Image: 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa has announced an artist performance connected to 'Aperto 21 Yuka Nomura: Golden River', with sessions scheduled for August 23 at the museum’s Long-Term Installation Room. The performance is free and does not require advance reservation, and on that date it will be presented twice, at 16:00 and 17:00.
The museum’s exhibition page shows 'Aperto 21 Yuka Nomura: Golden River' running from April 4 to August 23, 2026, in the same Long-Term Installation Room. Opening hours are listed as 10:00 to 18:00, with Friday and Saturday hours extended to 20:00. Admission to the exhibition is free. The museum notes that the installation room is closed on Mondays, with exceptions for May 4 and July 20, and also closed on May 7 and July 21.
Nomura’s project is rooted in research into Kanazawa’s history and landscape. The museum says the artist, who spent her university years in Kanazawa, has focused on gold panning in the city, where one origin of the place name is said to be “the stream where gold can be found” and where gold panning has long taken place along the Sai River. The new installation uses light materials and was inspired by the action of scooping and shaking that Nomura experienced during her research.
According to the museum, Nomura’s work has centered on the relationship between human activity and land, and on fundamental forces and distinct senses of time that can be observed through field-based observation and intervention. The exhibition text describes her practice as making familiar scenery slightly off-kilter through bold installations that unsettle perception. The new work for 'Golden River' extends that approach through a form shaped by the repeated motion of panning.
A statement by the artist on the museum page describes an interest in the slow changes of mountains, rivers and living beings over time, and in the forces underlying natural transformation. Nomura writes that she has been particularly interested in water as a medium connecting different environments, organisms and materials, and that she came to think about making a work from the movement of gold panning after researching Kanazawa’s rivers.
The exhibition is part of the museum’s 'Aperto' series, which presents solo exhibitions by younger artists. The museum says the series is intended to create opportunities for artists and curators to present new work and support future creative development. Alongside the August 23 performance, the exhibition page also lists an artist talk on July 4 and earlier performance dates on April 4, May 5, May 6, June 7, July 4, July 5 and August 23, all in the Long-Term Installation Room.
