Opened in 2023 in Otake City, Hiroshima Prefecture, the Simose Art Museum sits on the shores of the Seto Inland Sea, facing the sacred island of Itsukushima. Designed by globally acclaimed architect Shigeru Ban, the museum rose to international prominence when it was awarded the Versailles Prize in December 2024 as the ‘World’s Most Beautiful Museum,’ drawing significant global attention.

To commemorate this achievement, the museum launched its first-ever contemporary art exhibition, Ambient, Environment, Circumstances – The Topography of Contemporary Art, which runs from April 26 to July 21, 2025. Within just ten days of opening, the exhibition surpassed 10,000 visitors—a record-breaking turnout for the museum.

Featuring works by emerging artists born between 1980 and 2000, primarily from across Asia, this special exhibition marks a bold new chapter for the museum as it ventures into contemporary territory.

Following our previous interview, HYAKKEI continues its coverage with insights from Ryosuke Yoshimura, Representative Director of Simose Art Museum; Kisei Takahashi, Board Director of the museum; Mario Cristiani, co-founder of Italy’s leading gallery Galleria Continua; and Stefano Pesce, Advisor of the Mark Tobey Committee CMT.

Opened in 2023 in Otake City, Hiroshima Prefecture, the Simose Art Museum sits on the shores of the Seto Inland Sea, facing the sacred island of Itsukushima. Designed by globally acclaimed architect Shigeru Ban, the museum rose to international prominence when it was awarded the Versailles Prize in December 2024 as the ‘World’s Most Beautiful Museum,’ drawing significant global attention.

To commemorate this achievement, the museum launched its first-ever contemporary art exhibition, Ambient, Environment, Circumstances – The Topography of Contemporary Art, which runs from April 26 to July 21, 2025. Within just ten days of opening, the exhibition surpassed 10,000 visitors—a record-breaking turnout for the museum.

Featuring works by emerging artists born between 1980 and 2000, primarily from across Asia, this special exhibition marks a bold new chapter for the museum as it ventures into contemporary territory.

HYAKKEI visited the exhibition shortly after its opening and sat down with Chief Curator and artist Keita Saito for an in-depth interview. “I wanted this project to challenge the current condition of the Japanese art world,” Saito noted.