ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Ryuichi Sakamoto's First Major European Retrospective at Hamburger Bahnhof

exhibition · 2026-09-03

From September 11, 2026, to June 20, 2027, Berlin's Hamburger Bahnhof will present 'Ryuichi Sakamoto | seeing sound, hearing time', marking the first significant European retrospective of the renowned Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, who has passed away. Celebrating the museum's 30th anniversary, the exhibition encompasses 1,500 square meters and showcases seven pieces across five installations, featuring 'IS YOUR TIME' (2017). Curated by Shiro Takatani, a member of the Kyoto-based group Dumb Type, the exhibition highlights Takatani's two-decade collaboration with Sakamoto on projects like 'async' and 'TIME'. The aim is to illustrate Sakamoto's investigation of sound as a physical and spatial experience, transcending traditional music.

Key facts

  • Exhibition 'Ryuichi Sakamoto | seeing sound, hearing time' at Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, from September 11, 2026, to June 20, 2027.
  • First major retrospective of Ryuichi Sakamoto's work in Europe.
  • Part of the museum's 30th anniversary programme.
  • Spans approximately 1,500 square metres in the Rieckhallen.
  • Features seven works across five large-scale installations.
  • Includes 'IS YOUR TIME' (2017), a piano damaged by the 2011 tsunami connected to live seismological data.
  • Shiro Takatani, artist and member of Dumb Type, collaborates on the exhibition.
  • Takatani first worked with Sakamoto on 'LIFE' in 1999.
  • Sakamoto joined Dumb Type for the Venice Biennale in 2022.
  • 'async – immersion' is currently on view at Azabudai Hills Gallery in Tokyo.
  • Sakamoto conceived the idea for 'IS YOUR TIME' after encountering the piano in a school gymnasium in Miyagi Prefecture.

Entities

Artists

Institutions

  • Hamburger Bahnhof
  • Dumb Type
  • KAB Inc.
  • Azabudai Hills Gallery
  • AMBIENT KYOTO
  • Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media
  • WATARI-UM, The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art

Locations

  • Berlin
  • Germany
  • Kyoto
  • Japan
  • Tokyo
  • Venice
  • Italy
  • Miyagi Prefecture
  • Nepal

Sources

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