The first chapter of la Galerie du 19M Tokyo, titled “Beyond Our Horizons”, is a breathtaking immersion into a “village of artisans”, a poetic landscape where craftsmanship and imagination converge. Curated by five creative figures (Momoko Ando, Yoichi Nishio, Shinichiro Ogata, Kayo Tokuda, and Aska Yamashita) this exhibition celebrates the creative vitality born from the encounter between Japanese and French savoir-faire.

When Japan inspires France, like this handmade “daruma”

Set high above Tokyo’s skyline, “Beyond Our Horizons” unfolds across six immersive chapters, each structured as a sensorial journey through time, material, and emotion. The exhibition traces the universal elements, sky, earth, water, sun, and wind, that underpin both Eastern and Western aesthetic traditions, reminding visitors that the act of creation is, at its core, a dialogue with nature.
Upon entering through le Passage, visitors are greeted by a luminous installation of lanterns, a collaboration between Kyoto’s historic Kojima Shoten and Parisian milliner Maison Michel. These glowing orbs, crafted from hat molds and paper, bear the names of participating artisans, symbolizing both individuality and unity.

Lanterns in “Le Passage”

From there, the path leads to les Ateliers, a reimagining of machiya, the traditional Japanese townhouse that once served as both workshop and home. Within these three ateliers, dedicated to textiles, earth, and paper, the Maisons d’art of le19M (including Lesage, Lemarié, Lognon, and Montex) engage in creative dialogue with Japanese artisans. Here, ancient materials are revived through contemporary vision, bridging centuries of innovation. Visitors witness the living rhythm of craft: looms breathing, hands weaving, pigments grounding art in the soil of tradition.

Respect for traditional craftsmanship

At the heart of the exhibition stands le Rendez-vous, an architectural collaboration between sukiya master carpenters and le19M artisans. The structure embodies the Japanese aesthetic of suki, a cultivated sense of beauty that finds grace in imperfection and harmony in nature. Within this meeting house, every joint and beam carries the trace of the artisan’s hand, and the air itself resonates with quiet refinement. A sound installation composed exclusively for the exhibition deepens this meditative experience, transforming craftsmanship into a multi-sensory encounter.