China, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736–1795). Painting on silk
MAK Permanent Collection ASIA
China – Japan – Korea, 2016
Tomb figure
fabulous creature, China, Tang dynasty (618–907), 7th–8th c.. White
earthenware with tricolored glaze (sancai)
Dish
China, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736–1795). Copper with polychrome painted enamel, illustration of a Europeanising
scene on the inside, on the base flower still life with butterfly
Covered vase
China, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736–1795). Carved nephrite, Qianlong period base mark
Covered jar
Japan, Arita, Edo period (1603–1867), ca. 1670–1690. Porcelain with painting in enamel colors on the glaze, Kakiemon
style
Wine bottle in the form of a rice bale (travel flask)
Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1897), 15th–16th c.. Stoneware with white glaze
MAK Permanent Collection ASIA
China – Japan – Korea, 2016. In the front: Head of a Bodhisattva, fragment of a larger-than-life
Guanyin statue. China, Song dynasty (960–1279), around 1200
Tray
China, Yuan dynasty (1279–1368), 1st half 14th c.. Deeply cut red lacquer on wooden core
Inoue Hiroko, Wald-Forest
9 May 2016
Tadashi Kawamata, explanatory sketch for the REINSTALLATION
MAK Permanent Collection ASIA: China – Japan – Korea, March 2016
In February 2014 the MAK Permanent Collection Asia was opened with a design concept jointly developed with the Japanese artist
Tadashi Kawamata. From the outset it was envisaged that Kawamata’s modular constructed room composition from 2014 would be
redesigned after roughly two years. In line with a revised spatial concept by Kawamata, the position of the vitrine modules
has been altered, and numerous objects from the MAK Asia Collection have been exchanged.
Kawamata has “liberated” the artworks from their vitrines and opened up entirely new perspectives on the exhibits. The vitrines
he designed, which reach all the way to the ceiling and are made of unpolished wood, have been rearranged to create a new
experience of the space. Embedded in this new reinstallation, the curatorial view of the art and cultures of East Asia as
well as the influence of Asian art on Europe also changed from 10 May 2016.
The Asia Collection of the MAK is one of the important collections in Europe of art and applied arts from the Asian region.
It has been compiled from public and private collections during a history lasting 150 years and offers a wide-ranging view
of the art history of Asia.
The new installation of the MAK Permanent Collection Asia on the museum ground floor opens up new perspectives. “In Tadashi Kawamata the MAK has found the ideal artist for the newly conceived collection presentation. Ever since
taking part in the Biennale in Venice in 1982, Tadashi Kawamata has been one of the leading contemporary artists in Asia and
Europe. His works have an ephemeral character, thus are intensively related to place and time, subtly connecting the different
cultures. His installation Yusuke Nakahara's Cosmology for the Echigo Tsumari Art Triennial in Japan in 2012 is a reinterpretation of an art critic’s comprehensive library
and inspired us to invite him to work with the MAK Asia Collection.” (Johannes Wieninger, Curator, Asia Collection) Kawamata’s ideas for the MAK Collection are based in concept on permanent change and the play of light and shade. Two large,
scaffold-like showcase blocks will house the exhibits from the collection, enabling diverse viewpoints based on this shared
“narrative through objects”. Kawamata will “envelop and embrace” the collection with his installation. Although seemingly
chaotic at first glance and placed in confrontation to the collection objects, the contrast is only superficial. Tadashi Kawamata
places the artworks in a context that keeps things moving, whether the act of observation or the observers themselves, for
he says: “My projects are never finished; it seems quite natural to me that something is never finished.”
Artistic Concept and Design: Tadashi Kawamata Curator: Johannes Wieninger, Curator, MAK Asia Collection
Reinstallation of the MAK Permanent Collection Asia. China – Japan – Korea, since 11.5.2016
Publication
The MAK Permanent Collection ASIA is accompanied by the MAK/GUIDE ASIA. China – Japan – Korea, edited by Christoph Thun-Hohenstein and Johannes Wieninger, texts by Christoph Thun-Hohenstein and Johannes Wieninger, as
well as an interview with Tadashi Kawamata, German/English, 200 pages and appr. 100 color illustrations, Vienna / Munich–London–New
York: MAK / Prestel Verlag, 2014. Available at the MAK Design Shop
Silver for the MAK at the International Design & Communication Awards (Istanbul), 2015 The MAK scored with the reinstallation of the MAK Permanent Collection ASIA. China – Japan – Korea >>>
The MAK Asia Collection consists of around 25,000 objects from China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam dating from between the Neolithic
period and the present; these represent a wide range of artistic and artisan output from Asia and simultaneously provide insight
into the centuries-long reciprocal relationship between Asia and Europe. Like other collections of its kind, the MAK Asia
Collection is itself a work of Orientalism: all of the objects collected here were selected by Europeans and thus represent
European tastes.
China – Japan – Korea Artistic intervention: Tadashi Kawamata
The Asia Collection of the MAK is one of the important collections in Europe of art and applied arts from the Asian region.
It has been compiled from public and private collections during a history lasting 150 years and offers a wide-ranging view
of the art history of Asia.
