KOSAKU KANECHIKA is pleased to present works by several artists – Yutaka Aoki, Junko Oki, Takuro Kuwata, Ataru Sato, Noritaka Tatehana, fumiko imano, Dan McCarthy – at art stage OSAKA 2022 from Jun 3 to Jun 5, 2022.

Yutaka Aoki uses acrylic paint to create abstract works with substantial impasto to study light and its organic, three-dimensional qualities. Aoki observes light as a multi-faceted element that grants information on the world and is also an indicator of the passage of time. His paintings oscillate between two- and three dimensionality, and respond not only to materials and production processes, but also to specific elements in their environment, including the relationship with the audienceʼs gaze, the passage of time, and the conditions of the exhibition space. Light imbues his work with an intrinsic richness, providing a visual experience that awakens the natural human senses desensitized by our increasingly digital lives.

Junko Oki engraves stories of life onto textiles, with each stitch placed meticulously by hand. Without the guide of an underdrawing, she creates unique motifs and patterns by freehand stitching and by rejecting the structured tradition of embroidery. Although her works display seemingly rudimentary techniques, the artist’s instinctive approach awakens a visceral reaction in viewers. Through her unique embroidery and careful attention, Junko Oki breathes new life into aged textiles, frames, and other objects. These objects, with years of stories already embedded into them, are revived by Oki’s hand through a series of attentive stitches. They include everything that came into being, and chronologies that once existed but are now gone. At the core of Oki’s creative process is a discovery of new horizons through layered impressions of time.

Takuro Kuwataʼs unique and unparalleled works expand the boundaries of ceramic art. His visual language, a contemporary take on traditional Japanese ceramic techniques such as kairagi and ishihaze, has garnered international acclaim. Kuwata’s studio is situated at the heart of Japanese ceramic artistry in the Mino region of Gifu Prefecture, which retains techniques dating back to feudal Japan. Inheriting the traditional tea-ceremony aesthetic of wabi-sabi, his creations celebrate imperfect beauty and natural forms in the preservation of a rustic, unrefined elegance. Through dialogue with environment, history, nature, and time, Kuwata fuses together tradition and modernity, bringing into existence provocative works of art.

Ataru Sato attempts to understand himself, humanity, and the world around him through the act of drawing or painting. Expressing themes such as obsession, fear, and romance through fine – perhaps excessively fine – pencil lines and distinctive brushwork, Sato emphasizes that his works are created for himself. He sees art as being created by people who are alive to express their lived experiences and has no aspiration to create art for art’s sake, art that is novel, or art that seeks to be meaningful. Sato’s images continually propagate, driven by his need to comprehend the indiscernible aspects of life.Born from a core of personal questions, his work is characterized by a powerful energy that penetrates deeply, leaving a lasting impression on its viewers.

Noritaka Tatehana presents a never-before-seen perspective and worldview by combining elements of traditional Japanese culture with values of the contemporary world. His carefully honed artistry is elegantly expressed throughout his various mediums. Nurturing the sensitivities of a rich history, mythology, and innovation, Tatehana’s work brims with his potential and hopes for the future. The artist is renowned for his trademark works titled “Heel-less Shoes,” which are inspired by the elevated wooden clogs worn by traditional Japanese courtesans. These works have attracted global recognition since being worn by celebrities including Lady Gaga. To date, Tatehana’s work has been collected by institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

fumiko imano is highly acclaimed for her collaborations in fashion, including handling photography for LOEWE’s publications for eight seasons since 2018 and designing VANS shoes using her own artwork in 2022. Best known are her series of self-portraits taken with a 35mm camera, with the images cut and pasted to create a ‘twins’ motif. Encapsulating an innocently nostalgic and humorous charm that is reminiscent of photographs that might have been taken during a family trip, imano’s self-portraits elicit an instinctive smile from their viewers. In sharp contrast, the distinct lines which have been cut and joined together by scissors evidently convey the reality of a fictitious nature. Simply created by hand in the current digital age, imano’s photomontages invite a playful yet fresh insight into one’s identity, and an unconventional visual language to convey new stories.

Dan McCarthy has exhibited his work globally throughout a career that has spanned over three decades. In addition to his two-dimensional works, such as his paintings and drawings, McCarthy produces his iconic “Facepot” series, which features facial motifs on ceramic vessels, with vivid colors, tremendous expressiveness, a familiar feel to them, a sense of primitiveness, and an immediacy that evokes the hand of the artist. In McCarthy’s work, these elements merge together to create an immediate experience that is not only visual but has a physical, and even emotional, effect on the viewer. The fact that this is also part of the artist’s own intention is revealed by a statement McCarthy made regarding his duo exhibition with Takuro Kuwata in 2022, in which he said “The artwork is finished when it becomes whole and complete, the vessel becomes a shared experience, containing something for someone.”

This presentation for art stage OSAKA 2022 will consist of approximately 20 works.