EXHIBITIONS
Group Exhibition
Dates: Nov 2 – Dec 14, 2024
Location: Taka Ishii Gallery Kyobashi
Opening reception: Saturday, Nov 2, 17:00 – 19:00
Taka Ishii Gallery is opening a new location in Kyobashi, at the center of Tokyo. To mark the opening of this new space, a group exhibition themed around portraits will be held from Saturday, November 2 to Saturday, December 14. This show will feature 15 works by 12 artists.
People now take images with their smartphones and upload them on social media, allowing them to see the faces of others at any time. Memorable moments with our family and friends can be accessed at any time via camera rolls or cloud services. Surveillance cameras capture offenders involved in an event, and their portraits from graduation albums are leaked and broadcast in the media. Before photographic technology, there were few ways to physically preserve how others looked. Pliny the Elder, the Roman naturalist, cites the myth that the origin of painting was the deed of a woman tracing the shadow of her lover before going to war, but such a time is difficult for us to imagine today.
The visual experience associated with art has changed significantly along with it. Some people may follow artists’ social media accounts, where you can get a glimpse of their personalities. Others may obtain information about exhibitions online, confirming in advance which artists’ works are on display. In today’s age of information transparency, there is also a method that dares to highlight “mysteries”. Not to mention the artist who leaves graffiti anonymously around the world, but there are also singers and idol groups that gain immense popularity without showing their faces. While there are those who are simply drawn to the work and the singer’s voice, there is a wide range of reactions to such activities, including obsessive pursuit to somehow uncover their true identities. How do we respond when we see a work in front of us? The shape of a shadow changes depending on the angle from which light strikes it, and so does the variety of interpretations of a piece of art.
【Participating artists】
Nobuyoshi Araki, Tomoo Gokita, Goro Kakei, Sanya Kantarovsky, Naoto Kawahara, Graham Little, Ittetsu Matsuoka, Daido Moriyama, Kyoko Murase, Ser Serpas, Sofu Teshigahara, Hiroka Yamashita
