Tom Sachs “RETAIL EXPERIENCE”

Contemporary artist Tom Sachs presents the second “Tom Sachs: Retail Experience” exhibition on the occasion of Isetan’s 90th anniversary, opening Tuesday, September 20 and running through October 23, 2023. The exhibition will feature new paintings, sculptures, boomboxes, ceramics, pieces from the Tom Sachs Furniture line, clothing, and other merchandise. The exhibition will be held at ISETAN THE SPACE at the main store in Shinjuku.

Following Sachs’ innovative presentation at ISETAN THE SPACE in 2020, “Tom Sachs: Retail Experience” will continue Isetan’s mission to share the ways in which their customers can incorporate fine art and design objects into their daily lives and homes. Tom Sachs’ artistic practice celebrates the accessibility and integrity of materials, the visibility of the artist’s hand, and the celebration of the ritual of making, all of which are on full display in Isetan’s presentation. Every item in the exhibition is a carefully crafted sculpture, whether it is a painting for your salon, a chawan for your matcha, a shop chair for your office, a jacket for fashion week, a notebook for your list, or a boombox for your parties.

The works you see in the exhibition were made by hand in the USA: chairs, zines, sound systems, ceramics, paintings, vases, and jewelry. The objects are all sculpture, just as the entire space and 11 windows have been transformed into Sachs’ sculptures. Clad in Sachs’ signature plywood, the spaces are complete installations that have all been built to the studio’s code, from the carefully selected colors to the screws shipped from the artist’s supplier in the US. The installation was developed specifically to maximize the experience in the space, so all visitors feel they are able to visit Sachs’ studio.

Tom Sachs Studio and the Isetan team have continued to develop their strong relationship since the success of the 2020 exhibition. Tom is so grateful to have been visited by Isetan in his New York City studio while planning the 2023 “Tom Sachs: Retail Experience”. In partnership with the Isetan team and Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tom Sachs is thrilled to be presenting brand new and never-before-shown artworks, merchandise, and furniture pieces at ISETAN THE SPACE.