Report: "ARTISTS’ FAIR KYOTO 2020 : BLOWBALL" - An Art Journey to Stimulate the Senses
Born in 2018 as a completely new style of art fair, planned, operated, and exhibited by artists, "ARTISTS’ FAIR KYOTO" has offered a stimulating experience of "buying art in an eccentric space." It showcases works by current artists active both domestically and internationally, as well as emerging artists they select, in renovated modern buildings designated as important cultural properties and former factory sites scattered throughout the city.
The main program for 2020, the third iteration, was canceled due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, leaving only the satellite event "ARTISTS’ FAIR KYOTO 2020: BLOWBALL" to proceed (with some scale reductions and cancellations), an unprecedented situation. Here, we report on the main program, which was set up but never seen by the public, and the satellite event "ARTISTS’ FAIR KYOTO 2020: BLOWBALL," which was held on a reduced scale.
*TOP IMAGE: Venue "Iori Machiya Stay Sujiyacho Machiya"
●ARTISTS’ FAIR KYOTO 2020 Main Program
(1) The Museum of Kyoto, Annex
The Museum of Kyoto Annex, a representative modern architectural masterpiece of the Meiji era designed by Japan's leading architect Kingo Tatsuno and his disciple Uheiji Nagano, is designated as an important cultural property. One of the popular highlights of this fair is the opportunity to view contemporary art in this atmospheric space, where scaffolding, reminiscent of a construction site, is erected up to the ceiling, creating a unique environment.
The venue gathered works from over 40 artists, including director Nobuhiro Tsubaki, advisory board members Ko Ando, Chiharu Shiota, Naoko Tamura, Tomona Matsukawa, Mon Koutaro Ooyama, Yoshitaka Yazu, and Yotta, as well as invited artist Alex Seton, and emerging artists recommended by the advisory board. The architectural unit dot architects from Osaka created a powerful space within eccentric structures built with scaffolding, displaying a variety of works including paintings, photographs, and sculptures.
Incidentally, even after the cancellation was decided, the secretariat received numerous inquiries about the artists and exhibited works. It is said that many works were sold through introductions from the director and advisory board members, "to support young artists in this situation." This demonstrates the significant attention this event garners.
(2) The Kyoto Shimbun Building, Basement 1F
The highlight of this year's "ARTISTS’ FAIR KYOTO 2020" was undoubtedly the exhibition on the first basement floor of The Kyoto Shimbun Building.
In the space at the back of the venue, a new short film by Taichi Kimura, a video director based in London, shot in Tokyo, was screened. Kimura stated, "I wanted to express the space between abstraction and narrative." The painterly visuals, effectively capturing light through the use of filters, possessed a strong presence as framed artworks.
Kai Maetani challenged a new style. While Maetani has primarily focused on self-portraits, for this exhibition, he presented new works that included photographs of the Sea of Japan landscape, projected onto his own body. These works explored the inherent challenges within photography, such as "seeing and being seen" and "the interchangeability of subject and object."
The venue also featured many large-scale works. Particularly striking were the pieces by Gaku Kurokawa, who creates original musical instruments and sculptures from various materials. His unique concept, such as a piece where one inserts their head into a stone to listen to sound, stood out.
Yuto Murayoshi, whose work is based on the motif of "combination," presented a series named "Agallman," derived from the Greek word for sculpture, "agalma." He offered a pop interpretation, from a Japanese perspective, of the act of creating male figures through sculpture.
Calligrapher Rintaro Hashiguchi exhibited works written on folding screens, alongside his extensive notebooks detailing his daily thoughts and ideas for his creations. Hashiguchi explained, "As various tools like smartphones emerge and the world changes, I want to re-examine the meaning of the analog act of 'writing.' I wanted people to see not just the finished works, but the entire process of my thinking and expression in daily life as an 'activity.'" This exhibition allowed visitors to engage with the artist's creative process, a unique aspect of the event.
