Special Exhibition "Microcosmos: A Small Room in a Box"

Hakone Dollhouse MuseumIn addition to the exhibition, we will be holding a special exhibition entitled "Microcosmos: A Small Room in a Box" by RIO UMEZAWA, who is a painter, visual artist, reader and radio DJ.

In Japan, miniature worlds and dollhouses have recently become popular, and people are pursuing all kinds of expressions, such as pursuing the most sophisticated, recreating more realistic scenes from daily life, or creating fantasy worlds.Hakoniwa/Hakone Dollhouse MuseumThe exhibition will showcase new forms of expression in miniature dollhouses, showcasing art inside a box created by Rio Umezawa using a technique called Assemblage.

Expressing the microcosm of the assemblage

Assemblage means "gathering together" or "joining together" in French, and this technique was used by Jean Dubuffet in the 1950s to distinguish it from the collage technique (pasting together all kinds of media and elements) that had been widely used by Cubist and Dadaist artists up until that point. His works, which focus on real nature by pasting plants and everyday items onto the canvas, invite the viewer into a different world.

The works on display this time are a combination of small works (tableaux, prints, etc.) by the artist RIO UMEZAWA, and French antiques he has collected himself, and all the boxes are originals that have been aged by a furniture store. The artist studied at an art university in the United States and is active around the world in France, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc. His works (scenes), which embody the everyday items he has seen in the world of small boxes, are limited, but at the same time, they will expand our consciousness like a small microcosm.

RIO UMEZAWA Profile

Born in 1974. From the age of three, he studied watercolors, crafts, and oil painting under the local Mie painter Mineo Oura, and gradually aspired to become a painter. In 3, he moved to the United States at the age of 1989 after graduating from junior high school to study painting in earnest. He returned to Japan after attending an art high school and an art university in the United States. In 15, his love of music and movies led him to debut as a radio DJ. He is in charge of regular programs in Nagoya, Kansai, and other national networks. He is currently active in Tokyo as a radio DJ, MC, narrator, and reader. He began exhibiting his works in Kansai in 1998, and in 2000 he moved from Kansai to Tokyo, where he was selected as a finalist in the "NY International Art Festival" and exhibited at a gallery in Chelsea, New York. He has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Japan, mainly in Tokyo, as well as in special exhibitions in Paris, France. He continues to exhibit at art fairs every year in Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other places. In addition, he is also active in the field of design, collaborating with apparel brands and designing a wide range of products such as CD jackets. He will start offering online art lessons in 2014. In April 2023, he opened the art and culture salon Place of Artrio in Jimbocho with a friend. He offers a wide range of art lessons to children and adults.

RIO UMEZAWA Official Site : https://art-rio.net/

[Exhibition Overview]
Date: October 2024, 10 (Sat) - April 12, 2025 (Mon)
Phone: 0460-85-1321　
Address: 〒250-0523 84-55 Ashinoyu, Hakone-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture
Hours:10:00～17:30(November to March: until 11:3)
Closed: Tuesdays (open on public holidays) *Open every day in August
Parking: 45 spaces (free for facility users) *Large buses allowed　
Official HP:http://hakonedollhouse.jp