今村 有策Yusaku Imamura
トーキョーワンダーサイト館長
Director, Tokyo Wonder Site

今回で10年目となり、着実に若手アーティストの登竜門として定着してきている。毎年、新しい才能との出会いがあり、時代の流れも見えてくる。この賞をきっかけに、より深くそして広く活躍して欲しいと願っている。

With this year marking the 10th anniversary of its inception, this event is gaining increasing recognition as one of the major pathways a young artist looking to kick-start a successful career may take. This annual event not only exposes us to amazing new talent, it provides a platform for assessing trends over time. I hope that the young artists are able to use the awards they won at this event as a springboard for continuously pursuing the creation of artworks with deeper implications. I also expect that they will be widely recognized by audiences all around the world.

木村 絵理子Eriko Kimura
横浜美術館主任学芸員
Chief Curator, Yokohama Museum

パーソナルな課題と真摯に向き合い、生真面目な態度で創作に臨む作家が多いことに、改めて現在の日本の傾向を意識しました。プランであったものが実際の展示となった時に、広く海外に向けても共感される表現としての強度と、想像力をかきたてる飛躍が生まれることを期待しています。

I was impressed to see so many artists deeply committed to personal themes and was convinced that young Japanese artists’ attitude toward their artwork has grown extremely serious. Having examined exhibition plans artists have submitted to us, I expect that the actual exhibition will have an even more powerful impact on and resonate within the hearts of audiences around the world. I also hope the exhibition will help artists create bold and ambitious artworks that stimulate our imagination.

後藤 繁雄Shigeo Goto
編集者、クリエイティブディレクター、京都造形芸術大学教授
Editor, Creative Director, Professor, Kyoto University of Art and Design

モノ的な手ごたえの強い作品がとりわけてよい。不確かな想念、未知の記憶、身体があてどなく探りあてるもの。概念でも視覚の快楽でもなく、手さぐりの旅。その結果、作品は濃厚なものとなっている。生きているのか、死んでいるのか不明の充実の毎日の中で、これだけの果実が揃っていたことは驚くほど素晴らしいと私は思った。

Among the pieces selected, I highly commend a number of impactful pieces that focused on the textures of the materials used. Among works leaving strong impressions, were pieces expressing uncertainty and the volatility of memory. Feeling their way forward to communicate that which is almost impossible to communicate through the physical senses, the creators of these pieces seem to reject conventional artistic concepts. Neither are they content to simply present pieces that are pleasing to the eye. In my opinion, this kind of daring creates outstanding artwork. I welcome these surprising fruits of the labors of these students, who, as members of the latest generation of modern-day society, contend with a culture in which people feel uncertain about the authenticity of their lives.

小山 登美夫Tomio Koyama
小山登美夫ギャラリー代表、明治大学国際日本学部 特任准教授
Director, Tomio Koyama Gallery, and Associate Professor,
School of global Japanese Studies, Meiji University

今年の作品ジャンルはバラエティーに富んでいました。ダイナミックな作品も多くあり、力強い魅力的な展示ができると思います。今年も若いアーティストの試みが多くの人たちにアピールできるいい機会となるよう願っています。

This year, we examined pieces in a wide variety of art genres. Boasting a lineup of highly dynamic works, the exhibition is sure to become a feature attraction and to leaves a powerful impression on visitors. I wish to see an even larger number of people to join us and get to know about exciting young artists seriously seeking new forms of artistic expression.

高橋 明也 Akiya Takahashi
三菱一号館美術館館長
Director, Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, Tokyo

マルキューブに会場が移って、以前にも増して立体表現の作品がノミネートされた気もした。アニメーションなどを含め、ジャンルが広がりを見せるのはとても良いが、展示という形式になかなか馴染まないせいもあり、 映像分野のあり方は散漫な印象を与える。今後の課題かもしれない。

I felt that the recent relocation of the venue to MARUCUBE has resulted in an increase in the number of three-dimensional pieces being selected. While this exhibition has successfully become a platform encompassing even wider genres, including animation, I noticed that outstanding pieces were relatively scarce in the field of audiovisual arts. I suspect that a conventional form of exhibition is not suitable for this type of artwork. We might have to take on challenge of assisting artists in such fields.

建畠 晢Akira Tatehata
多摩美術大学学長、埼玉県立近代美術館館長
President, Tama Art University, and Director,
The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama

新たな才能の発掘のもっとも初発的な現場は美術大学の卒業制作展であるに違いない。そこからピックアップされた新人たちの作品を一堂に展示し、各種の賞を選定するという審査のプロセスは、リサーチの視野が広範である点で他に例を見ない。本展から次々とアーティストが羽ばたいていくことを楽しみにしている。

A graduation exhibition of work from art universities provides us with a perfect venue for discovering new talents. Our screening process, in which we review pieces created by selected artists to determine who deserves commendation, is unique in that it takes into account a wide breadth of viewpoints. I hope to see these up-and-coming artists succeed in the future.

野口 玲一Reiichi Noguchi
三菱一号館美術館学芸員グループ長
Chief Curator, Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, Tokyo

評価したのは、技術の習熟ではないし、スタイルの完成度でもセンスでもありません。それぞれが抱えている制作上のテーマが、今後どれほど展開可能であるかを見ようとしました。それが作家の将来性だと考えます。 未知の深みに錘を下ろすような、ミステリアスな作品を観たいなと思っています。

During the screening process, it does not matter to me how mature or perfected in their techniques applicants are. Nor do I care about how sophisticated their artistic tastes may be. Rather, my focus is on assessing the future potential of the themes they have chosen to explore. I think the future viability of an artist’s chosen theme will determine how far the artist will advance in their pursuit of mastery of their craft. Going forward, I would rather hope to encounter more adventurous, or even more thought-provoking, pieces of art, with the creators as courageous as divers who dare to plumb the depths of unknown seas.