Collection
The Jean Pigozzi Collection of Contemporary Japanese Art
The JaPigozzi Collection is a unique collection focusing on the young Japanese art scene. The Collection was begun by Jean Pigozzi in 2008. It includes over 3000 artworks - in a variety of media and disciplines - by around 250 artists, thus presenting an extensive overview of an entire generation of Japanese artists born between the mid 1970s and early 1990s. The majority of these figures have completed the rigorous and traditional training offered by art academies in Japan. Examples of some important artists included in the collection are Nobuyoshi Araki (b. 1940), Keiichi Tanaami (b. 1936), Akira Ikezoe (b. 1979), Kohei Nawa (b. 1975), Sohei Nishino (b. 1982), Mika Ninagawa (b. 1972), and Tomoko Sawada (b. 1977).
Many of the artists use detailed techniques, creating tension when it depicts imagery that is sometimes disturbing, fetishist or pseudo-naïve. However, these themes are alleviated by humour, playfulness and beauty. Many of the works have a strong and detailed sense of narrative. Story-telling becomes fractured by tools such as irregular perspective, abstract passages or multi-layered vignettes. Surrealism and Absurdism are central features in many of the works, introducing emotional or cerebral undertones. Indeed, the conceptual structure of the works leaves nothing to chance, despite the seemingly ambiguous first impressions.
Prior to his interest in Japanese art, Pigozzi founded in 1989 the Contemporary African Art Collection (CAAC), which is now the largest private collection of Contemporary African Art in the world.
