The Party

The Party 1975/2026

Norio Imai, Keiji Uematsu, Saburo Muraoka

2026 6/10wedー21sun
PM 12-7
Closed: 6/14 sun. 15 mon. 16 wed. 　

We will present “The Party 1975/2026.”
The sound installation “The Party,” based on the rhythm created by the recorded heartbeats of Norio Imai, Keiji Uematsu, and Saburo Muraoka, together with the imagery of Man Ray’s metronome work “Object to Be Destroyed,” was originally presented in 1975 in Kanagawa and Kyoto. Nearly half a century later, in 2026, the surviving members—excluding the late Muraoka—have reunited to present “The Party 1975/2026” in Osaka. With Yukio Fujimoto joining as Sound Technical Support, this new iteration is not a simple reconstruction of the 1975 version. Rather, it is a “21st-century The Party,” in which the original 1975 heartbeats and heartbeats newly tuned with contemporary technology resonate throughout the venue. Prior to the exhibition, a talk event featuring Imai, Uematsu, and Fujimoto will be held on Saturday, June 6, at “Tomitei,” located within the grounds of Kozu Shrine. In conjunction with the exhibition, a limited-edition box set will also be released.

+1art

The Party 1975 at kyoto, photo by Norio Imai

In 1975, The Party by Norio Imai, Keiji Uematsu, and Saburo Muraoka was presented as a coexistence of multiple rhythms, composed of recorded heartbeats of the three artists and the ticking of metronomes based on a replica of Man Ray’s “Object to Be Destroyed”. At its origin lay a trust in a collective act without a predetermined destination. Without anticipating a finished form or conclusion, the act of first gathering and acting together itself opened up the space.
A heartbeat is unique to each individual, like a self-portrait that exists only once. At the same time, it is also a rhythm beyond one’s control—something external that nonetheless sustains one’s life. What The Party proposed was not a device for interpreting meaning or symbols, but rather an act of placing oneself within such uncontrollable rhythms and accepting the condition of “being together.”
In the 2026 restaging, Saburo Muraoka will participate as an “absent participant.” This absence is not a lack, but a way of remaining present within the work, making visible the passage of time and the transformation of relationships. Three speakers and a single metronome are placed at the four corners of the venue, directed toward the center of the space, while visitors move among them, listening to pulses in which multiple layers of time overlap.
What this work seeks is not the simple revival of the past. Rather, it is about creating a real situation as an attempt, placing oneself within it, and thinking through it—joining in this unfinished process of thought is what constitutes The Party in the present age.

Akimi Otsuki(Guest Curator, Ashiya City Museum of Art & History)

TALK event

6/06 sat
Doors open at 13:30; Talk starts at 14:00

Speakers：Norio Imai、Keiji Uematsu、Yukio Fujimoto(Sound Technical Support)
Moderator：Akimi Otsuki
Venue：Tomitei, located within the grounds of Kozu Shrine(1-1-29 Kozu, Chuo-ku, Osaka) ▶︎
　　　A 4-minute walk from Tanimachi 9-chome Station, and a 15-minute walk from +1art.
Admission fee：500yen
Capacity：50　people (advance reservation required) 　

＊The gallery +1art is normally closed on the day of the event, but it will open specially after the event.

Norio Imai

Born in Osaka in 1946, Norio Imai held his first solo exhibition in 1964 while studying at Osaka Municipal Kogei High School. After graduating, he studied under Jiro Yoshiwara and joined the Gutai Art Association, becoming a full member the following year. In 1966, he received First Prize at the 10th Shell Art Award and held a solo exhibition at the Gutai Pinacotheca. He participated in exhibitions such as the First Sogetsu Experimental Film Festival (1967) and Contemporary Space ’68: Light and Environment, and was active as one of the members who led the new phase of Gutai. Since then, he has continued to present works both in Japan and abroad, using media such as photography, video, and sound. In 2024, the exhibition “Norio Imai: Carrying a Long Future”, was held at the Ashiya City Museum of Art & History.

Keiji Uematsu

Born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1947, Keiji Uematsu graduated from the Department of Fine Arts, Faculty of Education, Kobe University in 1969. In the same year, he held his first solo exhibition at Gallery 16 in Kyoto. In 1974, he received the Kobe City Cultural Encouragement Award. The following year, he moved to what was then West Germany. In 1976, his first solo museum exhibition abroad was held at the Moderna Museet. In 1988, he participated as Japan’s representative in the 43rd Venice Biennale. In 1990, he received the Grand Prize at the 12th Kobe Suma Rikyu Park Contemporary Sculpture Exhibition. In addition to installations using materials such as stone, wood, fabric, iron, and glass, he has produced numerous works in sculpture, photography, video, and performance that enable viewers to perceive the structure, existence, and relationships of the world through the invisible laws of forces such as gravity, tension, and attraction.

Saburo Muraoka

Born in Osaka Prefecture in 1928, Saburo Muraoka graduated from the Sculpture Department at Osaka Municipal Institute of Fine Arts in 1950. He was awarded the Special Selection Prize at the Nika Exhibition in 1955 and became a member in 1960 (resigned in 1969). He went on to receive the Grand Prize at the 3rd Contemporary Japanese Sculpture Exhibition in 1969, and the Kobe City Art Lovers Association Prize at the Kobe Suma Rikyu Park Contemporary Sculpture Exhibition in 1972, among other honors. In 1990 he exhibited at the Japanese Pavilion of the 44th Venice Biennale. In 1997, retrospectives were held at the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo and Kyoto. Muraoka incorporated physical phenomena such as heat, air, light, and sound into his works, continually questioning fundamental human issues such as life and death, and expanded the concept of sculpture. He passed away in Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture in 2013.。