ROPPONGI ART NIGHT GROUP EXHIBITION
September 9 – September 24, 2022
GALLERY HOURS :11:00 – 19:00
Closed: 9/11,9/12,9/23
On September 9, 2022, Kaikai Kiki Gallery will open a group exhibition featuring both our represented artists and guest artists to celebrate “Roppongi Art Night 2022.”
“Roppongi Art Night 2022” is finally happening after three postponements. It was first postponed immediately after the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, followed by two further delays caused by the state of emergency declarations by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
At “Roppongi Art Night 2022,” balloons created as collaborations between “Doraemon” and 13 artists, curated by Takashi Murakami, will be displayed. The appearance of these Doraemon balloons that reflect the worldview of each artist is the main program of this event.
Kaikai Kiki Gallery will showcase the maquettes on which these balloons are based. Although small in size, the original maquettes, which were painted and designed by the artists, have a kind of powerful presence different from the balloons. Furthermore, each artist’s artworks will be exhibited alongside their designated balloon maquette. The exhibition lets you fully enjoy the worldviews of the artists participating in “Roppongi Art Night 2022.”
Participating artists in this exhibition are as follows.
Mr./ Aya Takano / Chiho Aoshima / MADSAKI / TENGAone / ob / Emi Kuraya / Otani Workshop / Shin Murata
Kasing Lung/ T9G/ Shoko Nakazawa/ Yuta Hosokawa (READYMADE, ©SAINT M××××××) / Takashi Murakami
We sincerely look forward to seeing you at the gallery.
Mr.
1969 Born in Cupa
Mr. spent over 20 years as Takashi Murakami’s protégé. He depicts original Japanese scenery and young girls in the style of anime and video game characters. In 2019, he collaborated with fashion brand Mira Mikati. His energetic activities are not limited to Japan; he has held solo exhibitions and participated in art fairs internationally.
Solo Shows
2021 「Quotidianist」HOW ART MUSEUM(Shanghai)
2019 「A Call To Action」 Musée Guimet(Paris)
「Mr.’s Melancholy Walk Around the Town」Perrotin(Paris)
Aya Takano
1976 Born in Saitama
Aya Takano creates a peculiar, imaginary realm that draws inspirations from the worldviews depicted in Japanese manga as well as novels and mythologies from around the world. Having held numerous solo and group exhibitions across the globe, she has received high accolades as a contemporary artist. She is the author of Tokyo Space Diary COSMIC JUICE and her art publications include May All Things Dissolve in the Ocean of Bliss.
Solo Shows
2022 「thank you world, you now look a bit more like a wonderland」Perrotin(Shanghai)
2021 「beginning, liminal、ego」Perrotin(Hong Kong)
2020 「Let’s make the universe a better place」Perrotin(Seoul)
Chiho Aoshima
1974 Born in Tokyo
Chiho Aoshima made her debut with a series of chromogenic prints created using Adobe Illustrator, but she has since gone on to produce digital animation, sculpture, and eventually hand-painted works. The imagery in her paintings deals largely with Japanese yōkai specters and graveyard spirits, in essence creating a dialogue with the spiritual world in order to explore the extremely personal landscape of her subconscious. Perhaps for this reason, she has lived next to a cemetery for over 10 years. From catastrophic scenes of human dismemberment to images of nature’s raging disasters, the violent clashes of colors in her work might seem like a product of a brutal mind, but they are in fact the channeling of her primitive response to the terrors of this world.
Solo Shows
2020 「Our Tears Shall Fly Off Into Outer Space」Perrotin(Hong Kong)
2016 「REBIRTH OF THE WORLD」Kaikai Kiki Gallery(Tokyo)
2015 「REBIRTH OF THE WORLD」Seattle Art Museum(Seattle)
MADSAKI
1974 Born in Osaka
MADSAKI creates series of works based on provocative and satirical phrases and historical masterpieces. In recent years, he has also developed an intimate series of paintings reminiscent of a first-person narrative. His large-scale, spray-painted works depict the complexities of an identity forged between Japan and America.
Solo Shows
2021 「HELLO DARKNESS, MY OLD FRIEND (I‘VE COME TO TALK WITH YOU AGAIN)」Perrotin(NY)
2020 「1984」Kaikai Kiki Gallery(Tokyo)
TENGAone
Born in 1977
TENGAone is a street artist based in Tokyo. His artist name derives from the concept of “Ga ga Tenshoku (TenGa),” which translates as “art is my calling.” TENGAone grew up near a military base, where his first-hand experience of graffiti culture had a profound influence on him, and at the age of 14 he began creating his own graffiti using spray paint. After working for several years as an apparels graphic designer and at a web design firm, he began his official career as an artist in 2007. His activities encompass a wide range of genres, including urban graffiti, large murals on commercial and public facilities, sculpture, and graphic design. His works can also be seen in galleries and art fairs.
