□Organizer : ART OSAKA Organizing Committee
□Supported by : DOJIMA HOTEL, graf, Kyoto University of Art and Design, The Asahi Shimbun, SUNTORY LIMITED.
□Event Curator : Contemporary Art Planning KATOH YOSHIO OFFICE

□Organizing Committee:
Takashi Yamaguchi(Gallery Yamaguchi Kunst-Bau)/ Kayoko Hosokawa(Gallery Hosokawa) /
Katsuya Ishida(MEM) /Satoshi Hayashi(Nomart Project Space) /
Yoshio Katoh(Contemporary Art Planning KATOH YOSHIO OFFICE)

□　Exhibition Outline

YOD Gallery is pleased to present the art show by Sakurako Hamaguchi in her first solo curated exhibition, " STORY" in Osaka.

Sakurako Hamaguchi always writes her profession as a “Painter” in her résumé. Hamaguchi really loves executing paintings. Hamaguchi was recognized for the first time in Geisai # 2 in 2002 where she participated with her own stand. Kaikai Kiki, the company of the renowned Japanese pop artist Takashi Murakami launched the Geisai art market to support cutting edge upcoming Japanese artists. Hamaguchi has won the prestigious Yoshitomo Nara Prize at Geisai # 2 and the Golden Prize at Geisai # 5 in 2004. Hamaguchi has also won the Mizue Grand Prize for her picture book in 2005. Mizue was first published in 1905 and has been one of the most important and influential Japanese art magazines in the 20th century.

Sakurako Hamaguchi has been seen as a symbol of the primitive painter from her pleasant paintings, emphasized by the use of intuitive colours and unique motives, which awake our experiences in our adolescent ages. We can see heart-warming and close contacts between many characters and various animals in Hamaguchi’s acrylic canvases. The fusion of passionate brush strokes with effusive primary colours and Hamaguchi’s view of unique world results in launching a relaxing atmosphere with the close affinity between her subjects and viewers. It is this primitive portrait and landscape of dynamic refrained from details that form the essence of Hamaguchi’s work.

This exhibition, “STORY”, shows Sakurako Hamaguchi’s paintings in a completely new style from her past exhibitions where she installed her works in the GEISAI art market style with her own stand. The gallery space is filled with only large canvases (over French canvas size 20) and scattered texts. It is composed with the visual additions to the paintings, which are arisen from an original “STORY” accumulated in each painting. In Hamaguchi’s strong prose literature works that have been acknowledged by the Mizue Prize, characters and mysterious animals play together in her unique world where there is no border between realities and fantasies. The relationship between these objects in Hamaguchi’s literatures seems to be not linked to her paintings, but they are complicatedly chained in fact. Symbol-like scattered small and large characters and animals in Hamaguchi’s texts on the wall are formed with abundant colours and powerfully layered lines into a harmony on canvases. The power of Hamaguchi’s direct approach to the canvas will be also manifested in her 'performance paintings' which she creates live at the exhibition, as an audience of such a happening we will get the chance to be part of her world. This exhibition, “STORY”, guide us to experience the internal relationship between Hamaguchi’s literatures and paintings in fragments or an aggregation of the entire space and make us feel her primitive dynamism in front of us.

□ Biography
Sakurako Hamaguchi was born in Kyoto, 1981 and graduated from Kyoto Saga University of Arts in 2001. She received the Yoshitomo Nara Prize at GEISAI#2 and the Golden Prize at GEISAI#5. She also received the Mizue Grand Prize for her picture book. She has energetically exhibited more than 5 times a year with her own stand in galleries, Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, and her paintings have been already acquired by Japanese collectors.

“Live Painting” by Sakurako Hamaguchi, on the large outside wall (162x260cm), starts from 17 June.

The process will be updated to show on the web site at any time.

