The Invisible Dog (New York City) and BUoY Arts Center (Tokyo) are thrilled to present a performance by Yu Ohara, as part of NAFAS TOKYO.
This performance is part of NAFAS, an international festival exploring the relationship between art and food with an exhibition of 60 artists and a series of performances, workshops and events. Discover the full program here
4.5 Ways of Appreciation by Yu Ohara is a performance that physically explores four approaches to the reception of art through tasting: the Japanese concepts of “鑑賞 kanshō,” “観照 kanshō,” and “賞玩 shōgan,” and the Chinese concept of “品鑑 pinjian.” Three performers taste cocktails from vessels modeled after ancient Chinese vessels, exchanging through words and gestures the sensations arising from the drinks’ flavors and aromas, as well as from the texture of the vessels. By bringing together perspectives rooted in different cultural spheres, the work depicts how the experience of appreciation, which often remains private, can be shared with others. Through this process, it seeks to share with both the artists and the audience the pleasure of expressing personal experience through humor and leaps of association, as well as the emergence of indirect and roundabout forms of communication
Performers: Yu Ohara, Junkai Zhang, Linz
Yu Ohara is born in 1995 in Saitama, Japan and based in Tokyo. With an affinity for nonsensical behavior and irrational actions, he creates video works and performances. Taking as a clue the emotions triggered by the breakdown of meaning, such as confusion and laughter that arise in moments when interpretation is suspended, he explores ways of loosening social pressures and norms, and of living within them. He likes things that make him laugh. He has participated in numerous exhibitions, including “2025 FEICHUAN LIVEART FESTIVAL” (2025, The Village of Shengrendang, Luotian, China); “All inside-out sleeves” (2025, gallery10[TOH], Tokyo, Japan); “TOKYO MIDTOWN AWARD 2024 EXHIBITION” (2024, Tokyo Midtown, Tokyo, Japan). He also runs “Cement Park” around Tokyo, a performance event focused primarily on improvisation, together with other artists.
Location
BUoY Arts Center
49-11, Senju-Nakacho, Adachi-ku,
Tokyo
Admission:
Free
Date
Sunday September 6, 2026
at 5pm
Duration: 40mn