A series of Special Exhibitions held at the Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, MonET since 2023. For each Special Exhibition, a guest curator selects artists to present the exhibition.
In Connection with Our Series of Special Exhibitions
The Echigo-Tsumari Art Filed has long been dedicated to revitalizing the region through art. To further establish itself as an art festival deeply rooted in the community, we will explore new possibilities for the relationship between the region and art, engage with artists who will shape the future, and foster new collaborations. At the Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, MonET, guest curators select artists who are set to broaden the horizons of future art, and solo exhibitions are held every two months.This series of long-term, consecutive Special Exhibitions has been running since 2023.
Kitagawa Fram (General Director, Echigo-Tsumari Art Filed)
Event Overview
Photo by Osamu Nakamura
[Guest Curator] Noi Sawaragi (Art Critic)
[Duration] Saturday, April 11, 2026 – Sunday, June 14, 2026
[Admission] Adults: 1,200 yen / Elementary and Junior High School Students: 600 yen
*Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays (except national holidays) *Closed on Thursday, May 7
*Admission includes access to both the Permanent Exhibition and Special Exhibitions at the Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, MonET.
Ryosaku Miyasaka was born in 1950 into a rice-farming family in Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture. After graduating from the California Institute of the Arts in 1974, he returned to Japan and pursued a unique career path: while working as a farmer in his hometown, he also ran a real estate business and remained actively involved in the local community—serving as a member of the Agricultural Committee and helping to preserve traditional cultural practices such as the “Kiyari” folk song—all while continuing his artistic work.
While still a student, when his mentor, the world-renowned artist Allan Kaprow, asked him about the origin of his creative work, he replied, “Farmer.” Since then, he has continued to present artworks connected to the earth.
This exhibition features his early “Map Paintings,” including previously unseen works, as well as his recent “Plant Characters,” alongside new works created last year in Echigo-Tsumari during the rice-planting and rice-harvesting seasons.Guest curator Noe Sawaragi states, “Miyasaka’s artistic practice has consistently been rooted in ‘Techne’—a ‘Revolutionary’ fusion of the two ‘A’s: ‘Art’ and ‘Agriculture’—and in that sense, it brings about a new transformation in our values surrounding ‘ART.’” This statement connects directly to the exhibition’s title, “ART.”
This marks Ryo Miyasaka’s first large-scale solo exhibition outside of Nagano Prefecture at the age of 75. Please do not miss this rare opportunity.
Photo by Osamu Nakamura
Photo by Osamu Nakamura
Photo by Osamu Nakamura
Related Events
Photo by Osamu Nakamura
Grow and Eat Workshop: “Let’s Sow Seeds Together”
Sow seeds in molds and grow seedlings into the shapes of letters.
Date & Time | Saturday, May 9, 1:00 PM–
Location | Around MonET
Admission | Free
Grow and Eat Workshop: “Let’s Eat the Earth Together”
Harvest the grown seedlings and enjoy them together.
Date & Time | Saturday, June 13, 1:00 PM–
Location | Korou Community Space
Admission | Free (Museum admission fee required)
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*Past Events
Artist Gallery Talk
On the opening day, the artist and guest curator will provide commentary on the artworks.
Date & Time | Saturday, April 11, 1:00 PM–
Location | Special Exhibition Room
Admission | Free (Museum admission fee required)
Photo by Osamu Nakamura
Photo by Osamu Nakamura
Photo by Osamu Nakamura
Author Profile
Ryo Miyasaka (Contemporary Artist)
Born in 1950 in Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture.In 1971, he enrolled as a member of the first class at Jiro Takamatsu’s studio. The following year, he studied abroad at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), where he studied under Allan Kaprow, the proponent of “Happenings.” When Kaprow asked him about his origins, he realized that, having been born into a farming family, his roots lay in “agriculture.” That same year, he staged *A Fire Festival*, which used slash-and-burn farming techniques to demonstrate the cycle of nature.After returning to Japan in 1974, he produced numerous map-like paintings in which he applied different colors to the earth depending on elevation. In recent years, he has also developed the “Plant Letters” series, in which he grows plants into the shapes of characters and then eats them. Major exhibitions include “Expression as It Is: Its Context and Suwa—Yutaka Matsuzawa, Toeko Tatsuno, Ryosaku Miyasaka, and Yoshiro Negishi” (2016, Chino City Museum of Art),“Pouring Water into the Tenryu River” (2022, Nakagawa Village Art Museum), “Happening: Re-creation—Ryosaku Miyasaka, Age 74: The Body” (2024, Matsumoto Art Center), and “Reflecting from Shinshu: 50 Years of Pictorial Expression” (2025, Nagano Prefectural Museum of Art).
