Catalog Release of the Gallery Yamaguchi Papers
As part of the research project “Research and Compilation of Materials on Modern and Contemporary Art,” we are pleased to announce that a catalog of “Gallery Yamaguchi Papers” is now available on our website.
The Gallery Yamaguchi, a gallery specializing in contemporary art, was established in March 1980 on the third floor of the Yamato Building in Ginza 3-chome, between Matsuya Department Store and Showa Street, and was managed by YAMAGUCHI Mitsuyko (1943-2010). In an era known as the “rush to open art museums,” the gallery mainly presented solo exhibitions of young Japanese artists in their 30s and 40s who would lead the next generation of artists, mainly featuring large-scale abstract paintings and sculptures. It is also known as a gallery that has produced outdoor sculptures and environmental sculptures for plazas and parks on commission. In response to the growing scale of contemporary art works, in April 1991, the gallery moved into the SOKO Gallery premises, which opened in Shinkiba, Tokyo, as the “Gallery Yamaguchi SOKO.” In August 1995, these two galleries were consolidated and moved to the Kyobashi 3-chome Keiei Building. This became one of the most important galleries in this period, contributing greatly to the spread of contemporary art in Japan by holding exchange exhibitions with overseas galleries as part of its international exchange activities.
The Gallery Yamaguchi Papers cataloged here were donated to the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties through the intermediary SASAKI Shigeo (1931-2024) when the gallery closed in 2010 following the passing of the gallery’s manager, and consists of some 570 files, with a total length of approximately 9 meters. Among them are files on artists containing documentation such as photographs and press releases, as well as gallery management documents, which may provide important facts that were not previously available to the media such as newspapers and magazines of the time.
The research project “Research and Compilation of Materials on Modern and Contemporary Art” is intended to facilitate the conduction of research on modern and contemporary Japanese art works and materials, to promote research exchange based on this research, and to establish an efficient collection and publication framework for materials related to contemporary art. We hope that you will make use of these documents, which are now available in the library, as evidence for solving problems encountered in research on cultural properties, including contemporary art, and as an opportunity to conduct new research in various fields.
• Library Visitor’s Guide
https://www.tobunken.go.jp/joho/english/library/library_e.html
Archives (documents) information can be found at the bottom of this page. the Gallery Yamaguchi Papers are accessible in our library.
• Gallery Yamaguchi Papers
https://www.tobunken.go.jp/joho/japanese/library/pdf/archives_GalleryYamaguchi.pdf