ART | Monica Sosnowska's Exhibition 'The Gates' at Ginza Maison Hermès Forum

ART | Poland's Contemporary Artist's First Solo Exhibition in Japan

Monika Sosnowska's 'Gate' Exhibition Now Open at Ginza Maison Hermès Forum

The first solo exhibition in Japan by Warsaw-based artist Monika Sosnowska, titled 'Gate,' is currently being held at Ginza Maison Hermès Forum. Until March 31 (Tuesday).

Text by YANAKA Tomomi

Bent, Twisted, Distorted Gates Present Humanity's Innate Resilience

Born in Poland in 1972, Monika Sosnowska has been deeply influenced by the avant-garde art that flourished in Warsaw during the 1960s. Simultaneously, Sosnowska witnessed firsthand the everyday destruction of architecture and public facilities that symbolized power under socialism, a regime that lasted until 1989. Her sculptures and installations, developed on a grand scale, are often inspired by actual architecture.

She has extracted fragments—walls, staircases, facades, windows—that carry the 'memory' of former 'utopias' as they undergo de-functionalization and transition into new architecture through processes of decay and abandonment. These fragments are then translated into the unique language of sculpture.

For this exhibition, her first solo show in Japan, she presents new works inspired by residential gates. Gates that separate homes from the street are displayed as neutral objects, belonging neither to the individual nor the city. In the venue, primarily steel is used, and though created through industrial processes, these colorful 'gates,' bent, twisted, and distorted by her hand, stand devoid of function, compellingly approaching our consciousness.

The anxiety and unease we feel in contemporary life, a sense that the world around us is collapsing. Yet, Sosnowska presents humanity's innate resilience as if by 'magic.'—Carrying within it such a powerful message.

'Gate' Monika Sosnowska Exhibition
Dates | January 20 (Tuesday) – March 31 (Tuesday)
Hours | 11:00–20:00 *Sundays until 19:00
Admission | Free
Venue | Ginza Maison Hermès Forum
5-4-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 8th Floor
Tel. 03-3569-3300
© Nacása & Partners Inc. / Courtesy of Foundation d'entreprise Hermès