In the case of Tokyo Gallery Lighthouse called Kanata, Simplicity is deeply nuanced and essentially defines Japanese art. It can be reinterpreted because its simplicity is tidy and attractive.
Here’s the gallery inspiration behind the presentation “Simple Forms Revisited” at Masterpiece London from Thursday to July 6th. This is a homage and reinterpretation to the exhibition “Simple Forms” with a similar title from 2014 to 2015. At Pompidou Center Mets It was held at the Mori Arts Center in Tokyo in the latter half of 2015 in northeastern France.
Seven years later, the success of the exhibition, which was attended by more than 5,000 people every day While driving in Tokyo, Inspired the idea of featuring Japanese artists exclusively in the rethinking of Masterpiece London. The pursuit of simple shapes, which has always been a decisive element of Japanese art, has in many respects been an open canvas for fresh works and new audiences, said the gallery.
“Some of our artists were in the original exhibition, but now we’re revisiting those simple themes and trying to blend them with the aesthetics of the gallery,” said a lighthouse called Kanata. The owner and curator, Kazuhei Aoyama, said. “There were many international artists in the show, but I thought it was more important to express the show in the light of modern Japan.”
Twenty-six works on the theme of sculpture and painting by 24 Japanese artists such as Sueharu Fukami (porcelain), Tanyoko Ikuta (glass), Satoru Ozaki (stainless steel), and Kiyo Hasegawa (Japanese painting) are exhibited. Will be done. ). At the 2014-15 exhibition, dozens of artists from around the world were active in a variety of media, but 42-year-old Ayoama took this new approach, whether Japanese artists are new or old in terms of minimalism. I see it as a way to celebrate how it is fused.
“For example, Kiyo Hasegawa reinterprets the techniques of ancient Japanese painting into a modern minimalist style,” he said. “She paints only in an abstract, minimal way. This is very unusual. Many contemporary artists use old techniques, but most of the time they are figurative and That is its origin. “
Ayoama, who founded the gallery and manages all the shows, was inspired not only by the previous exhibition, but also by the current lack of awareness of the beauty and elegance of the most basic forms. I got inspiration. For him, it was an opportunity to celebrate a kind of tranquility in all the noise.
“Contemporary contemporary art is conceptual and, in a sense, does not require beauty,” Aoyama said. “We want to express the return of what art was encapsulated to innocence. This art can withstand the challenges of time. It’s not just a trend or a fad.”
Mr. Aoyama’s own trip to the art world may have once felt like a fad. He graduated from New York University in 2001 and earned a law degree from Oxford University in 2003, but a phone call from his father that he hadn’t seen since his parents divorced 12 years ago was his. It changed my life.
His father opened a gallery in Tokyo in 1993 and asked Mr Aoyama to work for him. Mr. Aoyama agreed, but he resigned within a year. After spending a short time in the business world, he opened a lighthouse called Kanata in 2007 and moved to the wealthy Nishi-Azabu district of Tokyo in 2020. The gallery sells its work to more than 80 museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Art, Victoria and Albert Museum, British Museum.
The name of the gallery is also deeply rooted in Japanese culture. Kanata means “beyond” or “far” in Japanese, and the lighthouse symbolizes the guidance and lighting of difficult times and is woven into the idea of reinterpretation, Aoyama said. This seemed like the ideal approach for his gallery to return to Masterpiece London for the first time since 2019. It’s a return and a rethink.
The lighthouse, called Kanata’s masterpiece London presentation, “tells us that culture is constantly evolving,” Fairy’s CEO Lucy Kitchner wrote in an email. “Art is constantly being rediscovered and rethought. The fair offers the opportunity to explore this across time, discipline and culture.”
The two artists who work on the lighthouse called Kanata embody Japan’s approach to timeless elegance in many ways. Mr. Hasegawa (38) is known for his modern arrangement of ancient Japanese art in Japanese painting.She works with traditional materials Rock EnogMineral pigment, Japanese paperHandmade Japanese paper.
“I’m drawing an image that comes to my mind. Facing a Buddhist temple or looking at a landscape is abstract in my mind,” she explained in a telephone interview from Tokyo. “These materials can create a delicate texture and add depth to the painting, but they are difficult to handle and require a lot of thought and concentration in preparation.”
For former jazz pianist Ikuta (68), making glass sculptures is the same as creating the spontaneity of music, especially jazz. She said this influences the idea of minimalism. Each note needs to be open to interpretation and simple riffs.
“In jazz, the improvisational performances of the musicians we play with change the music,” said Ikuta. “And the music is over, but the emotions it leaves behind. Similarly, some of my inspiration as an artist wants to mix the same lyrical and rhythmic principles into my work. . “
She creates geometric sculptures by laminating tiny strings of glass with glue that exposes where the lines overlap and intersect. Her shape resembles a nautilus, eyeball, lung, or black hole, with finely carved delicate lines.
Their facade resembles cotton candy in its delicacy. Light is shining from various angles.
Her glass work Described as ether Mr. Aoyama’s impressions echoed from multiple critics. Simplicity defines them as universal and timeless, reminiscent of the approach of celebrating simple forms in a timeless way.
“She is manipulating light in 60 different layers of glass, so she is performing a musical rhythm on glass and light,” he said. “Her way is really fascinating. She can show it to Eskimos 200 years ago without saying a word, and the job will strike his heart.”
