Whitestone gallery is pleased to announce Impression O: Kohei KYOMORI Solo Exhibition from December 24 2022 to February 18 2023. Kohei KYOMORI has consistently introduced the essence of decorative arts into his pictorial expression and has been exploring the possibilities of visual language today. The exhibition will introduce the world of Kohei KYOMORI, who has continued to consider and practice visual expression from an unwaveringly original theme and perspective.
KYOMORI's creative activities have been based on a critical view of the art trends that have gradually strengthened since the 1960s, which emphasise concepts. And as an antithesis to this trend, KYOMORI has researched decorative elements in crafts and architecture in the East and West, sampled patterns and designs, and created a new visual language that is purely completed with vision. The idea was to develop a new visual language that could be completed purely visually, and to present the possibility of a new, non-Western art form.
Kohei 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. KYOMORI's design also won the 2019 Hermès International Scarf Design Competition Grand Prix. 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.
KYOMORI addresses the interrelationship between visual expression and emotion. This means delving into the mechanism of sensitivity, 'what kind of visual information moves us,' as he puts it. And he focuses on religious art in particular. Often, religious architecture, paintings, and sculptures are described by words such as 'divinity' and 'holiness,' but the artist sees them as examples of how these feelings are the result of a confrontation between visual information and sensibility, and attempts to create works of art that reflect this.
The 'O' in the exhibition title 'Impression O' is not only the title of his new 'O' series, but also his own double-meaning term, a convergence of the sounds of two English words, 'AWE' and 'OH,' which express a mixture of fear and respect. Using 'OH,' a word for expressing admiration, KYOMORI studies the birth of the unique human sensibility of 'godliness' and 'awe' that we feel when we encounter something transcendent, and the role and significance of ornamentation in this process, and examines the impact that the presence of ornamentation has on us. The influence of decoration on us is also discussed. This exhibition also includes his works of 'Flowing,' 'R.E.P.,' and 'Japan Blue' series.
In addition to the modern interpretation of the Kacho-Fugetsu concept, a sensual drip technique is used in the 'Flowing' series to express a visual story formed by using a non-Western but Asian timeline 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.' Time does not overshadow us, but rather comes and goes—an object that we can face and further challenge.
The 'R.E.P.' (abbreviation for repeat) series that has been reinterpreted from the origins of the seal, is a work of art based on a study that focuses on the relationship between decoration and human beings. According to KYOMORI, the seal is: 'the most effortless symbol used by human beings to express their possessions before the development of writing, and an act that inscribes the relationship between one's own to others and the world.' By connecting the role of the viewer, the work becomes collaborative. When the viewer participates with his or her own seal, its magical power is put to the test.
'Japan Blue' series is the result of shibori using indigo dye. The gold line represents kintsugi, which is a method of mending broken pottery. The philosophy of 'wabi-sabi,' which is ingrained in Japanese people, finds the beauty of profound emotions in imperfection rather than perfection. In the modern age, in which diversity is required, everybody is imperfect, and that in and of itself is beautiful.
Kohei KYOMORI regards Ukiyo-e as the foundation of Japanese design, and he also applies the technique of Ukiyo-e to his own works. This time he collaborates with Unsodo to create a special artwork. Unsodo was founded in Kyoto in 1891 as an art book publisher. Woodblock prints in Unsodo are made in the same way as Ukiyo-e printmaking techniques of the Edo period. It is now the only publisher in Japan to publish handrail woodblock books. The Whitestone Gallery also makes a video to document this meaningful collaboration between Kohei KYOMORI and Unsodo.
Press release courtesy Whitestone Gallery.
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