□　Pictures
“Psycho-chan Diary”, 2008
Acrylic on canvas
90.9×72.7cm

“The Legend of Rabbit”, 2008
Acrylic on canvas
162.1×130.3cm

“1st Grade at The Mix Juice Junior High School”, 2008
Acrylic on canvas
90.9×72.7cm

YOD Gallery (Main Gallery for new works)

4-9-15, Nishitenma, Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan 530-0047
TEL +81 (0)6 6364 0717
OPEN 11-19, CLOSE Sunday and Monday

Kyobundo Gallery (for past works) 　Google Map>>>>>
5F Hankyu-17 Bangai, 1-1-4, Shibata, Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan 530-0012
TEL +81 (0)6 6373 0530
OPEN 12-19, CLOSE DATE 21 MAY

□ Talk Event
"Prospects of the 21st Century Contemporary Art in Mono-ha"
Start 15:00, 17 MAY 2008, YOD Gallery

Panelist:
NOBUO SEKINE (Artist)
YASUYUKI NAKAI (Chief Curator, the National Museum of Art, Osaka)
YOSHITARO SAKAUE (lecturer, Kyoto Seika University and
Kinki University, Former Director of Itami City Museum of Art)

YOD Gallery is pleased to present new works by Nobuo Sekine in his solo latest exhibition, “from Mono-ha to New Genesis Mono-ha” in Osaka. This exhibition will use the 2 gallery spaces in their entirety incorporating new paintings and a selection of sculptures and paintings from the last 20 years.

One of the most significant Asian artists of his generation, Sekine’s exploration of “Phase – Earth” results in works of painterly and thought provoking space. Following his critically acclaimed public art execution “Phase –Earth” in 1968, Sekine has continued his sculptures and public art in domestic and overseas as a director of Environment Art Studio. He first exhibited “Phase Painting” in 1987: three-dimensional canvases that are defined by flat surfaces with sequent membranes, raising a question about the two dimensional space. Sekine’s methodology seemed to be established, based in utter concentration in essential elements. Gesture and the Japanese materials play a key role in the making of his painting, during which Sekine acts in front of the unique canvas that are sequently layered with thin traditional Japanese papers. Each fragile gold leaf or black leaf is applied carefully after he violently scratches and cuts the soft canvas. Sekine expresses a new phase of painting that is related to both the three-dimensional space and the two-dimensional space. However, he suddenly stopped executing “Phase Painting” series several years later. After his silence for 15 years, he resumed executing “Phase Painting” series in 2005. These new works express his preoccupation with the relationship between the two dimensional and the three dimensional, and the more Japanese traditional medium, such as Washi (Japanese paper) with gold leaf painted with Iwa-enogu (rock paints). It can be said that his works are developed into a new stage as “the 21st century Mono-ha”.

□　Nobuo Sekine Biography
Born in Saitama, Japan, in 1942, Nobuo Sekine derives his time between Europe and Japan. Artist, Sculptor and Writer, he is one of the founder, such as Lee-Ufan and Kishio Sugao, of the avant-garde Mono-ha (Object School) group. Nobuo Sekine’s work, “Phase of Nothingness”, was chosen for the Venice Biennale in 1970 and a number of solo exhibitions followed afterwards in Europe. In 1978-79, “Phase of Nothingness” series were exhibited at 4 museums in Europe (Kunsthalle Dusseldorf / Germany, Louisiana Museum for Moderne Kunst / Denmark, Kroller-Muller Museum / Netherlands, Henie-Onstad Art Center / Norway). Major recent exhibitions of Nobuo Sekine’s painting and sculpture were held at Kawagoe City Art Museum in 2003 and Tokyo Gallery. Nobuo Sekine also participated in group exhibitions, “Century City: Art and Culture in the Modern Metropolis” in the Tate Modern in 2001, the Busan Biennale (Korea) in 2002, “A Secret of History of Clay” in the Tate Gallery, Liverpool, in 2004 and “Mono-ha, Reconsidered” in the National Museum of Art, Osaka in 2005.


