CONTRAST ARCHIVE

Bookmark

Upcoming

REFRAME

  • X VISION
  • Yoh Murata
  • Reon Tokutake
  • Luigi Honorat
  • suiteru
  • NEORT

X Vision Inc., a Tokyo-based LED display innovator, presents “REFRAME” at CONTRAST from 8/8 (Fri) to 8/18 (Mon). “REFRAME" is an experimental exhibition that reconsiders the presence of information and the role of interface in urban space through the lens of media art and technology. Developed through collaboration between interns, artists, creators, and technologists, the exhibition centers on LED based installations that open new dialogues between information, space, and the human body. The exhibition is designed around three themes — seeing, knowing, connecting, where the purpose remains in how to reimagine digital information can exist in the city: more delicately, more playfully, and more alive. In the B1F exhibition space, a series of installations by multiple artists will explore the sculptural and immersive potential of LED screens. Featured digital works from selections inside NEORT.io, as well as collaboration with each artist with their original work by Yoh Murata, Reon Tokutake, Luigi Honorat, and suiteru, each presenting a unique interpretation of light, motion, and structure through LED media. ー Date：8/8(Fri) - 18(Mon) Time：10:00 - 19:00 (Last day closes 14:00) Entrance： Free Venue： CONTRAST Sponsors: HOEDOWN Inc., Hello xLab Inc., IN FOCUS inc.

Upcoming

Title

Artist/Company

Date

Tag

Archive

Title

Artist/Company

Date

Tag

CONTRAST ARCHIVE

Bookmark

Upcoming

Kissaten Vienna

Rebecca Merlic

CONTRAST is pleased to present “Kissaten Vienna,” a solo exhibition by Austria-based artist, architect, and researcher 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

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.

Upcoming

Title

Artist/Company

Date

Tag

Archive

Title

Artist/Company

Date

Tag