An art exhibition without art is underway at a Tokyo museum -- with galleries empty due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, visitors are being given a chance to enjoy the museum itself.
For the exhibition "Galleries Without Artworks," the Setagaya Art Museum has taken away removable walls that used to block gallery windows to protect artwork on display. Natural light now streams through the windows into the galleries, giving visitors a view of the outside that they don't usually have.
Located in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward, the museum temporarily closed from March 31 to June 1 due to the pandemic. The exhibitions scheduled for this period were canceled, and other projects that involved borrowing artworks from overseas were postponed for a significant length of time.
Due to the changed exhibition schedule, the calender for the museum's first-floor galleries in July and August was blank. The museum's curators discussed using this period to make the most of the beautiful features of the museum building, and their efforts resulted in the current exhibition.
The museum was designed by architect Shozo Uchii and opened in 1986 inside Kinuta Park. The highly open structure of the building harmonizes with the natural beauty of the surrounding environment.
In preparing the exhibition, the museum staff took away the removable walls, arranged the gallery interiors, cleaned empty showcases and carefully polished the windows that visitors had never seen.
Visitors to the exhibition have spent their time freely, enjoying the view from the windows and looking at the empty showcases.
"I feel very comfortable because there's a lot of greenery," said a 22-year-old company employee from the ward. "This is the first time that I've come to this museum. It's really nice that [this exhibition] makes an alternative use of the museum building."
"An art museum is not just a place for displaying artwork," said Yoshiya Hashimoro, vice director of the museum. "You can look out of the windows and enjoy the beautiful views of the four seasons, or you can use your mind's eye to remember past shows. We don't know what's in store for us. We just hope the visitors will have a leisurely time [at the ongoing exhibition]."
The exhibition runs through Aug. 27, from 10 a.m. to 6 a.m. The museum is closed on Mondays (except Aug. 10) and Aug. 11. Admission is free. Visitors will be limited to avoid congestion.
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