TOKYO, JAPAN.- The National Art Center, Japan’s newest and biggest art museum, opens with the exhibition Living in the Material World – 'Things' in Art of the 20th Century and Beyond, on view through March 19, 2007. The 20th century was an age of materialistic civilization centered on cities. The experience of living in a world surrounded by abounding material 'things,' huge quantities of manufactured goods and commercial products, was something completely new to human beings. Artists who sensitively responded to this new situation began to incorporate material 'things' into their artistic expression in various forms. This exhibition introduces diverse forms of 20th century art expressed through bold experiments of artists with spirit of adventure. It explores the fields of design, craft, and architecture as well as the fine arts. In addition to the works of art in the collection of the national art institutions, this exhibition brings together more than 500 valuable works of art from all parts of the world, with the generous support from major museums in Japan and abroad.

Large-scale installations will be created by seven important artists from Japan and overseas, who pursue cutting-edge contemporary forms of artistic expression. This unprecedentedly ambitious and comprehensive exhibition, presented in a huge exhibition space measuring 6,000 square meters, will attract art communities both domestically and internationally.