If you’ll allow me to go analog for a moment, I need to say how much I love the way they displayed all of the participating zines at the launch party (or “reading room”) for the terrific-looking Fanzines book. It’s incredibly simple, using clips, and my first thought was that I should have done something similar during last month’s SNOW Magazine Cafe. The one problem this poses is that I did want everything in the show to be readable by everyone, but it’s something I need to keep in mind for a future exhibition, especially if I can get extra copies (one to hang, one on table/shelf for people to grab and read).

The SNOW Magazine Cafe flyer is now out in the wild. Again, big thanks to Hiyoko Imai for the wonderful design, based on Luis‘ original poster design.

I’ve been a bit quiet on the SNOW Magazine Cafe front, but yes, it’s still happening next month at Cafe Pause (August 1-30), and I’m very happy to reveal the poster for the event. It was designed by my GOOD Inc. compadre, Luis Mendo, and I absolutely love the illustration he came up with. The poster will appear at the entrance to to cafe, and a slightly different version will be used for the flyer (and big thank to Hiyoko Imai for the help with that).

I also have a very exciting new development regarding the event — and SNOW Magazine in general — that is going to be very cool. I’ll announce more soon, but for now let’s just say that it truly embraces the medium that is being celebrated at the exhibition.

A new group show at the Nanzuka Underground gallery in Shibuya entitled “Corner” brings together the following four artists: Alexander Gelman, Paul Davis, Toast Girl, and Yuichi Yokoyama.

This exhibition presents the works of artists who continue to produce original works that are not influenced by the fashions and trends in the belief that the age-defining energy of art comes from these artists who stand apart. The title “Corner” suggests that the concept of art itself it about to turn a corner in the face of the extreme market oriented mentality that has seeped through the art world. The 4 artists on view may be outsiders in the current art scene. However art with vested interests is bound to be replaced by something else in the future. These 4 artists may be pointing to the possibility of that future.

“Corner” runs until February 6.

Photographer Martin Holtkamp — and fellow PauseTalker — has just launched his first major exhibition at Gallery Speak For in Daikanyama. The show, “Hanami,” runs until January 20, and Martin should be on hand tomorrow (January 11) at PauseTalk Vol. 37 to talk about the show, and he’ll also be presenting at this month’s PechaKucha Night in Tokyo (January 27).

TABlog’s William Andrews posts his art-related year in review 2009 round-up.

Yoshi Shimura (Star Graphics) is a Tokyo native who moved to LA a year ago, and he’s just released the second issue of Megane Zine. As he describes it:

Megane Zine is a regular publication aimed at introducing artwork of young, up-coming Japanese artists to the United States. “Megane” means “Glasses” in Japanese. Megane Zine focuses it lens on the inspired achievements of these fantastic artists.

A Megane Zine tee designed by Ed Templeton will be released through Beams T in January, and a show featuring works from the issue will take place at LA’s HVW8 Art + Design Gallery, starting January 9.

The “PROTOTYPE 03” exhibition may be over, but the show’s website has been updated with a beautiful gallery of photos by Takumi Ota.

An exhibition of works by Yayoi Kusama is currently on at the Audi Forum Tokyo building in Harajuku, and will run until January 5. Here’s a look at last week’s opening party.

Today marks the last day of artist Polly Yates’ exhibition, showing works from her “Lacemakers” series, at Cafe Pause, so you still have time to check it out if you haven’t already.

When the time came to roll up the laces again, we both sighed; it took so long; but we weren’t willing to entrust it to anyone else. Just think, if we had to make them, Maman said, looking really frightened. I couldn’t imagine that at all. I caught myself thinking about little animals incessantly spinning these Things and which for that reason are left in peace. No, of course they were women. The women who made these have certainly gone to heaven, I said, filled with awe…. Maman took a deep breath; the laces once again lay rolled up together. After a while, when I had already forgotten my last words, she said, quite slowly, To heaven? I think they are completely in these laces. Each one, looked at in the right way, can become an eternal bliss. We know so little about it.

- Rainer Maria Rilke, The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge

The Lacemakers series is a body of work that explores absence, femininity and desire. Polly Yates has exhibited in England, Germany, the US and Japan. She is currently living in Tokyo.

The Rat Hole Gallery in Aoyama has recently re-opened, and TABlog posts a photo report of the first show to occupy the renovated space, “Oil,” by Isa Genzken. The exhibition runs until December 27.

TABlog posts a nice photo report from the opening of Kengo Kuma’s “Studies in Organic” exhibition at Gallery MA. The show runs until December 19.

For next month’s Design Miami, Atelier Bow-Wow is designing the exhibition space — in the form of a house — for Dutch design brand Droog. Via Dezeen.

The next show at the Diesel Denim Gallery Aoyama is the first solo exhibition by Dutch artist Mathias, “All About Democracy,” featuring new works — print and video — as well as a selection of works that have appeared in various newspapers and magazines.

“The world is rotten, corrupt and bankrupt and it is not the time to explain the political situation in friendly cartoons.” Mathias draws well-known people in power like presidents and politicians, and develops stories of those characters based upon the current world situation. The cartoons drawn by his keen observation on social circumstances lampoon the current democracy, but also his hope for a better world without poverty, environmental pollution and justice for all can be seen. Mathias makes realistic digital illustrations on his laptop. He works everywhere, at home, in the train, in restaurants and soon in Tokyo.

The show starts this Friday (November 20), and runs until January 21. There will also be original art t-shirts sold ( 6,090 yen), including the one pictured below, featuring the current Japanese PM’s excentric wife, Miyuki Hatoyama.

Naoto Fukasawa developed the cuckoo clock seen above for a collaborative project between Isetan and the moreTrees forest conservation NPO — the clock is made of timber from over-planted forests. During Tokyo Design Week, Isetan Living hosted an exhibition that saw 50 artists and designers offer their take on the clock — you can see the clocks in this post over at Designboom.