in-person event:

Heatherwick Studio - Exhibition Tour at Mori Art Museum

Thursday, May 25 · 6 - 8pm JST

Update: Craig Miller, head of Heatherwick's Shanghai studio, will guide us through their first exhibition in Japan "Building Soulfulness.” 

SUMMARY:

Heatherwick Studio’s first solo exhibition in Japan ‘Building Soulfulness’ organised and curated by the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, will feature 28 of the studio’s most iconic designs including, a full-scale model of Airo, the car that cleans the air as it drives, London’s re-designed double decker bus and Little Island, a ‘floating’ public park in New York City. The show was curated by the celebrated Mami Kataoka, formerly International Curator of the Hayward Gallery in London. All exhibition images credit to: Taquel Diniz.

Thomas Heatherwick said:

“Over the last three decades my team and I have been passionately trying to create impactful, relatable projects that make our lives more meaningful and joyful. It’s now thrilling to be able to showcase such a vast collection of our work in Japan, where respect for design thinking and craftsmanship is unrivalled. I hope visitors will leave the show feeling like their emotions have not just been respected, but were an essential part of our thinking and fascination!”

Mami Kataoka, the Director of the Mori Art Museum and the curator of the exhibition said:

"Experiencing the true scale of architecture in an art gallery is not easy. For ‘Building Soulfulness’ I've looked for ways to showcase the essential philosophy and spirit of Heatherwick Studio’s design by providing six distinct perspectives. The sets designed by the Studio, combined with the grand Tokyo cityscape seen from the Tokyo City View observation deck, will immensely enhance the viewers' exhibition experience. It is my sincere hope that the show would speak to everyone’s soul.”

The exhibition explores the idea scaling up the soulfulness frequently associated with small objects and the central role of craftsmanship in the studio’s design approach. Divided into six main sections, the show delves into the creative approach and process that the studio applies to each project emphasising the belief that no matter what the scale or budget, each design can have a human scale, embrace the natural world and connect with the environment around it.

The exhibition is an immersive experience, visitors can explore the projects through models on display, playful objects, video content and large-scale images hanging from the ceiling, offering a variety of vistas and viewpoints that evoke the three-dimensionality of the studio’s work.