Archive for the 'Asia' Category
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Ai Yamaguchi at Mizuma Art, Tokyo
Ai Yamaguchi opens Kiyu, a solo installation of new works at Mizuma Art Gallery, Tokyo (Ichigaya Tamachi location), this Wednesday, Feb. 10. Here, we present images from her installation with the gallery during the 2009 Art Fair Tokyo.
(All Images © Ninyu Works)
Ai Yamaguchi – Kiyu
Feb. 10 – March 10
Mizuma Art Gallery
2F Kagura Bldg., 3-13
Ichigayatamachi Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0843
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Tomokazu Matsuyama at Frey Norris, San Francisco
(All Images via Frey Norris Gallery)
Around the turn of the century 20th century, the U.S. embarked down a road of increasingly restrictive immigration policies, including the Chinese Exclusion (1882) and Emergency Quota Acts (1921, 1924). Such foreign policy effectively stifled the influx of immigrants, while appeasing growing nativist concerns. Included here was the Gentleman’s Agreement (1907), a mutual arrangement whereby the U.S. would not extend such restrictions to Japan, as long as the island empire agreed to cut off all further emigration to the U.S. And while the goal was partly to cool relations between the two nations, competing imperialistic hungers eventually reignited tensions that sparked the Pacific front of the Second World War. By 1942 FDR had signed Executive Order 9066, forcibly relocating over 100,000 Japanese-Americans to internment camps. It was only in 1988 that the federal government acknowledged the prejudice of its past policy, paying over $1.5 billion in reparations.
With In Case You’re Lost, Tomokazu Matsuyama not only works towards reconciling the cultural tensions of his own Japanese-American identity, but addresses larger issues of nationalism and global relations. Here is a complex mix of autobiographical and socio-political commentary.
Surrounded by new paintings are the show’s centerpieces – two large-scale sculptures that contemplate notions of cultural heritage and nationalism, flip-flopping symbols of American and Asian identity. Wherever I Am, a life-size reworking of Frederick Remington’s Bronco Buster, recasts the famed late 19th century American sculpture with a Japanese-pop sensibility, replacing the iconic cowboy rider with a Playmobil character. Chogen, based off the original 13th century Japanese treasure, substitutes the praying monk’s prayer beads for beer cans and cigarette butts, and his original meditative state, for a glazed-over drunken one.
Speaking of the new sculpture, Matsu notes, “I wanted to keep that rigourous, very expressionistic feature but flip to an American context, so what I did was I made him an alchoholic – like a drunk man in a sports bar…From a distance, he looks somewhat fanatic like its original. Close up, you’ll see his eye focus is gone and he’s just drunk. The eyes are actual glass eyes, made of gold leaf inside with the addition of my painting color scheme of neon pink and dark brown. The sculpture looks aged and few centuries old but the material used to paint it looks like 70s auto paint…[colliding] aged with the contemporary art material.”
Tomokazu Matsuyama - In Case You’re Lost
Frey Norris Gallery
456 Geary Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
Thursday, November 19th, 2009
New Day Rising :: Sashie Masakatsu at Mizuma, Tokyo
Moon, 102 x 76 inches, 2009.
Sashie Masakatsu creates visions of a post apocalyptic future, where fallen Japanese civilization reemerges in imposing orbs of cultural detritus, hovering above decayed and desolate urban landscapes. We were first clued in to his paintings when some small works were displayed at Giant Robot 2, Los Angeles as part of their 2007 Gesai exhibit. At last year’s PULSE Fair Miami, we watched as several of our TAC members frantically snatched up all available pieces on view with Mizuma Gallery. On Nov. 28 the Tokyo based gallery launches “De Facto Standard,” a solo exhibit of new paintings, including those previewed here. - Click images for detailed views.
See our previous news on Sashie’s recent 20th Century Boy T-Rex inspired exhibit here.
Monster, 2009, 76 x 64 inches.
Mushroom, 13 x 10 inches, 2009
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
Twentieth Century Boy :: A new exhibit by Sashie Masakatsu celebrates T.Rex, supports arts school in Sierra Leone.
Masakatsu Sashie - Born to Boogie, oil on canvas. (Image courtesy of the artist)
It’s been nearly 40 years since Marc Bolan and his band released their first album under the T.Rex moniker. Next week, a new one-night exhibition will celebrate the late pioneer of glam-rock’s 62nd birthday, while raising funds to continue his legacy with a new school of arts in Sierra Leone, South Africa.
Taking place Sept. 30th, Twentieth Century Boy will unveil new T.Rex inspired paintings, created by Japanese artist Sashie Masakatsu . As a long-time fan, he has incorporated images of Marc Bolan into his signature culture-dense hovering orbs. A portion of sales will support Light of Love Foundation’s (founded by Bolan’s son Rolan and his mother, Gloria Jones) mission to build the Marc Bolan School of Music and Film in Sierra Leone.