□　Pictures

「Phase Painting: Magnetic Field」 2008 <Exhibition Work>
Wood, Japanese ｐpaper, ｇold leaf and rock paint
72.7x60.6cm

「Cone of Egg」 1992 <Exhibition Work>

Bronze
75x52x52cm

「Phase – Earth」 1968
Earth
270x220cm


「Phase Painting: Eternal Thing」 1988 <Exhibition Work>
wood, gold leaf Japanese paper
53.0x45.5cm


「Phase Painting: Yamato Painting」　2007 <Exhibition Work>
Wood, Japanese ｐaper, gold leaf and rock paints
72.7x90.9cm

1980  Born in Osaka, Japan
2005   Graduated from Osaka University of Arts Graduate School

[Exhibitions and activities]

2003  “Art Stage 74”, Osaka University of Arts
2004   “Art Jam 2004”, The Museum of Kyoto
2004   “Link Exhibition”, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art
2004   “Imaginary Museum”, Kyoto OPA
2005   “Art Jam 2005”, The Museum of Kyoto
　　　　Designed T-shirts for the apparel company “alcali”
2006   Group exhibition, Imura Art Gallery, Kyoto
　　　 Illustrated 10^th anniversary advertisement for the apparel
　　　 　company “VIS”
2007   Individual exhibition, “Natsuki Machida Exhibition”, Gallery Ami,
　　　 Osaka

The opening exhibition of YOD Gallery will hold the art exhibition by Issay Kitagawa, who has been active principally as a graphic designer and an art director.

Kitagawa was born in Kasai city, Hyogo, and joined the design & print company "GRAPH" after his graduation from Tsukuba University. His unique and individual approach to graphic design, concerns about materials and possibilities using printing techniques are fused into the company policy, "Design X Printing = GRAPH". The scope of his activities have extended from graphic design, both in Japan and also overseas, serving as judges in world design competitions to lecturing at universities.

Recently, his art works and art direction skills were shown at "LUCKY LUCK SHOW" which was held at21_21DESIGN SIGHT (design museum directed by Issay Miyake in Tokyo Midtown, Roppongi) in the summer 2007.He created the stage setting where great masters of traditional comedy performed, such as Katsura Kobeicho and Issey Ogata, and the entire space in this evolutional event. He designed with the concept of "laughter", based onthe traditions of Japan. His works of art and installations were also shown under the title, "Lucky Luck Show by Issay Kitagawa". Rather than Issay Kitagawa as graphic designer, we were able to see him as "Issay Kitagawa as artist". We thought that this would be suitable for the opening of YOD Gallery and requested him to do so in order to commemorate this special occasion.

In this exhibition, YOD Gallery will introduce new works of art that have been drawn out directly from Kitagawa's "Deeper Imagination" in the sleeping depths which exists in the basis of his creation activity as a designer. His works are mainly by mixed media that appeared by the process of the imagination stimulating the forming power in addition to his pursuit of the fields of the material, printing, and typography that had been cultivated whilst he is at GRAPH as head graphic designer. In design, it can be said that the purpose of design is to reach a shared concrete target in the relation between a designer and a client, such as circulation to the world and improvement in sales. However, the technique is reversed in his works of art so that only the deeper imagination can stimulate all of materials and shapes and involve them in putting flesh on his works.

The works that arose by such a process would make us fall into a curious sense that has not been shown via other materials and creative processes. We would like to search for a sympathy point with viewers starting with this special sense. We are aiming to find a new-age shape of art with all of you through Issay Kitagawa's works at YOD Gallery.


□ Issay Kitagawa Biography

Born in Kasai-city, Hyogo Prefecture in 1965.
Graduated from Tsukuba University.
Head Designer of GRAPH (present)
Member of Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI)
Member of Japan Graphic Designers Association (JAGDA)
Member of Tokyo Type Directors Club (Tokyo TDC)

Please see his many exhibitions and works at
http://www.moshi-moshi.jp



□ Reception Party
YOD Gallery, starts from 18:00, Tuesday, 15th January 2008.