Top Event
seeing sound, hearing time
The first major retrospective of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s work in Europe highlights his diverse, innovative practice, including three-dimensional sound installations created in collaboration with international artists. Sakamoto works at the intersection of sound and art. He is regarded as a pioneer of electronic and experimental music who has continually redefined the boundaries between sound, film, performance, and the visual arts.
Image gallery
Ryuichi Sakamoto, Portrait
Ryuichi Sakamoto & Shiro Takatani, async–immersion tokyo, 2024, Installationsnansicht „Ryuichi Sakamoto | seeing sound, hearing time“, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT) 2024
“Ryuichi Sakamoto. seeing sound, hearing time” features seven works in five large-scale installations and opens during Berlin Art Week. The exhibition focuses on the intersection of sound and art, which has been a hallmark of the Hamburger Bahnhof since its founding 30 years ago.
The Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart presents seven works by composer and artist Ryuichi Sakamoto in five large-scale installations across approximately 1,500 square meters in the Rieckhallen.
“IS YOUR TIME” (2017), in which a piano destroyed by the 2011 tsunami becomes an object for sound, is based on digitally converted real-time seismological data from earthquakes worldwide. Other installations were created based on his album “async” (2017) in close collaboration with artist Shiro Takatani and filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Two films by Carsten Nicolai in the exhibition feature music from Sakamoto’s latest album, “12,” a sound diary he recorded from 2021 to 2022.
About the Artist
Ryuichi Sakamoto (1952–2023) was a composer, producer, and artist born in Tokyo. He made his debut in 1978 with the album “Thousand Knives” and was a co-founder of the legendary techno group Yellow Magic Orchestra. His diverse body of work includes pop albums, numerous classical works, two operas, and nearly 45 original film and TV soundtracks. He received numerous prestigious awards for his film scores, including an Oscar, two Golden Globes, and a Grammy. Sakamoto was also active in the art world: his works have been exhibited in museums worldwide (Seoul, 2018; Beijing, 2021; Chengdu, 2023–2024; Tokyo, 2024–2025; Phuket, 2026; Hong Kong, 2026). As an activist, he was committed to environmental protection and world peace for decades. He founded the organization “more trees” to save forests and the “Tohoku Youth Orchestra” to support the victims of the Tohoku earthquake through music. Sakamoto died on March 28, 2023.
The exhibition is part of the Hamburger Bahnhof’s 30th-anniversary program.
In 2026, the Hamburger Bahnhof will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a program that spans the venue’s history and looks toward the future: eight special exhibitions, a new presentation of the collection, as well as performances and concerts will extend the museum’s reach far into the urban space.
The highlight will be the anniversary weekend from November 13–15, during which an international conference on the future of contemporary collection museums will take place and the museum will be open continuously for 30 hours.
Accompanying the exhibition is a volume in the Hamburger Bahnhof’s catalog series, published by Silvana Editoriale Milano.
The exhibition is curated by Ingrid Buschmann, curator at the Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, in collaboration with Sachiko Namba, curator in Tokyo.
- In close collaboration with KAB Inc./KAB America Inc. and Dumb Type Office Ltd.
- The exhibition is supported by the Hamburger Bahnhof International Companions e.V.
- Sponsored by the EU-Japan Fest Japan Committee and the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan
- A special exhibition of the National Gallery of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Additional information
- Tue: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
- Wed: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
- Thu: 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
- Fri: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
- Sat: 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
- Sun: 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
- Mon: Closed
