Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on August 2010

It’s no coincidence that the Sompo Japan Museum of Art is hosting its new show, “World of Trick Art: It’s Fun to be Fooled,” during summer. As the saying goes, “children of all ages” will enjoy this exhibition, including those who are actually on their school holidays. Just so we don’t get too confused, the show prepares visitors with the main tricks—double images, anamorphosis, false framing, misleading perspective, etc.—before leading them through the exhibition’s four sections: “True or False,” “Op Art & Light Art,” “Super Realism” and “Playing with Classics.” Although almost all the artists are Japanese, a wide variety of techniques is on display, from Tiger Tateishi’s surrealistic manga-esque painting Mt. Fuji in a Car (1992) to Kaoru Ueda’s super-realistic Raw Egg J (1979) and Yasumasa Morimura’s self-portrait of a self-portrait Portrait (Van Gogh) (1985), in which the interpreter is interpolated into the painting as the ear-slicing artist.

Sompo Japan Museum of Art
The World of Trick-Art. Various media. Until Aug 29, free (MS and under)/¥600 (HS, univ)/¥800 (65 and over)/¥1,000 (general). 42F, 1-26-1 Nishi-Shinjuku. Tel: 03-5405-8686. Open Tue-Sun 10am-6pm, closed Mon. Nearest stn: Shinjuku. www.sompo-japan.co.jp/museum