Hypnotic Soundscapes and Sacred Motifs at Maison Hermès Le Forum
This March, Ginza’s Maison Hermès Le Forum presents “Obol,” the first Japanese solo exhibition by Armenian-Lithuanian artist and composer Andrius Arutiunian. Arutiunian explores the relationship between music and distorted forms, using hypnotic soundscapes and sacred motifs to create installations that are at once mythological and futuristic.
The exhibition infuses the gallery space — a glass-encased architectural marvel worth admiring in itself — with a sleek, underground rave-esque aesthetic. It centers on a series of new works inspired by bitumen, a viscous, pitch-black petroleum substance that once held holy significance but is now used for secular purposes. Through this dark material, Arutiunian pays homage to Charon, the mythological ferryman of the dead, scattering obol — ancient Greek silver coins — and serpentine imagery throughout the space.