Other notable works included those by Tomotoshi, who creates videos that introduce noise into everyday life, and Aoi Hirota, who explores new possibilities for signboards. Many new works were created specifically for this venue by artists such as Momoka Aiso, Kensuke Arazawa, Shoma Kimura, Yuma Yamashiro, and Ryo Shiraki, who presented a dual-name piece with advisory board member Kohei Nawa. The high quality of these pieces, many of which could not be publicly displayed, was truly regrettable.
●Satellite Event "ARTISTS’ FAIR KYOTO 2020: BLOWBALL"
Next, we would like to introduce the satellite event "BLOWBALL." In conjunction with "ARTISTS' FAIR KYOTO 2020," the satellite event "ARTISTS’ FAIR KYOTO 2020: BLOWBALL" expanded to its largest scale ever, with art exhibited in hotels, restaurants, traditional townhouses, and art spaces throughout Kyoto Prefecture.
*From left: Venue "GOOD NATURE STATION 4F Gallery," Venue "KYOTO ART HOSTEL kumagusuku"
■ "GOLD, WHITE, AND BLACK"
Dates: Saturday, February 29 - Sunday, March 1, 2020
Venue: AIR Kamo Nasu
At "AIR Kamo Nasu," a residence space that opened on the second floor of a traditional townhouse in Gojo-Omiya, Kyoto, Ryo Shinagawa held a solo exhibition. Shinagawa has consistently pursued the question, "What exactly is Japanese painting?" In his latest works, while building on his previous style, he experimented with expressions that leave brushstrokes visible.
Shinagawa explained, "I have been updating 'local' Japanese painting using 'simplification' and other local techniques. By incorporating Western techniques like 'brushstrokes,' which are considered privileged, I am attempting to update the local as 'contemporary local.'" Shinagawa, who exhibited in the first main program of ARTISTS' FAIR KYOTO in 2018, has gained a growing fan base each year, and his new works were highly anticipated before the exhibition, making it a popular event.
■ "Supermarket 'Alter' Market"
Dates: Saturday, February 22 - Sunday, March 8, 2020
Venue: BnA Alter Museum 1F + 2F
URL:https://bnaaltermuseum.com/
This exhibition, curated by three young directors—Jumpei Kuroda, Kentaro Watanabe, and Kazutaka Tsutsui—also garnered significant attention. It featured works by artists of the same generation (20s and 30s) active mainly in the Kansai region. Tsutsui commented, "Many people who come to see art exhibitions are unaware that the works can be purchased. By titling this exhibition 'Market,' we aimed to create a setup that would make it feel more accessible for first-time art buyers." The venue was the "BnA Alter Museum," a lodging-type museum that opened last year. The exhibition content was well-suited to the venue's atmosphere and its clientele of young art enthusiasts.
■ "Surface and Depth"
Dates: Friday, February 21 - Sunday, March 8, 2020
Venue: Gallery PARC
URL:http://galleryparc.com/
At "Gallery PARC," operated by the Danish pastry specialty shop "GRAND MARBLE," works by three artists who studied photography and film at Kyoto University of Art and Design were exhibited.
Manami Shimura presented an animation created with CG, based on research of a river near Yokohama.
Akane Shirai presented a documentary film that closely followed her high school teacher over two months.
Hikaru Okawara exhibited photographic works based on his own skin. Okawara noted, "After the exhibition, I realized that the camera positions and viewpoints in the three artists' works were all different. Shimura's CG work narrates from a god-like perspective, while Shirai's 'own gaze equals the camera's gaze.' My self-portrait works focus on the gaze directed at myself." The exhibition highlighted the diversity of expression through the media of photography and film across the three artists.
■ "Wunderkammer"
Dates: Saturday, February 15 - Sunday, March 22, 2020
Venue: GOOD NATURE STATION 4F Gallery
URL:https://goodnaturestation.com/
"GOOD NATURE STATION," a complex commercial facility that opened just last December, also served as a venue for the satellite event. The exhibition was themed "Wunderkammer (Cabinet of Curiosities)," spaces popular in Europe around the 16th century for collecting and displaying rare items from around the world. Works full of individual character, including paintings and sculptures, were exhibited by "punto," a shared studio for seven female artists. Furthermore, they collaborated with "Fukuyosan Shoten," a project that recycles waste materials from artists' studios as "by-products," and jewelry artist Shihomi Nakachi. Accessories made from "by-products" originating from "punto" were also exhibited and sold, receiving positive reception.