Photo by Osamu Nakamura
Guest Curator Profile
Noi Sawaragi (Art Critic)
She began her career as a critic, focusing primarily on art, in the late 1980s. Her major works include *Simulationism* (Expanded Edition, Chikuma Gakugei Bunko), *Post-Art Theory* (25th Hidekazu Yoshida Prize), and *Earthquake Art Theory* (2017 Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award for the Arts; all published by Bijutsu Shuppansha), among many others.*Japanese Contemporary Art* (Chikuma Gakugei Bunko) and *War and the World’s Fair* (Kodansha Gakujutsu Bunko) were released in paperback last summer, and *Art of the End Times: For the Coming Non-Humanity* (Bijutsu Shuppansha)—a long-form critical essay and the third volume of the “Earthquake Trilogy” following the previous two—was published last December.As a guest curator, he has participated in exhibitions such as “Anomaly” (Röntgen Art Institute), “Japan Year Zero” (Art Tower Mito), and “Heisei Art: Ephemera and Debris 1989–2019” (Kyocera Museum of Art, Kyoto).
Photo by Ryuhei Fujita
Echigo-Tsumari MonET Special Exhibition: Overview
Vol. 1: Saturday, July 1, 2023 – Sunday, August 27, 2023
“Material Shop: The Shore of Catharsis – Tokamachi Branch & ‘Dormant Data Grand Prix 2022–2023’ Documentary Exhibition”
Artist: The Shore of Catharsis
Guest Curator: Noi Sawaragi (Art Critic)
Vol. 2: Saturday, September 9, 2023 – Sunday, November 5, 2023
“Print Report: The Path Moves”
Artist: Yu Matsumoto
Guest Curator: Kenjiro Hosaka (Director, Shiga Prefectural Museum of Art)
Vol. 3: Saturday, November 18, 2023 – Sunday, December 24, 2023
“Sequel: Song of Parallel Small Boats: Vessels of Emerald”
Artists: Kazuyuki Takezaki + Yū Nishimura
Guest Curator: Mari Tsukamoto (Chief Curator, Kochi Prefectural Museum of Art)
Vol. 4: Saturday, January 13, 2024 – Sunday, March 10, 2024
“Reverse String”
Artist: Tanaka Ai
Guest Curator: Mayu Hiyama (Curator / Recruit Art Center)
Vol. 5: Saturday, April 13, 2024 – Sunday, June 9, 2024
“Heavy Hips”
Artist: Kyoko Dezu
Guest Curator: Kenjiro Hosaka (Director, Shiga Prefectural Museum of Art)
Vol. 6: Saturday, November 23, 2024 – Monday, January 13, 2025 (Public Holiday)
“Danger Everywhere”
Artist: Koichi Mitsuoka
Guest Curator: Mayu Hiyama (Curator / Recruit Art Center)
Vol. 7: Saturday, January 25, 2025 – Sunday, June 22, 2025 [Exhibition Extended]
“The Colorless Man”
Artist: Kan Miyake
Guest Curator: Noi Sawaragi (Art Critic)
Vol. 8: Saturday, September 27, 2025 – Sunday, November 30, 2025
“Drinking with You, Inside the Basket”
Artist: Ayako Ohno
Guest Curator: Mari Tsukamoto (Chief Curator, Kochi Prefectural Museum of Art)
Vol. 9: Saturday, January 24, 2026 – Sunday, March 22, 2026
“THE NEVER ENDING BUILDING”
Artist: Tomonosuke Kurachi
Guest Curator: Kenjiro Hosaka (Director, Shiga Prefectural Museum of Art)
Vol. 10: Saturday, April 11, 2026 – Sunday, June 14,(Sun)
Artist: Ryosaku Miyasaka
Guest Curator: Noi Sawaragi (Art Critic)
Vol.11 Saturday, June 27, 2026 – Monday, August 31, 2026
Artist: Ryosuke Higo
Guest Curator: Mayu Hiyama (Curator / Recruit Art Center)
Vol. 12: Saturday, September 12, 2026 – Monday, November 23, 2026 (Public Holiday)
Artist: Ryohei Usui
Guest Curator: Mari Tsukamoto (Chief Curator, Kochi Prefectural Museum of Art)
Summary
| Date and time |
Vol. 10: Saturday, April 11, 2026 – Sunday, June 14, 2026 *Closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (except holidays) *Closed on Thursday, May 7 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Last admission at 4:30 PM) |
|---|---|
| Venue |
Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, MonET |
| Admission |
Adults: 1,200 yen / Elementary and junior high school students: 600 yen
*Admission includes access to the Permanent Exhibition and Special Exhibitions at the Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, MonET. |
Recommended Tours / Itineraries
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