| TRUNK(HOUSE) is a new hyperlocal immersive hospitality concept developed by the team behind TRUNK(HOTEL) located in a historical building – a former geisha house – within Tokyo’s Kagurazaka neighbourhood.
The one-bedroom property offers up to four overnight guests (or up to 30 for cocktail-parties) to reside alongside an array of newly-commissioned artworks by seven locally and internationally-based artists. TRUNK(HOUSE) was created with the concept of ‘Tokyo Salon’ as its core—referencing the many salons that permeated the city in the 17th and 18th centuries. These were spaces where artists and academics would come together to discuss and debate late into the night on issues that would shape the cultural landscape of the city. By filling the space with contemporary art – and design created bespoke and from the likes of Stephen Kenn and Jean Prouvé – the team at TRUNK(HOUSE) hope guests will leave inspired. Each artist was selected by the TRUNK team on the basis of their cultural influences and ties to Tokyo and Japan; in so doing, TRUNK have created a space that interprets contemporary Japanese culture and the spirit of Tokyo city through both a local and international lens. The body of works ranges from painting, sculpture, crafts, to paper cut-out art.
Artists featured in TRUNK(HOUSE) include: |
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| – Alex Dodge
– GELCHOP
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– Keiko Masumoto
– SEESEE
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| Tom Sachs (USA)—born in New York—created ‘Ryakubon2.0’ for TRUNK(HOUSE). Best known for his modernist influences and work with design icons, Sachs’ collections can be found in the permanent collections of many world-leading galleries. This new artwork embodies ryakubon temae (a short-cut course of the tea ceremony) and is Sachs’ personal homage to the revered art of Japanese tea ceremonies. Trunk(House) offers tea ceremonies performed using this work.
Alex Dodge’s (USA) ‘Hide and Seek’ hangs above the bed, colouring the pared-down space with its presence. Inspired by a ryotei (a type of luxurious Japanese restaurant) on Kakurenbo Yokocho (Hide-and-Seek Alley), the work was conceived as a nod to the local area’s past. |
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| A homage to Japanese public baths that used to be found in every town of Japan, Masumi Ishikawa’s (Japan) ‘Scenic Tour of Tokyo: Then and Now’ adorns the tiled wall overlooking TRUNK(HOUSE)’s bathing area. Ishikawa’s commission heavily references ukiyo-e (meaning “pictures of the floating world”), a genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th through the 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings of such subjects as the female form; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folk tales; travel scenes and landscapes; flora and fauna; and shunga erotica.
Several of Keiko Masmuoto’s (Japan) works can also be found throughout TRUNK(HOUSE). Masumoto’s work largely concerns itself with the idea of ‘a dish that is not a dish’. She creates dynamic decorative art that references historic cultural aspects of the local area of Kagurazaka. For example, a pot modelled after the shamisen (Japanese guitar) which was found in the building before renovation; a pot inspired by tabby cats, which were closely associated with the area; and a hanging flower vase, a common motif of geisha.
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| GELCHOP’s (Japan) ‘Karma Camellia’ greets guests as they enter through the wooden doors that open into TRUNK(HOUSE), initiating the act of transportation to another place. Formed in 2000, GELCHOP is a 3D plastic art group comprising Ryota Morikawa, Tetsuya Ozawa and Ryohei Takahashi. GELCHOP see ‘Karma Camellia’ as a reminder to forget life’s daily struggles.
Chiaki Hirano’s (Japan) artwork is created through a unique technique that utilises paper and a cutter knife. Through this technique, he created ‘TOKYO COMPLEX – KagurazakaUsing’ for TRUNK(HOUSE): which overlaps black and white imagery of old houses, aerial photos, and machine parts. The combination of apparently unrelated images creates a striking collage – perhaps mirroring the many aspects that come together to make Tokyo. |
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| Heavogon Studio (Japan) is an art studio led by Reo Taniwa. The studio promotes and specialises in creating modern stained glass: with ‘Mt. Fuji’ and ‘Smoking Frog’ created and housed in TRUNK(HOUSE). Whilst the glass used in these two pieces were sourced from USA, France and the UK: the pieces are heavily inspired by Japanese iconography. ‘Smoking Frog’ references the Japanese understanding of the frog as a lucky symbol – whilst simultaneously symbolic of talented entertainers and the message of a safe trip home – fitting for the former space as a training studio for geisha. In the past, people claimed that Mt. Fuji could be seen from Kagurazaka. The TRUNK team made this a reality by commissioning ‘Mt. Fuji’ – a landscape portrait of the mountain in stained-glass form.
‘B.L.C.D’ is a jet-black vase, coloured with a natural dye extracted from tea leaves in Shizuoka. Created by SEESEE (Japan), a homeware brand who specialise in traditional Shizuoka turnery, the vase comes to life when completed with flowers. The piece is created by fusing traditional technology and innovative design. |
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