■ "From one stroke 2"
Dates: Saturday, February 29 - Sunday, March 1, 2020
Venue: Iori Machiya Stay Sujiyacho Machiya
URL:https://kyoto-machiya.com/machiya/sujiya.html
Within the approximately 140-year-old traditional townhouse space "Iori Machiya Stay Sujiyacho Machiya," a large-scale work by Mina Katsuki, depicting a blue "one stroke," exuded an extraordinary aura. For her first solo exhibition in Kyoto, she challenged herself with her largest work to date, measuring "2.5 meters." The venue also displayed smaller works that served as the inspiration for her "one stroke" concept before her debut as an artist, as well as drawings featuring the 233 colors that make up the blue of her work. The exhibition offered insight into her creative process, alongside a documentary film capturing her meditative one-stroke drawing.
■ "Unknown Forms"
Dates: Saturday, February 22 - Sunday, March 8, 2020
Venue: KYOTO ART HOSTEL kumagusuku
URL: URL:https://kumagusuku.info
At the art hotel "KYOTO ART HOSTEL kumagusuku," works by Mei Takahashi, a graduate of Yokohama College of Art and Design, were exhibited. Takahashi originally created works using the dry lacquer technique, but her interest gradually shifted towards a more sculptural direction rather than focusing on the material properties of lacquer. She began exploring materials other than lacquer, and this exhibition primarily featured new works made with terracotta and plaster. Yoshitaka Yazu, the owner of the space, spoke about Takahashi: "Her dedication to form is incredible. Instead of deciding on a form through drawings and then creating it, she pursues form through the tactile process of making. This results in abstract and unique forms."
■ "Allscape in a Hall"
Dates: Friday, February 28 - Sunday, March 1, 2020 *Dates changed.
Venue: Spring Valley Brewery Kyoto Western Building
URL:https://www.springvalleybrewery.jp/pub/kyoto/
The "Spring Valley Brewery Kyoto Western Building," a valuable Western-style building approximately 100 years old and usually closed to the public, served as the venue. Here, curator Yu Takagi collaborated with artist Jukan Tateishi, who creates works using artificial intelligence, and sound artist Chiron Komatsu to produce a piece. For the creation process, research was conducted on Greek mythology and Kameoka, the birthplace of barley malt, a key ingredient in beer.
A giant pillar reaching the ceiling was erected using soil from the barley fields of Kameoka, emitting sound from within. This was combined with a work edited using artificial intelligence from videos gathered under the hashtag #nightclub, and an original amethyst-colored alcoholic beverage developed with SVB Kyoto's brewers. This site-specific, indigenous installation layered various elements and narratives.
■ "fond de robe - Decoration Within -"
Dates: Friday, February 7 - Saturday, March 28, 2020 *Closed Sundays, Mondays, and holidays.
Venue: Wacoal Study Hall Kyoto Gallery
URL:https://www.wacoal.jp/studyhall/
At the gallery of Wacoal, an innerwear manufacturer, Marie Yoshiki exhibited works inspired by the lace of lingerie. Yoshiki has previously employed a technique of repeatedly layering silkscreen prints on acrylic plates to build up ink, transforming flat images into objects with a sense of materiality and depth. For this exhibition, she created new works inspired by 1920s undergarments, considered the prototype of modern women's underwear, and Wacoal's latest collection from 2020. The delicate patterns, transparency, and unique three-dimensionality of the lace harmonized exquisitely with Yoshiki's style, leading to a meaningful collaboration for both the artist and the company, offering a renewed appreciation for the beauty of women's lingerie.
Although the main program was canceled due to unforeseen circumstances, hotels, restaurants, traditional townhouses, and art spaces throughout Kyoto buzzed with activity, serving as meeting places for emerging artists and carrying on the spirit of the main program.
Scene from the venue at The Museum of Kyoto Annex, canceled due to the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Text: Ai Kijaku
Photography: Saki Maehata
ARTISTS’ FAIR KYOTO Executive Committee
https://artists-fair.kyoto/