From the old city to the metropolis! Solo exhibitions held in 2 domestic cities

Until now, the artist has presented Japanese paintings depicting vivid waterside creatures in major cities around the world, such as New York, Paris, and Dubai. Along with works that have returned to their hometown of Japan, I held a solo exhibition touring the two major cities of Kyoto and Tokyo.
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[Kyoto]
Period: 2021/11/3 (holiday/Wednesday) to 11/8 (Monday)
Venue: Shinpukan (586-2 Bano-cho, Karasuma-dori Anekoji-sagaru, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8172)
[Tokyo]
Period: 2022/3/8 (Tue) to 3/13 (Sun)
Venue: Shibuya Hikarie 8th Floor 8/ CUBE1.2.3 (21-1 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0002, Japan)

 The Kyoto venue is the city's new landmark “Shinpukan”

Kyoto once flourished as a center of culture and politics. Even now, after a long history of 1200 years since it was built, its refined sense of city has not faded, and it is recognized as a special area both domestically and internationally.

In Taisho 15 (1926), when Kyoto was transitioning from an ancient city to a modern city, the “former Kyoto Central Telephone Office,” which is the predecessor of the “Shinpukan,” was completed by Mr. Yoshida Tetsuro, who is called the pioneer of modern modernism.

The complex facility “Shinpukan,” which consists of a hotel, store, and movie theater, was built in 2020 to become a new landmark of the city after repeated redevelopment in an attempt to make use of its historical value.

 Exhibit in a glass-walled gallery space

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this solo exhibition was held while taking measures against infection. While there are many people who refrain from going out compared to normal times, we recorded over 600 visitors. Since it is a gallery space where the work can be seen in a big way from the aisle, voices were heard that they were drawn in, saying “I've always been interested” and “a 2-year-old child wanted to enter.” Also, there were several people who actually wanted to decide to buy the work.

‍Solo exhibition held at Shibuya Hikarie, the epicenter of culture

As a “city for young people,” Shibuya has been deeply popular both domestically and internationally for many years. Furthermore, starting with “Shibuya Hikarie,” which was born as a new landmark in Shibuya in 2012, cultural and commercial facilities based on various concepts have opened one after another, and the energy that continues to evolve by incorporating new ideas and senses remains the same, and it is transforming into an adult city.

The concept of Hikarie, which was the venue this time, is “proposing the richness of life through art.” In recent years, the gallerist Tomio Koyama, who produced the world-renowned contemporary artist Takashi Murakami, has handled many special exhibitions, and has always been at the cutting edge of fashion, playing a landmark role in the art world.

In a day full of limitations, I discovered the power of art again

The gallery space on the 8th floor of Hikarie is also a venue with glass walls reminiscent of a waterside. Starting with works selected for the Ueno Royal Museum Grand Prize exhibition, 26 works will be exhibited, surpassing the solo exhibition at Shinpukan in Kyoto in 2021. At the venue, which was filled with works depicting diverse creatures, many voices were heard saying “the artist's love for living things was conveyed,” and it was a warm exhibition that conveyed not only the appeal of the work, but also the artist's personality.

Although the event was held during the “priority measures such as prevention of spread” issued by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many people attended. It was 6 days full of warmth and freedom that freed our minds as days of not being able to move as expected continued, such as refraining from going out and shortening time at restaurants.

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