Acquired for the British Council Collection in 2011, British artist Alan Kane’s Home for Orphaned Dishes explores the participatory act of giving and the physical remnants and value of trends. Originally premiered at the Whitechapel Gallery in 2011, the installation comprises of a floor-to-ceiling display of a moment of popular craft revival; the resurgence of traditional wheel thrown, glazed stone and slipware pottery that became fashionable in the 1960s and 1970s as an alternative to mass production and Modernist design. Once treasured, these pots are now often considered ugly or plain, and dwell at the back of kitchen cupboards, charity shops and attics. Selected by the artist from a collection made by Lynda Morris, Kane invites visitors to be inspired and hunt out their own unwanted pieces of pottery to add to the ever evolving assembly of orphaned dishes. Please bring in your own dishes to donate to the display (see "Making a donation" below).
Home for Orphaned Dishes is shown as part of Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum's exhibition "Kubbe Makes an Art Museum - by seeing, gathering, studying and exhibiting".
Alan Kane
Born in Nottingham, Alan Kane lives and works in London. His numerous solo exhibitions include The Stratford Hoard at Stratford Station as part of TfL's Art on the Underground series (2008), Punk Shop at Ancient and Modern, London (2013) and Orphaned Dishes, Whitechapel Gallery, London (2011).
Exhibition overview
Title: Kubbe Makes an Art Museum - by seeing, gathering, studying and exhibiting
Dates: Saturday 18 July - Sunday 4 October 2015
Venue: Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Galleries A, B, C
Opening times: 9:30-17:30 (last admission 17:00), 9:30-21:00 (Last admission 19:30) on Fridays except for 11 and 18 September 2015
Closed: Mondays, Tuesday 21 July 2015 (open Monday 20 July and Monday 21 September)
Admission fees: adult 800 yen, group (more than 20 people) 600 yen, age 65+ 500 yen, student 400 yen, high school and below free
For more information on "Kubbe Makes an Art Museum - by seeing, gathering, studying and exhibiting" see museum website
Organised by: Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture)
Special cooperation by: Royal Norwegian Embassy, British Council, TMS ENTERTAINMENT CO., LTD, FUKUINKAN SHOTEN PUBLISHERS, INC
Making a donation
Donations are accepted between 10:30 - 11:00 and 15:30 - 16:00 throughout the exhibition period (18 July – 4 October 2015) until the shelves become full. Please notify staff at the exhibition entrance if you are making a donation and hand in your most unwanted piece of pottery (ceramic item measuring less than 15 cm in any direction with no major breakage, one item per person) at the desk next to the installation in Gallery C. You will be asked to provide some simple facts about your donation. Donated items will be added to the display on a later date and will not be returned - a selection of the items will become a permanent part of the installation, and the remainder will be disposed of after the exhibition.