Aoyama | Meguro
Read online
This entire chapter is online at: read.artspacetokyo.com/spaces/aoyama-meguro
in Nakameguro
access and details
Station: Nakameguro
Lines:Hibiya, Tokyu Toyoko
Access: 8 minute walk from station
Entry: Free
Address: 2-30-6 Kamimeguro,
Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-0051
Hours: 11am - 7pm;
Closed on Sundays & national holidays
Tel: +81-(0)3-3711-4099
URL: http://aoyamahideki.com
In The Neighborhood
The whole of Meguro River is worth a slow, leisurely look, but if your time is limited, check out Cow Books’ {1} eclectic selection. Right next to the station, Art Bird Books {2} is the claustrophobic, beatnik response to Cow’s ultra-clean edges — don’t miss the mini bathroom gallery. Stop by Mizuma Art Gallery {3} where Aoyama-san of Aoyama | Meguro cut his teeth. The Jakuzuregawa Walking Path {4} will take you through the back end of Yutenji and towards Sangenjaya. And in keeping with the literary theme, the bar with the largest bookshelf in Nakameguro is undoubtably Combine. {5}
About the Space
Exterior
Background Information
Aoyama | Meguro occupies a former shipping company’s warehouse on Komazawa Dori. Its large glass doors make it easy for passers by to catch a glimpse of exhibitions and venture in.
Inside, the broad, unpolished space is partitioned by rough chipboard walls that separate the exhibition space from the office. Even when the gallery is between exhibitions it feels as though it is already occupied by an architectural installation. Indeed, this structure was built by architectural office Sschemata, which shares the space with Aoyama | Meguro under the collective name ‘happa.’
Aoyama | Meguro is one of a number of so-called ‘next generation’ galleries that have opened in Tokyo since 2004. Their young directors have all worked for the major commercial galleries that were established in the 1990s and have tried to reinvigorate the Tokyo art world. Thus, they have opened their galleries with the training and experience required to push the art scene to the next level. Aoyama | Meguro shows the work of young but increasingly well-known artists like Koki Tanaka and Junya Sato.
Down the road from where Aoyama | Meguro is located, the Nakameguro area is well known as a place to walk along the tree-lined river, where you can enjoy trendy cafes, bars, restaurants and design shops.