Aki Sasamoto: Laboratory — Osaka

Look for the contrast between Wrong Happy Hour, with its coffee and bar apparatus, and Yield Point, which brings a dumpster, trampoline materials and material-testing videos into the gallery. In catch or be caught and Sounding Lines, motors and springs give familiar materials another role. Following how objects are suspended, connected or set in motion is a useful way into Sasamoto’s experiments with everyday habits, language and physical forces. A performance adds the artist’s speech and movement to that setting, but it is not part of every visit.

Reservation

Not confirmed

Tickets / booking

Adults ¥1,800; university students ¥1,200. On Fridays from 17:00–20:00, the respective prices are ¥1,600/¥1,100; these reduced prices also apply to groups of 20 or more. High-school students and younger, or visitors under 18, enter free with proof; disability certificate holders and one companion also enter free with proof. Admission includes Collection 1: Self/Action. The 16 free-admission dates are 21, 22, 28 and 29 August; 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25 and 26 September; and 16, 17, 23 and 24 October.

Price note

Adults ¥1,800; university students ¥1,200. Friday 17:00–20:00: ¥1,600/¥1,100. Designated free days; performances require a same-day numbered ticket and valid exhibition admission.

Access

The B3 exhibition is at 4-2-55 Nakanoshima. Walk about five minutes southwest from Keihan Watanabebashi Station exit 2, or ten minutes west from Higobashi Station exit 3. For performances, collect the numbered ticket at B1 information before going to B3. Osaka City Bus 53/75 from Osaka Station stops at Taminobashi, about three minutes away; the return stop toward Osaka Station is Watanabebashi.

Rain

The exhibition and performances take place indoors in the B3 galleries. The approach from either station includes an outdoor walk; Watanabebashi offers the shorter of these two published walking routes.

Crowds

Remaining performances: Wrong Happy Hour on 30 and 31 October at 14:00, 30 people each; E_O on 30 October at 17:30 and 1 November at 14:00, 40 each; Yield Point on 31 October at 17:30, 100 people; Secrets of My Mother’s Child on 1 November at 17:30, 100 people. Numbered tickets are first come, one per person, from 10:00 for 14:00 sessions and 13:00 for 17:30 sessions. A valid exhibition ticket for that day is also required; there is no additional performance fee. The published timetable does not secure a place. Participation requires consent to museum/artist recording and publicity photography in which visitors may appear. Do not touch the artworks. Still photographs are allowed in the exhibition galleries, but video recording is not; visitors must not photograph or film during performances.

Nearby spots

The included Collection 1: Self/Action gives the museum visit a second focus without another exhibition admission fee. Keep that visit separate from a performance’s collection time and start time.

Itinerary hint

For an ordinary visit, choose an open day and use Friday’s later hours if that fits your Osaka plans. For a performance visit, plan around the B1 ticket-distribution time first. The 17:30 weekend performances do not extend ordinary gallery opening beyond 17:00. Use the museum’s exhibition page for the free-day calendar and the individual performance page for the selected session’s arrangements.