Location: Art Gallery Kitano 1F
My first solo exhibition of 2021 was in Kyoto.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that has been ongoing since last year is evident even in Kyoto, with almost no tourists from overseas and almost no domestic tourists.
This gallery faces the main street of Sanjo Kawaramachi, a location that is usually bustling with a huge number of pedestrians. The window display, which was decorated with the intention of "making the display stand out from pedestrians," succeeded in drawing the attention of the not-so-large number of pedestrians and inviting them inside... but personally, I was left with regrets that I "could have done better." I would like to use this regret to improve my next solo exhibition (scheduled for March 2022).
My works are small, so they don't have enough impact to appeal to passersby. That's why I use book displays to create a sense of incongruity. With the recent trend towards e-books, the opportunities to see large (thick) books have become fewer. So, when a large book comes into view on the street, I think it unconsciously catches my eye. I think the presence of "books" is an important element that enhances my work (books = bookbinding are all my work). Image = "Stories", "Research materials", "Natural history illustrations", etc...
The "Diorama in the center of a double-page book" frame made its first appearance in this exhibition. It was an item I had thought of many years ago but never got around to working on.
It was a gallery with beautiful white walls. Many of the works were framed and arranged at equal intervals to create a sense of unity, but the monotonous rhythm and too much information erased the appeal of "casual art for the viewer." It was a place with a lot of foot traffic, and some people came in without any particular intention, so I regret not being considerate enough.
Lighting is also one of my specialties. Although it doesn't really suit blue glass, I selected retro-feeling lighting. The layout is designed to give visitors the feeling that an adventure is about to begin when they enter the exhibition space, or that they have wandered into a laboratory.
Many customers stayed for a long time. I think that while they were looking at (selecting) the works and talking with me, they forgot about their daily lives and were immersed in the world view inside my head for a while.
I will be returning to this place again next spring. I hope to use what I learned and reflected on this time to hold an even more wonderful solo exhibition, so please look forward to my next one.
thank you very much.
