The basement (B1) is a large, shared room dedicated to abstraction and expression in painting. It features an intermixture of artists from different generations, including Lauren Quin, Oscar Murillo (the Colombian artist and Turner Prize winner), Katharina Grosse, and Leiko Ikemura. The aim of this room is to invite visitors to see how expressions from different generations resonate across the ages. “We are particularly excited about the growing diversity of artists’ backgrounds. This trend is bringing new perspectives, ideas, and voices to the forefront of contemporary art, enriching the global art scene in profound ways,” Mr. Ueshima explains.

© UESHIMA MUSEUM

Two of my favorite artists are showcased on the first floor (1F):　Danish artist Olafur Eliasson’s installation “Eye See You” (2006), utilizes mono-frequency light to repaint all visible light in the space yellow. This work builds on a previous piece presented at Tate Modern in London in 2003, where Eliasson created an artificial representation of the sun in a former power plant, symbolizing human energy. The installation contrasts the natural world, full of colors, against monochrome light frequencies, pushing sunlight to an extremely narrow frequency range. When you come closer, the halo of lights reflects in your pupil, making us appear less human but rendering everyone equal in clothing and skin color. The walls of the room act as mirrors, amplifying the power of the narrow light and resonating with the installation used at Tate Modern.

Olafur Eliasson “Eye See You” 2006

In the next room, composer and digital artist Ryoji Ikeda explores mathematics, data, and physical phenomena to drive his digital visual creations. “data.scan [n°1b-9b]” (2011/2022) is a set of nine LCD monitors displaying a torrent of data. For Ikeda, the work is about constructing universality observable through data, expressed through both music (or sound design) and visual art. The purpose is not to interpret the data but to immerse oneself in the beauty of motion graphics and sound synchronization with motion. The subtle architecture and sublimity of the piece run through the vast amount of information and calculation, creating fresh digital textures presenting a complex beauty.