Exhibition: Warehouse TERRADA's WHAT CAFE Presents "u.n.l.o.c.k. tube++" Featuring 37 Artists, Co-Curated by Noboru Tsubaki

Tokyo, Japan — WHAT CAFE, an art gallery cafe operated by Warehouse TERRADA, will host “WHAT CAFE EXHIBITION vol.47: WHAT CAFE x Noboru Tsubaki Special Co-Curated Exhibition ‘u.n.l.o.c.k. tube++'” from Friday, Sept. 4 to Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. This exhibition is held as part of the program for TENNOZ ART WEEK 2026.

The exhibition welcomes guest curator Noboru Tsubaki, a contemporary artist who has brought many young talents into the spotlight as a professor at Kyoto University of the Arts. As founder of the artist-driven art fair “ARTISTS’ FAIR KYOTO,” Tsubaki views art within the context of its relationship to society, constantly evaluating and implementing new models for how artwork circulates. This special co-curated exhibition intersects Tsubaki’s innovative practice in discovering and supporting the next generation with WHAT CAFE’s initiatives for creating opportunities to showcase and sell works by emerging artists.

The venue will showcase a wide array of works — including Japanese painting, oil painting, photography, ceramics, glass, and installation art — by 37 of today’s most exciting artists selected by Tsubaki and WHAT CAFE. Presenting a broad range of expressions beyond genres under one roof offers visitors the opportunity to discover their “first piece of art” — the very first artwork they choose to purchase. Ultimately, the exhibition highlights the joy of bringing art into daily life and envisions the potential of a future lived alongside art.

Curational Statement by Noboru Tsubaki

Images are self-consuming. Images that survive become symbols.

To revel in chaos by endlessly warping an image, or to succeed in imprinting the society by circulating symbols in the mass.

To reject the image and narrative, and conjoin with the absolute abstract idea of eternal time is also an option; whichever way, suffering will not end, and the future is even more obscure.

This must be exactly why we were born into this world as artists.

Profile of Noboru Tsubaki

Contemporary artist.

Born in 1953 in Kyoto. Professor at Kyoto University of the Arts. Exhibited his representative piece “Fresh gasoline” at “AGAINST NATURE: JAPANESE ART IN THE EIGHTIES,” which brought the title of the exhibition and toured around the US from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 1989-. Participated in the 45th Venice Biennale Aperto, 1993. As a director of various art projects such as ARTISTS’ FAIR KYOTO since 2018, cooperate collections of UNIVERSAL MUSIC JAPAN, DMG MORI, and more, he tries to create new platforms of contemporary art in Japan.

Exhibition Overview

Title: WHAT CAFE EXHIBITION vol.47: WHAT CAFE x Noboru Tsubaki Special Co-Curated Exhibition “u.n.l.o.c.k. tube++”

Dates: Friday, Sept. 4 – Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026

Time: 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. (Closes at 5 p.m. on the final day)

Venue: WHAT CAFE (2-1-11 Higashi-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo)

Admission: Free

Guest Curator: Noboru Tsubaki

Guest Artist: Toru Kamiya

Exhibiting Artists: IKENANA, xorium, Masamitsu Okada (OMD), Ryoka Onoda, Joe Katayama, kawata erika, Mana Kawamura, Kiyu Kisu, Aya Kurashiki, Kaori KUROSAKI, Risako Kokubu, Mika Kobashi, Yui Kobayashi, Leo Sasaki, Mika Shinagawa, Sakurako Shirai, Sato Sugamoto, Ruca Tairaku, Jukan Tateisi, Sae Tsuchiya, Mao Togami, Keito Tokoi, Hayaki Nishigaki, Ryohei Nishi, Haruka Takahashi, Aina FUNAKOSHI, Sun Honma, BCBG YUNA, Saki Matsumura, Kaho Marui, Mii, Mishima Reika, Yuri Minagawa, Saya Mimura, Yosuke Morigami, Monami Yabe

Planning: WHAT CAFE

Planning Cooperation: ARTOTHÈQUE, Kyoto University of the Arts

Official Website: https://cafe.warehouseofart.org/exhibition/what-cafe-exhibition-vol-47:u-n-l-o-c-k-tube

The exhibit may close during the dates above. Please see the WHAT CAFE website for the latest information.

Artwork by Toru Kamiya (above)

Artwork by Mana Kawamura (above)

Artwork by Risako Kokubu / Photo by Hana Yamamoto (above)

Artwork by Saki Matsumura (above)

Artwork by Hayaki Nishigaki (above)

Artwork by Yuri Minagawa (above)

Artwork by Kiyu Kisu (above)

Artwork by Yui Kobayashi (above)

Artwork by Sun Honma (above)

Artwork by Leo Sasaki (above)

Artwork by xorium (above)

Artwork by Aya Kurashiki (above)

TENNOZ ART WEEK 2026 Overview

Official Website: https://warehouseofart.org/taw

Dates: Thursday, Sept. 10 – Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026

(VIP preview on Wednesday, Sept. 9)

Venues: TERRADA ART COMPLEX, WHAT MUSEUM, WHAT CAFE, PIGMENT TOKYO, and others

Organizer: Warehouse TERRADA

Support: Tennoz Canalside Vitalization Association

Endorsement: Shinagawa City

About WHAT CAFE https://cafe.warehouseofart.org

A space to exhibit and sell artworks by up-and-coming artists in Japan. It boasts 800 square meters of luminous, expansive floor space. Works on display are constantly updated––a year-round flow of beauty and cool from the new pantheon of creative visual geniuses. This maximizes the opportunities for artists to be seen, be loved, and sell their work. We hold workshops, events, and meet-ups related to the exhibitions, so you can dive deep and meet like-minded art lovers. It’s a space to experience art with all five senses while enjoying a meal and drinks.

About Warehouse TERRADA

Established in 1950 and located in Tennoz, Tokyo, Warehouse TERRADA has developed dedicated storage services for highly specialized items such as artworks, wine, media and confidential documents. In particular, the art storage service, first launched in 1975, has expanded into artwork restoration, transportation, exhibitions and other related solutions, all available in one-stop. In 2014, the company began operating a bonded warehouse for artworks. In 2022, it launched a new space that functions as a permanent gallery venue allowing for viewings, storage and more under bonded conditions, aiming to further invigorate art distribution. Warehouse TERRADA also operates art studios available for rent and hosts the TERRADA ART AWARD, supporting emerging artists. These initiatives earned the company the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award in 2018. In recent years, Warehouse TERRADA has opened several facilities that promote art and culture, including the museum of contemporary art and architecture WHAT MUSEUM, art gallery cafe WHAT CAFE, art materials lab PIGMENT TOKYO, and TERRADA ART COMPLEX, which brings together numerous art galleries in Japan. Through these broad-ranging art industry operations, and as a frontrunner in the Japanese art world, we provide services that contribute to revitalizing the art market and developing Tennoz into the world’s most exciting art capital.