Ganbatte, a solo exhibition by Ram Katzir

August 1, 2024

Ganbatte, a solo exhibition by Ram Katzir

September 11, 2024 – October 5, 2024

Ganbatte, a solo exhibition by Ram Katzir

Ram Katzir, Ganbatte, 2024 / Video installation © Studio Ram Katzir

THE MIRROR presents Ram Katzir’s solo exhibition Ganbatte at the occasion of the opening of UMEKITA Park in Grand Green Osaka where the artist installed a new sculpture YUMEMITAI.

The exhibition explores themes of growth and impermanence through three distinct mediums: stone, metal, and movie. This intimate exhibition invites viewers to reflect on life’s fleeting essence and the evolving roles within its cycles.

Inspired by Buddhist teaching on the importance and lasting effects of our actions, Katzir uses materials that echo the concept of writing on water, sand, and stone, symbolizing the transient, semi-permanent, and enduring nature of our deeds.

Toshio Shimizu, Artistic Director

Exhibition Overview

Exhibition Period: September 11, 2024 (Wednesday) – October 5, 2024 (Saturday)

Gallery Hours: Wednesday to Saturday from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM, with hourly entry slots

Closed: Sundays and Mondays

Reservations: By appointment only

Admission: Free

Organizer: TOSHIO SHIMIZU ART OFFICE

The exhibition was made possible with financial support from the Mondriaan Fund and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Tokyo.

About Ram Katzir

Ram Katzir is a visual artist based in Amsterdam. Katzir’s artworks often have a disorienting nature: inside is outside, and what seems far away is very near. The result is a world in which the foreign and the familiar coexist unexpectedly. The search for a home, whether physical or spiritual, is a recurring theme in his oeuvre.

After studying sculpture at The Cooper Union in New York and animation at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, Katzir gained international recognition in the late 1990s with his installation Your Coloring Book, which juxtaposed children’s imagery with Nazi propaganda. This project traveled to six countries and was featured in MoMA’s Open Ends exhibition.

Katzir’s work has been displayed in solo exhibitions at renowned institutions such as the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, and the Kyoto Art Center. He has also participated in numerous international exhibitions, including the Shanghai Sculpture Biennale, the Guangzhou Triennale, and the Setouchi Triennale.

For over two decades, Katzir has focused on public art commissions, collaborating with city planners, landscape designers, and architects. His public artworks include installations at Xinyi Plaza in Taipei, Olympia Square in Amsterdam, and West Bund Site in Shanghai. In Japan, Toshio Shimizu has collaborated with Katzir on several projects, including the monumental Grow in Yokohama Minato Mirai and the interactive Stay in Hisaya Odori Park in Nagoya.

Katzir’s art often merges the tragic with the comical and the familiar with the unfamiliar, encouraging viewers to reconsider their perceptions. His work is included in numerous public and private collections worldwide.

Artistic Director：TOSHIO SHIMIZU

After serving as a curator at the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum and as the artistic director of the Contemporary Art Center at the Art Tower Mito, he has been the principal of TOSHIO SHIMIZU ART OFFICE since 1997. He served as the artistic director of the Ise Cultural Foundation (New York) from 1998 to 2001, the artistic director of the Shanghai Biennale in 2000, and the curator for the Japan Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo in 2010. He has been involved in numerous public art projects, including works at Tokyo Midtown Roppongi, Hibiya, and the Otemachi Financial Tower. From 2004 to 2023, he was a professor in art history and art management at Gakushuin Women’s College and Graduate School, and he is currently an emeritus professor at the same institution. He is also a councilor of the Tokuma Memorial Cultural Foundation for Animation (Ghibli Museum, Mitaka) and a trustee of the Future Creation Foundation of Shinjuku City.

The Mirror Gallery

2 Chome-14-15 Nishiwaseda, Shinjuku City, Tokyo, Japan Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday between insert time