ITOCHU Announces New Exhibition at ITOCHU AOYAMA ART SQUARE, Let’s Celebrate the New Year of 2017 with Art of Various Roosters!

November 4, 2016

ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Masahiro Okafuji, President & CEO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) opened ITOCHU AOYAMA ART SQUARE in the CI Plaza, a commercial facility situated next to ITOCHU’s Tokyo Headquarters, in October 2012. for the purpose of the growth of next generations, community contribution and promoting art and culture within and outside Japan through art as part of its social contribution activities. A number of exhibitions have since been held in the space.

Together with Hakkendo Inc., which provides support for young artists, ITOCHU will jointly organize a large-scale exhibition to showcase artworks featuring rooster, which is the animal of the Chinese zodiac for 2017, created by more than 100 young and energetic artists aged 35 or younger at the ITOCHU AOYAMA ART SQUARE This is one of the initiatives to support young artists in cooperation with the company, department store, and art gallery as one body. The exhibition with the theme of animals of the Chinese zodiac has been held since 2014. The animal of the Chinese zodiac for 2017 is the rooster, whose Chinese character depicts a jar for alcohol with a narrow mouth. It signifies the extraction of alcohol from harvested crops and the state of ripeness originating from the harvest. The efforts of a little over 100 young artists, including art students who bear the future of the art world, take flight like a bird in this exhibition. Visitors are sure to enjoy the works expressed with great individuality through various genres, including Japanese-style paintings, Western-style paintings, block prints, and three-dimensional works.

  • *This exhibition is connected with another major exhibition of works by young artists, titled Art no Chikara (the power of art), held on the seventh floor of the Main Building of ISETAN Shinjuku Store from Tuesday, January 3, 2017 to Thursday, January 5, 2017. Gifts will be offered to participants, in an event collecting the series of stamps at exhibitions.

“Picture of Roosters” Takehiro Kato

“Picture of Roosters” Takehiro Kato

“Rooster Which Announces the Coming of the New Year” Aya Uotani

“Rooster Which Announces the Coming of the New Year” Aya Uotani

Details of “Let's Celebrate the New Year of 2017 with Art of Various Roosters!”

Period Present year (first half): Friday, December 23, 2016 to Wednesday, December 28, 2016 (Open every day during the event period)
New year (second half): Wednesday, January 4, 2017 to Sunday, January 15, 2017 (Open every day during the event period)
Hours 11:00 - 19:00
Admission Free
Sponsor Hakkendo Inc.
Co-sponsor ITOCHU Corporation
Special cooperation Isetan Mitsukoshi Ltd.
Cooperation Art Collectors
Venue ITOCHU AOYAMA ART SQUARE
CI Plaza B1, 2-3-1, Kita-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
TEL & FAX : 03-5772-2913
URL http://www.itochu-artsquare.jp/

Events held during the period

Present year: Let's carve a bird on an eraser and make a block print!

Date and hours: 14:00 - 16:00, Friday/National holiday, December 23, 2016
Venue: ITOCHU AOYAMA ART SQUARE
Entry fee: 1,000 yen, Ten people can participate the event on a first-come-first-served basis.
This workshop is for carving a bird, which is the animal of the Chinese zodiac for 2017, on an eraser having a young artist as the instructor. With the eraser block print, you can make the unique and original New Year’s card which exists only one in the world.

Present year: Sale of the HOROHORO gift set with special original card!

Period and hours: 11:00 - 19:00, Friday, December 23, 2016 to Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Venue: ITOCHU AOYAMA ART SQUARE
We will offer the luxurious gift box that contains the confectionery HOROHORO baked by Futacolab (which aims at human networks in the community through product development) with their whole heart and a handmade postcard which was created using the works of the artists in this exhibition, produced by the Setagaya community welfare workshop.

New year: Let's create an original can badge!

Period and hours: 14:00 - 16:00, Saturday, January 7, 2017 and Sunday, January 8, 2017
Venue: ITOCHU AOYAMA ART SQUARE
Entry fee: 500 yen, Thirty people can participate the event on a first-come-first-served basis.
This workshop is for the creation of three original can badges with your drawing under the guidance of a young artist.

ITOCHU AOYAMA ART SQUARE