About the exhibition

At the end of a narrow alley, not far from the bustle of the very Tokyo-like area between Shinjuku and Okubo, lies an old two-story house covered in ivy.  Built in 1957 as the studio and residence of the artist Masunobu Yoshimura, and rediscovered in the early 2000s by Genpei Akasegawa as the first built work of the architect Arata Isozaki, this building reflects a history of dialogue between art and architecture, for which late architect was well known. Although the extent of Isozaki’s involvement in the design of the building remains a mystery,  what is clear is the modernist influence manifest in its planning, composition and white mortar exterior, which stood in stark contrast to the wood siding of its neighbors.

Not long after the initial construction as Yoshimura’s residence, the building quickly established its identity as the Shinjuku White House, a home-base for the emerging Neo-Dada movement. Both in reverence and revolt, its naming reflected the complicated sentiments a post-Hiroshima generation held for the new stimuli of American cultural consumption. The primary interior space, a 5.4m x 5.4m x 5.4m ‘white cube’, became during its early years their place of meeting, drinking, dancing, sleeping - while also serving as an impromptu exhibition space for the young artists. In the time since, following Yoshimura’s marriage in 1961 and emigration to New York, the building has played many new characters. 

For Correspondence, the story of the Shinjuku White House is presented not as a historical telling, but rather a continuation. Eight young architects from Japan and North America were invited to experimentally renovate the Shinjuku White House in the summer of 2023, together reflecting on the legacy of Isozaki and discovering his first work. The outcome of these collaborations is presented here through the photographs of Kei Murata (b.1990), alongside new works by the architects. In the spirit of creative exchange at the Shinjuku White House, six Japanese artists were asked to prepare their own response. 

These works, alongside select archival material, provide a glimpse into the life, ruin, and repair of a small building in Tokyo.

Participants

ANY, Chibbernoonie, clovisbaronian, Departamento del Distrito, GROUP, Korogaro Association, Rui Itasaka, suzuko yamada architects, Arata Mino, Archi Hatch, Kei Murata, Midori Kawano, Natsumi Aoyagi, Rintaro Fuse

Credits

Organizers: Gaku Inoue, Georgina Baronian, Yoshidayamar
Exhibition Design: clovisbaronian 
Graphic Design: Shun Ishizuka

Special thanks to Mari Hattori Kei Miyata, Sachiko Ishimatsu, Michiyo Kono, Tomohiro Wakui, Ryuta Ushiro

With support from Arts Council Tokyo and Rice Architecture

Press Release.pdf