The event is curated by Darren “Dr.” Romanelli and Giant Robot founder, Eric Nakamura, who presented Sashie’s first U.S. exhibit in 2006. Sashie won a Scout Award at the tenth annual edition of Kaikai Kiki/Murakami’s GEISAI fair, and is represented by Mizuma Art Gallery in Tokyo. The gallery quickly sold out all available paintings by the artist during last year’s PULSE Miami Art Fair.
We interviewed Rolan Bolan to find out more about Light of Love Foundation and the upcoming event. Read on for more. Read the rest of this entry »
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009
Sacred Monsters at Tufts University, MA
Mr.
Just in from our friend Tomokazu Matsuyama, are these images from Tufts University Art Gallery’s current exhibition, Sacred Monsters: Everyday Animism in Contemporary Japanese Art and Anime. Matzu appears in the eight-artist exhibit along with Chiho Aoshima, Nobuhiro Ishihara, Kenjiro Kitade, Mahomi Kunikata, Mr., Oscar Oiwa, and TOKYO KAMEN. For more info, see our previous report.
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- Mr.
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- Kenjiro Kitade
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- Tomokazu Matsuyama
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- TOKYO KAMEN
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- Chiho Aoshima
Thursday, August 6th, 2009
Zevz Hit with $870,000 Fine
Video: SCMP
After being arrested and detained in Hong Kong last month for unlawfully applying one of his signature liquidated Chanel logos to the exterior of an Armani boutique, French artist Zevz (that’s “Zeus”), whose real name is Christophe Shwarz, has been fined a punitive $870,000 US (HK$6,746,000). While authorities have been quite harsh in their judgement, the artist’s Liquidated Logos exhibit is still on view and runs till September 30 at Art Statements Gallery. If you were ever thinking of purchasing one of his works, now’s probably a good time to support.
Info: Artnet
Thursday, August 6th, 2009
Echigo-Tsumari’s Rural Wonderland
The Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial opened last week across the rural landscape of Niigata prefecture in central Japan, approximately two hours from Tokyo. The fourth edition of the festival, which began ten years ago, brings together more than 350 works of art, scattered over 470+ miles of communities, rice fields, vacant houses and closed schools. While most of the participating artists are native to Japan, many other nations are represented, spanning Asia, Europe, North and South America, Africa and Australia. In addition to the hundreds of artworks, several special events and performances are scheduled throughout the run of the festival, and as the Guardian’s Danielle Demetriou notes, the world’s largest outdoor art festival has played an important role in revitalizing an otherwise isolated, depopulated region.
The festival runs through September 13. Visitor and travel information can be found here.
Read on for a selection of ETAT installations, including works by Antony Gormley, Cai Guo Qiang, Christian Boltanski＋Jean Kalma, and Stasys + Kolodziejski. Read the rest of this entry »
Monday, July 20th, 2009
Zevs HK Arrest Update
Image: Art Statements Gallery
Our friends over at Wooster Collective clued us in to a South China Morning Post video news report (below) concerning the arrest of French artist Zevs in Hong Kong last week, after he and two others decorated the exterior of an Armani store with a signature liquidated Chanel logo. Upon further investigation, we report that SCMP now confirms Zevs’ has pleaded guilty and is out on $HK500 bail. More critical is news that his passport is being held until the case is called to court next month, possibly causing the cancellation of a project planned for New York. Zevs’ Liquidated Logos exhibit at Hong Kong based Art Statements Gallery is still running smoothly and continues through Sept 30.
Video: SCMP
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
Magda Danysz Launches Shanghai Gallery, Exhibits JonOne
Parisian gallery Magda Danysz celebrates its 10 year anniversary with the launch of 18Gallery, a new exhibition space in Shanghai. To commemorate the occasion both galleries are hosting solo shows by JonOne, one of the earliest NY writers to import graffiti to Paris, when he relocate there at the end of the 1980s. Since then his art has gained widespread popularity and is arguably more well known in France and throughout Europe than back here in the States. His Shanghai show is already underway and the Paris exhibit launches this Saturday, July 4.
Read on for more images from the 18Gallery opening and a video interview with JonOne. Read the rest of this entry »
Friday, June 19th, 2009
Design Miami/Basel Expands to Seoul
Image: Design Miami/Basel
Design Miami/Basel has reached an agreement with officials in Seoul that will bring the fair to the South Korean city’s future design museum and convention centre as early as 2012. The news of this expansion comes shortly after the opening of the fair’s Basel exposition last week, which, only in its second year, has relocated to a larger venue. The two year old venture is a partnership between its founder, Miami real estate developer Craig Robins and Art Basel owner Messe Schweiz Group.
More at Artinfo and The Art Newspaper