KOHEI KYOMORI: We can always talk here
HK H Queen’s 7-8/F: October 8 - November 6, 2021
Ginza New Gallery: October 8 - October 30, 2021
*The exhibition will be extended until November 6 at HK H Queen's.
Whitestone Gallery is delighted to present “We can always talk here”, a solo exhibition by Japanese artist Kohei Kyomori.
The exhibition features predominately the "FLOWING" (2021) series, based on the Japanese concept called ‘Kacho-Fugetsu’ (花鳥風月) ― the artistic pursuit that involves the beauties of nature.
The foundation of Kohei Kyomori's artistic pursuit is his relentless exploration and reinterpretation of the decorative arts from all over the world. Hitherto, he has continued to interpret and redefine the history of decorative arts and express the stories in graphic forms. In his first solo show with Whitestone, Kyomori is presenting not only works and installations from his recent series, but also participatory works as a new approach. All works are an attempt to introduce new contexts into contemporary art.
Kohei Kyomori describes his attraction to the decorative arts as: “the intensity of its visual narrative power and high density in the enormous amount of time poured into it by human hands." The exhibition is titled, "We can always talk here" and it suggests the potential as a visual language and transcendental aspect inherent to each decoration. Within it comes the prospect of overcoming cultural, linguistic, generational, and racial differences endowing the expectation of an equal and fair connection to viewing.
The "aspiration towards traversing and transcendence" appears in Kyomori's creations in different forms. For example, the "FLOWING" (2021) series in the exhibition is a modern interpretation on the traditional ‘Kacho-Fugetsu’ concept that celebrates the beauty of nature expressed in a dripping, sensual manner. At the same time, this creates a non-Western, Asian timeline formed by the visual narrative in the artist's words: "Intercepting the best moments in the waves of time that flows not from the past to the future, but from the future to the past and fixing it in the present." There, time does not overshadow us, but rather comes and goes - an object that we can face and further challenge.
Kyomori’s artistic contemplation is not restricted to a specific context. For example, in the "FLOWING" (2021) series, Kyomori proposes a pluralistic view of the world that affirms the existence of diversity based on Japanese animism. This is illustrated through the references to Noh masks that resemble divine spirits and suggest the struggles between the digital shift and old conventions endowed in the objects of our history. We hope you’ll take this opportunity to experience Kyomori’s take on drawing out the potential that art will pertain in the future for his first solo exhibition at Whitestone Gallery.
suggest the opportunity of exploring alternative expressions between the struggles of our digital shift and societal customs.
Kyomori's works offer a unique take on the contemporary decorative culture and reinterpretation on human activity in the current digital age.
We hope you’ll take this opportunity to experience Kyomori’s take on building a modern visual language that transcribes a universal silk road for his first solo exhibition at Whitestone Gallery.
■Collaboration print "R.E.P. Obelisk Takeru"
R.E.P. Obelisk Takeru is the artist's first attempt in creating participatory art. By collaborating with the audience, the R.E.P series will take on a new fervour.
Period: October 8, 2021 - October 16, 2021
Participation fee: Free
Venue: Whitestone Ginza New Gallery
Price: 110,000 (tax included) * Limited 100 print copies
*Event is by appointment only. Please apply below.
■R.E.P. Kyomori Original Tote Bag Campaign
R.E.P. Kyomori will be holding a tote bag campaign to celebrate the artist's first participatory
Period: October, 8, 2021 - October, 16, 2021
Location: Whitestone Ginza New Gallery, HONG KONG H Queen’s
Contents: R.E.P. Kyomori Original Totebag * limited number of bags available
Conditions for entry: Follow the official Whitestone Gallery Instagram account (@whitestonegallery.official) and post a photo of a tote bag with your "seal" stamp on it with hashtag: #REPKyomori
Details of the campaign will be posted on the official Instagram account soon.
HK H Queen’s 7-8/F
7-8/F, H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2523 8001
Opening Hours: 11:00 - 19:00
Closed: Sunday, Monday
Ginza New Gallery
6-4-16 Ginza, Chuo-ku Tokyo, 104-0061, Japan
Tel: +81 (0)3 3574 6161
Fax: +81 (0)3 3574 9430
Opening Hours: 11:00 - 19:00
Closed: Sunday, Monday
ARTIST
Kyohei Kyomori aims to create a unique visual language by reinterpreting the ornamentation found in all forms of art from the East to the West through a contemporary perspective applied in his graphic works. Having thoroughly studied the role and nature of decoration in ceramics, architecture, clothing, and seals, Kyomori has transformed his work through a production technique rooted in the idea of handicraft. His works are the result of continuous reflection on the idea, aesthetics and history of decoration. At a time when people are losing the human aspect of fundamentally using their own hands of modeling and expressing an object, Kyomori offers an opportunity to re-investigate human activity in our digital shift.