BLUM started as Blum & Poe in Santa Monica, USA in 1994. Since its establishment, it has played a pioneering role in introducing Japan's postwar and contemporary art movements, such as Takashi Murakami, Yoshitomo Nara, and Mono-ha, to the world.
The gallery, which opened its space in Harajuku, Tokyo in 2014 and is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, is the longest-standing foreign gallery with an exhibition space in Tokyo. Tim Blum, co-founder of the gallery, has built a deep relationship with Japan since his first visit in 1984. He lived in Japan for five years from 1989, and after returning to Japan, he aimed to build a bridge between the Japanese and American art scenes.
The gallery is also set to open a new space in New York's TriBeCa this fall, with the opening exhibition planned to be a showcase of Japanese art from the 1960s to the present, organized in collaboration with curator and art historian Mika Yoshitake.
In this interview, we spoke to Blum about the gallery's 30-year history, its activities in Japan, and its new developments in New York...
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