Announcement of Long-Term Exhibition of Shuntaro Yamasaki's Art Piece "Fossil from the Future #01 'Nike AIR JORDAN 1'" at Hirono Town Hall, Futaba District, Fukushima, and Unveiling Ceremony

SEITARO DESIGN Inc. (CEO: Shuntaro Yamasaki) will lend Yamasaki's 2021 art piece "Fossil from the Future #01 'Nike AIR JORDAN 1'" to Hirono Town, Fukushima Prefecture, for long-term exhibition at the town hall.

To commemorate the start of the exhibition, an unveiling ceremony and press briefing will be held as detailed below. We would be delighted if you could attend.

[Unveiling Ceremony Details]

Location: Hirono Town Hall (Futaba District, Fukushima Prefecture), 1st Floor Lobby

Date and Time: July 7, 2026 (Tue) 13:00~ *Press availability will follow the ceremony.

Attendees: Hirono Town Mayor Kazuma Komatsu, Artist Shuntaro Yamasaki

Supporting Fukushima's Reconstruction Through Art

Yamasaki deepened his connection with Hirono Town through his brand design work for "Hatago-in Hirono" and subsequently became the director of "Yohaku Art Fair Fukushima Hirono." On March 11, 2026, he launched "Experiment 2: Returning the Piano to Nature," a project exhibiting the piano of musician/artist Ryuichi Sakamoto in nature at the Hirono Future Center, a cultural exchange facility in Hirono Town, continuing his efforts to support Fukushima's reconstruction through the power of art.

This exhibition is a further step in these activities, bringing the artwork to a public space, Hirono Town Hall, which is visited daily by many town residents. The exhibition period is indefinite, with the hope that it will remain with the local community for a long time.

[Exhibition Details]

Exhibition Venue: Hirono Town Hall (Futaba District, Fukushima Prefecture), 1st Floor Lobby

Exhibition Start: July 7, 2026 (Tue) 14:00~ (End date undecided)

[About the Exhibited Artwork]

Title: Fossil from the Future #01 "Nike AIR JORDAN 1"

Year of Announcement: 2021

Materials: Sand, epoxy resin, pigment, ink

Dimensions: H374 x W225 x D210mm

Concept:

How will our consumption behaviors be perceived from the future, with its different values? This work stems from that question. It is a sculpture of a sneaker made of sand. It consists of a NIKE AIR JORDAN 1 made of sand and a logo mark made of acrylic. It separates the "part" as symbolic consumption from the "part" as functional material, giving them different materials and time passage. It deconstructs concepts and reconstructs two different elements by giving them different times. We like "symbols," live with "symbols," and consume "symbols." This is a letter from the future to us living in the present.

[Regarding the Artwork Exhibition: From Shuntaro Yamasaki]

I first presented this work in 2021, the 10th anniversary year since the earthquake. Sculptures made of sand are destined to crumble over time. This work asks, "What do we leave behind, and what is left behind, as time passes?" Through the brand design for Hatago-in, I developed a connection with Hirono Town, and since then, we have spent time together in various forms through "Yohaku Art Fair Fukushima Hirono" and "Experiment 2: Returning the Piano to Nature." To have this work exhibited at the town hall, the heart of the community, as a result of these collaborations, holds special meaning for me. The beauty of time, memory, and change. I hope this work will quietly exist within the daily life of Hirono Town and serve as a presence that receives the questions of each visitor.

[Shuntaro Yamasaki Profile]

Representative of SEITARO DESIGN Inc., Creative Director and Artist. Focusing on branding, he integrates business strategy, graphics, web, spatial, and product design, promoting numerous projects in collaboration with government ministries, local authorities, and corporations. Major projects include Tokyo 2020 award ceremonies, the basic concept for the utilization of the former Nara Prison, JR West's "Wesmo!", and Daikanyama ASO. He also works as a contemporary artist, developing visual philosophical practices that question the value of silence, remnants, and ambiguity in contemporary society, based on aesthetics such as Japanese "Ma" (emptiness/space) and impermanence. He has held large-scale solo exhibitions in Tokyo, Shanghai, Berlin, Washington D.C., and elsewhere. He is active on the international stage, including an invited participation in the LaRcana Biennale (2025) and an exhibition at SXSW. He currently appears on TBS's "Information 7days News Caster," NTV's "Shinsou Houdou Ban Kisha!" and "Shuichi," ABC's "Ohayou Asahi Desu," among others. His book is "Yohaku Shiko" (Thinking in Emptiness).

[Company Profile]

Company Name: SEITARO DESIGN Inc. Established: October 1, 2008 Representative Director: Shuntaro Yamasaki Location: Kosugi Building Aobadai 2F, 2-3-1 Aobadai, Meguro-ku, Tokyo Business Activities: Branding, Design Business URL: https://seitaro-design.com TEL: 03-6417-4875