Echigo-Tsumari MonET Special Exhibition Vol. 11: Ryosuke Higo, “Cancer Queen”

Events

Echigo-Tsumari MonET Special Exhibition Vol. 11: Ryosuke Higo, “Cancer Queen”

Summary

exhibition

A series of Special Exhibitions held at the Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, MonET since 2023. For each Special Exhibition, a guest curator selects the artists and organizes 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, connect with emerging 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 shape the future of art, presenting solo exhibitions 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

[Guest Curator] Mayu Hiyama (Curator / Recruit Art Center)
[Duration] Saturday, June 27, 2026 – Monday, August 31, 2026
[Admission] Adults: 1,200 yen / Elementary and Junior High School Students: 600 yen

*Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays (except national holidays) *Open on Wednesday, August 12
*Admission includes access to both the Permanent Exhibition and Special Exhibitions at the Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, MonET.

The title of this exhibition, “Cancer Queen,” is derived from the science fiction novel of the same name by Tommaso Randolfi. “Cancer” shares the meaning of both the constellation and the disease, and within the novel, the spaceship named Cancer Queen moves between metaphors of crustaceans and illness as the story unfolds.Ryosuke Higo, too, has made it a central theme of his artwork to layer metaphor upon metaphor, bringing together disparate elements, making leaps of imagination, and creating yet another (yes, yet another!) metaphor. Within the genre of science fiction—which has always drawn particularly strong inspiration from the imagination regarding the unknown and the new—Higo makes no secret of his influence from the cyberpunk subgenre.With imagery and worldview taking precedence over story and structure, the intuition required to understand words becomes even more important than language itself. In this exhibition, such cyberpunk rhetoric is taken a step further, as the rhetoric itself is incorporated into the creative process.
Artists once said they wanted to create something like infrastructure; they spoke of building free ports, servers, scores, and instruments. Yet they claim all of these are merely metaphorical expressions. Perhaps we do not need to interpret the artists’ words literally; rather, understanding the differences in their modes of expression is what this exhibition—no, what this world—demands of us.

《Sandy Island》 Exhibition View: “Criterium 97: Ryosuke Higo” (2020, Mizuhou Art Museum Contemporary Art Gallery) Photo: Emi Nakata

Osaka Directory 5, supported by RICHARD MILLE, Ryosuke Higo, 2024

Photo courtesy of the Osaka Nakanoshima Museum of Art

Related Events

“Imaginary Rulers: Let’s Measure the Distance to Cancer”
A “light-year” is a unit of measurement used to gauge the distance from us to the stars. When we encounter distances so astronomically vast that we can only imagine them, we need a new unit of measurement rather than existing ones. Indeed, units of measurement are tools that help us visualize the space between things.In this workshop, we’ll imagine the lengths of objects around us and create a ruler. Together, we’ll devise a unit of measurement for that ruler and let our minds wander to the distance to Cancer.

Date & Time: Sunday, August 2, 1:00 PM–
Venue: Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, MonET Entrance Hall
Admission: Free (Museum admission fee applies)

*Registration will open shortly.

Author Profile

Ryosuke Higo

Born in Hokkaido in 1995.Completed the Doctoral Program (Advanced Course) in Fine Arts, Department of Conceptual Design, Graduate School of Fine Arts, Kyoto City University of Arts in 2024. Ph.D. (Fine Arts). Viewing blind spots in circulating information—such as “phantom islands erroneously marked on Google Maps” and “non-existent words”—as relics, he examines phenomena and situations created unconsciously or intentionally by society and individuals, and attempts to pass them on in new forms.Major exhibitions include the solo exhibition “Osaka Directory 5 supported by RICHARD MILLE: Ryosuke Higo” (Osaka Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka, 2023), the solo exhibition “Criterium 97: Ryosuke Higo” (Art Tower Mito Contemporary Art Gallery, Ibaraki, 2020), “Parallel Circuit” (Tokyo University of the Arts Museum Exhibition Hall, Tokyo, 2025),“VOCA Exhibition 2024: Perspectives on Contemporary Art—Artists of the New Plane—” (Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo, 2024), and “828.45K Come & Go” (Seoul City University Gallery Red Brick, Seoul, South Korea, 2024).

Guest Curator Profile

Mayu Hiyama (Curator / Recruit Art Center)

Born in Osaka Prefecture in 1994. Has been working at Art Center BUG since 2023. Recent curatorial projects include the 2023 solo exhibition “Yosuke Amemiya: Amemiya Miyu to I” at BUG, Tokyo.2023: “Natsuko Tanihara’s Kitakagaya Tales” at CCO Creative Center Osaka, among others. Currently preparing for a solo exhibition by photographer Aya Fujioka, to be held at Art Center BUG starting in October.

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, 2026
“Ryosaku Miyasaka: ART at 75”
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. 11: Saturday, June 27, 2026 – Monday, August 31, 2026 Closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (except holidays) Open on Wednesday, August 12 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. Valid for use with the Echigo-Tsumari Art Field 2026 Common Ticket.

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A series of Special Exhibitions held at the Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, MonET since 2023. For each Special Exhibition, a guest curator selects the artists and organizes the exhibition.

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