Kissaten Vienna

Rebecca Merlic

CONTRAST is pleased to present “Kissaten Vienna,” a solo exhibition by a Europe-based digital artist, architect, and filmmaker, Rebecca Merlic, from 7/26 (Sat) to 8/3 (Sun). This immersive, interactive project digitally documents and reconstructs the deeply human culture of the kissaten—a traditional Japanese-style coffeehouse—rooted in both Japanese and Viennese social life. More than just cafés, kissaten are places for quiet reflection, community, and daily rituals. They hold the layered stories of those who built, worked in, and visited them. Yet many have disappeared due to urban redevelopment and generational change. Rather than simply recording these places, the project revives them as “memory spaces” in digital form—a new kind of archive that passes on their presence and connections to the future. Merlic visited kissaten across Japan and Vienna, engaging in dialogue with owners and regulars while 3D-scanning architecture, furnishings, and atmosphere. She also captured owners’ voices and bodies as 3D avatars, reconstructing each kissaten’s unique mood and memory. In addition, she has created three sculptures combining actual cups and furniture used in kissaten with rare porcelain from the MAK Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna. Alongside these sculptures, visitors can experience a playable visual novel within a digitally reconstructed kissaten. Like a game, they are invited to freely explore the spaces, discovering hidden objects and fragments of memory. We invite you to step into these digitally preserved kissaten to wander, observe, and rediscover the memories and connections that once flourished in these spaces. This work will also be shown in alternate formats at the Austrian Pavilion, Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, and at Knowledge Capital, Grand Front Osaka. ー Opening: 7/25 (Fri) 18:00 - 21:00 Date: 7/26 (Sat) - 8/3 (Sun) Tue - Fri: 14:00 - 19:00 Sat & Sun: 12:00 - 19:00 Closed: Monday Entrance: Free Venue: CONTRAST Support: Vienna Business Agency, X VISION Inc. ー Venue: Austrian Pavilion, Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai Date: 7/17 (Thu) - 7/28 (Mon) ー Venue: Knowledge Capital, Grand Front Osaka Date: 8/8 (Fri) - 9/13 (Sat)

Rebecca Merlic

(b. 1989 / HR, AT, DE) Rebecca Merlic is a digital artist, architect, and filmmaker based in Europe. As a senior scientist at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, she conducts cross-disciplinary research and practice at the intersection of art and academia. Rather than using virtual space as a means of escaping reality, Merlic reimagines it as an inclusive site where diverse forms of expression and identity can intersect, often presented through interactive experiences. Drawing from her own experiences of migration, her work explores themes of identity, politics, and collectivity through the lenses of decolonial and feminist theory. Her interdisciplinary practice spans architecture, urban theory, media art, anthropology, game design, writing, and artistic research. Her accolades include the Marianne.von.Willemer Prize for Digital Media (2020), the DKB VR Art Prize (2023), Content Vienna (2023), and the Theodor Körner Prize for Art and Science (2023). In recent years, she has participated in numerous international exhibitions, including SLAMDANCE (USA), Belvedere 21 (Austria), ADAF (Greece), Ars Electronica (Austria), and the Austrian Cultural Forum Tokyo (Japan).

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About CONTRAST: In 2022, CONTRAST opened as a creative space in Yoyogi-Hachiman, Tokyo. The interior, based on a 45-year-old structure, consists of three floors under the concept of "reconstruction," and is managed by IN FOCUS, a digital branding studio that operates under the theme of "We propose new perspectives through a collective pursuit of digital excellence.". The space not only serves as its own creative space but also aims to be widely open to the public, providing a space for continuous and experimental reconstruction by its users, breaking free from limitations. Focusing on various forms of expression and encountering the creators who produce them, we will come to understand the importance of "CONTRAST = comparison" in our endeavors. Operated by IN FOCUS.In 2022, CONTRAST opened as a creative space in Yoyogi-Hachiman, Tokyo. The interior, based on a 45-year-old structure, consists of three floors under the concept of "reconstruction," and is managed by IN FOCUS, a digital branding studio that operates under the theme of "We propose new perspectives through a collective pursuit of digital excellence.". The space not only serves as its own creative space but also aims to be widely open to the public, providing a space for continuous and experimental reconstruction by its users, breaking free from limitations. Focusing on various forms of expression and encountering the creators who produce them, we will come to understand the importance of "CONTRAST = comparison" in our endeavors. Operated by IN FOCUS.

Kissaten Vienna

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