【KOTARO NUKAGA】 “Sweet, pop, fancy ice cream, the feeling of sweet, melting ice cream!” Ceramic artist Yuji Kawai reveals himself in Harajuku, his dream destination. Solo exhibition “Close-up
contemporary ceramics ~Even if I become an old man~” held
KOTARO NUKAGA Press release: November 12, 2024 “Sweet, pop, fancy ice cream, the feeling of sweet, melting ice cream!” Ceramic artist Yuji Kawai reveals himself in his dream destination, Harajuku. Solo exhibition “Close-up contemporary ceramics ~Even if I become an old man~” held Held at ZERO BASE Jingumae (Harajuku, Tokyo) from November 14th (Thursday) to December 1st (Sunday)! Curated by Yuji Akimoto, Professor Emeritus of Tokyo University of the Arts and Special Director of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/71871/53/71871-53-499bdc36417c2b0cf1f19031f605bef1-3900×2600.jpg “Close-up modern ceramic art ~Even if I become an old man~” Main visual -Artist statement- This exhibition has a dual composition in which the city, exhibition space, and exhibition space and works are nested. Do my ceramic works express my innermost self, and what kind of self is revealed in my works? This is a project that began as a personal quest to demonstrate this question by displaying works in my room, which is my most private space. However, as we dig deeper, we discover a variety of issues, including nostalgia for the lost Urahara culture, the problem of the children’s room uncle, the midlife crisis, criticism of public art that neatly fits into the city, and the problem of categorizing ceramic works. I realized that it contained a phenomenon. But most of all, no matter how vividly I reveal myself, the moment it comes out into the world, I am reminded once again of the uncertainty of this existence, which loses its reality, just like the city, people, and scenery seen from a train. It’s a truth that will make you realize. It’s similar to ceramic works that, the moment they come out of the kiln, feel like they have taken on a different personality and separate from me. We would like to introduce some excerpts from the text contributed to this exhibition by Yuji Akimoto (professor emeritus of Tokyo University of the Arts, special director of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, professor emeritus of National Tainan University of Arts, art critic), who was in charge of curating this exhibition. Masu. Eternally lost Yuji Kawai meets his dream destination, Harajuku (Yuji Akimoto) Kawai was born in 1984. I experienced my adolescence in the 90s and early 2000s. This era is commonly referred to as the “lost 30 years.” He lived in the midst of an era when Japan continued to wander. Kawai admired the Harajuku of that era. It seemed to me that there was a truth to Harajuku, which was bright, fancy, and full of dreams. A place that saves young people in a world full of lies, a sparkling sacred place, cute and bright Harajuku. It was Kawai’s dream place. This is the exhibition there. There’s no way Kawai won’t ride it. After much deliberation, the answer I came up with was to expose my true self. To project my entire life into the city of Harajuku and to display it along with my work. The aim was to expose Kawai’s chaotic lifestyle to the streets of Harajuku. It’s such a clumsy confession, but I wonder how Harajuku, which I admired as a teenager, will take it now. Will it be a dream encounter for the first time in more than ten years, or will it be a huge disappointment? Either way, a strange spot will appear in Harajuku for a limited time.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/71871/53/71871-53-491fbe6d4deec675f9162312b4adf2ad-650×622.png Exhibition work King’s Brunch (2022)
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/71871/53/71871-53-b4fe7da2db642e1bd454ee809179fc53-2298×1280.jpg Exhibition work Shinjuku 3-chome (2024) [Exhibition information] “Close-up modern ceramic art ~Even if I become an old man~” Date: November 14th (Thursday) – December 1st (Sunday) Opening hours: 10:00 – 20:00 Opening reception: November 14th (Thursday) 18:00 – 20:00 Location: ZeroBase Jingumae Address: 6-4-1 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Sponsored by: anonymous art project Curated by: Yuji Akimoto (Professor Emeritus of Tokyo University of the Arts, Special Director of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Professor Emeritus of National Tainan University of Arts, Art Critic)
Cooperation: KOTARO NUKAGA
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/71871/53/71871-53-8762bd9be287b2da594a77429a9c0594-1846×1296.png ZeroBase Jingumae exterior
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/71871/53/71871-53-93d12489279040e81ae65d882a1adc77-788×1104.png Kazuhito Kawai Born in Ibaraki Prefecture in 1984. Graduated from Chelsea College of Art (UAL) BA (Hons) Fine Art Department in 2007, and Ibaraki Prefectural Kasama Ceramic College Graduate School in 2018. Currently, it is being produced in Ibaraki Prefecture. After studying contemporary art in London, he encountered the medium of ceramics, which liberated his creativity and led to a breakthrough. Her ceramic works, which are characterized by their dynamic colors and shapes, exhibit a variety of expressions such as irregularity, ugliness, grotesqueness, and fragility, and reveal a layered inner self brought out by the material. Also, the piled up lumps of soil reflect the timeline of the dialogue between clay and myself ◼️Inquiries regarding press releases KOTARO NUKAGA PR: Mirai Matsunaga Email: matsunaga@kotaronukaga.com / info@kotaronukaga.com
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