in the exhibition as a collaborator. We invite you to visit and experience the artist's creative world as you explore this historic residence.