ART: Akira Yamaguchi Exhibition 'Longing for Home - TOKIORE(I)MIX'
A Contemporary Artist in the Spotlight
Akira Yamaguchi Solo Exhibition at Maison Hermès Ginza
A solo exhibition by Akira Yamaguchi, one of the most talked-about painters in the contemporary art scene, will be held at the 8th-floor Forum of Maison Hermès from February 11 (Saturday) to May 13 (Sunday). Yamaguchi depicts the landscapes of Tokyo—past, present, and future—weaving in his unique brand of humor.
Text by MATSUDA Natsuki (OPENERS)
Playful Works Inspired by Tokyo
Akira Yamaguchi has established a distinctive style that blends the everyday with the fantastical, drawing on the traditions of Japanese art history and Yamato-e painting techniques while infusing them with his precise skill and unique imagination. His canvases teem with cities where the old coexists with the new, hinting at what lies ahead, and where humans, too, seem to live in a strange symbiosis. Employing motifs like bird's-eye views, his compositions are meticulously crafted with clever devices and playful touches in every detail, coloring Tokyo with humor and imagination.
(Left) © Nacása & Partners Inc. / Courtesy of Fondation d’entreprise Hermès (Center) © YAMAGUCHI Akira / Courtesy Mizuma Art Gallery / Lagrange Point / 2006 / sumi (Japanese ink), pencil, paper, veneer / photo : Keizo KIOKU (Right) © YAMAGUCHI Akira / Courtesy Mizuma Art Gallery / Narita International Airport: Various Curious Scenes of Airplanes (Original Painting for a Mural: Narita International Airport Terminal 1, South Wing, 4th Floor) / 2005 / pen, watercolor on paper / 96.5×76.5 cm / photo : Kei Miyajima
The exhibition "TOKIORE(I)MIX" features "TOKIO Sansui," a panoramic view inspired by the Rakuchu Rakugai Zu (Scenes in and around the Capital), along with series of utility poles and nostalgic, whimsical structures. "TOKIO Sansui" employs the spatial structure of Yamato-e, where clouds are placed on the same plane, to incorporate the peculiar charm of contemporary Tokyo's urban landscape. It draws us into an uncanny world that feels both nostalgic and new. When we capture these landscapes, where only the temporal dimension is playfully distorted, we share a sense of longing for home.
Why not embark on a journey through these wondrous spaces, experiencing Yamaguchi's works that seem to capture and manipulate time?
© Nacása & Partners Inc. / Courtesy of Fondation d’entreprise Hermès
Akira YAMAGUCHI
Born in Tokyo in 1969. Completed his Master's degree in the Painting Course at the Graduate School of Tokyo University of the Arts in 1996. In 2001, he received the Excellence Prize at the 4th Taro Okamoto Memorial Award for Contemporary Art. In recent years, his activities have expanded beyond art exhibitions to include illustrations for books and newspapers, as well as public art.
Akira Yamaguchi Exhibition "TOKIORE(I)MIX"
TOKIORE(I)MIX by AKIRA YAMAGUCHI
Dates | Saturday, February 11, 2012 – Sunday, May 13, 2012
Opening Hours | 11:00–20:00 (Mon–Sat) *Last admission 19:30
11:00–19:00 (Sun) *Last admission 18:30
Closed | Open daily
Admission | Free
Organized by | Fondation d’entreprise Hermès
Venue | Forum, 8F Maison Hermès
5-4-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Tel. 03-3569-3300