Solo Shows
2022「More than Meets The Eye」Kaikai Kiki Gallery(Tokyo)
2018「-BLIND SPOT-」Kaikai Kiki Gallery(Tokyo)
ob
Born in 1992
As a university student in Kyoto, ob organized and curated a number of local exhibitions by reaching out to other artists of her generation through the illustration communication service pixiv, stepping into the limelight. She is part of a new generation of artists who grew up in an environment where video games and social media were always present. Using the recurring motif of wide-eyed young girls, she depicts a delicate, fantastical world. In 2013, she collaborated with Shu Uemura and, in 2020, her artwork was featured on the set of the original Netflix drama FOLLOWERS directed by Mika Ninagawa. Her work has recently been featured in numerous art fairs internationally.
Solo Shows
2021「Your, My, Story」Perrotin(NY)
2020 「Spiral and Spring」Kaikai Kiki Gallery(Tokyo)
Emi Kuraya
1995 Born in Kanagawa
For Emi Kuraya, a graduate of Tama Art University’s Department of Painting, the act of painting young girls is similar to the act of journaling, a way to document the things she feels and sees everyday. The various people and images she has seen are assemble together and manifest in each girl she depicts. The girls she paints take on the role of connecting the viewers with the paintings.
Solo Shows
2022「Long Vacation」Perrotin(Shanghai)
2021 「Window and Scales」Perrotin(Seoul)
2019 「In Search of a Lull」Kaikai Kiki Gallery(Tokyo)
Otani Workshop
1980 Born in ShigaIn 2005, the artist began using the trade name Otani Workshop. Based in Shigaraki, Shiga Prefecture, he creates vessels and objects of clay, wood, metal, and various other materials. Otani’s unglazed works showcase the texture of the coarse-grained clay, which, combined with their cute appearance, lends them a distinct aura as sculptures.
Solo Shows
2021「Like a Talisman」Perrotin(Shanghai)
2020 「Be if you can, even if you don’t have to be, let it be」Perrotin(NY)
2019「Contes d’Awaji」Perrotin(Paris)
Shin Murata
1970 Born in Kyoto
Shin Murata graduated from Kyoto Seika University’s Ceramics Department in 1993, completing his graduate studies there the following year. He established his independent studio following his apprenticeship under ceramicist Yoshitaka Araki. After building his own kiln in Kita-ku, Kyoto, in 2003, he went on to hold over ten exhibitions a year all across Japan. Despite such popularity, Murata stopped showing new works in 2016 in order to delve deeper into his craft. In pursuit of the ultimate harmony between ceramics and food, he founded a platform along with his wife Fusako and Takashi Murakami to exhibit and sell ceramics, calligraphy, and art. The store, called Tonari no Murata, opened in 2020 after a three-year preparation period. Kaikai Kiki continues to support its operations.
Solo Shows
2020 「From Muan to Kumogahata」Tonari no Murata(Kyoto)
2013 「With Thoughts on Goryeo: A Journey from Muan」Kaikai Kiki Gallery(Tokyo)
Kasing Lung
1972 Born in Hong Kong
Moved to the Netherlands in his youth and now based in Belgium, Kasing Lung is a children’s book illustrator. He began his collaboration with How2Work in 2011 and published the picture book My Little Planet in Taiwan. In 2014, he collaborated with writer Brigitte Minne and published Lizzy Wil Dansen in Belgium, which went on to be translated in many languages around the world. He is also prolific in creating vinyl figures, and his enormously popular character Labubu has been released in over 300 variations starting with The Monsters series to the present day. Since 2016, he has been focusing on his painting and drawing works.
Solo Shows
2022 「-+」Kaikai Kiki Gallery(Tokyo)
2018 「THIS IS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE」Hidari Zingaro(Tokyo)
Yuta Hosokawa
1982 Born in Osaka
In 2013, Yuta Hosokawa launched the upcycling brand READYMADE and released a series of bags. The launch of the bags at a select shop Maxfield in Los Angeles gave him the opportunity to build his reputation in the U.S. first and later in Japan. In the fall of 2020, he launched © SAINT Mxxxxxx with Cali Thornhill DeWitt, who is based in Los Angeles and is active as a multi-faceted visual artist. Immediately upon its debut, it became a popular brand that regularly sells out. In the spring of 2021, READYMADE released a chair made with recycled PET bottle caps, expanding their product range beyond apparel.
Solo Shows
2021 「-YES-」Kaikai Kiki Gallery(Tokyo)
T9G
T9G is a Tokyo-based sculpture artist who makes use of his expert training in toy figure modeling to create a variety of works. Using doll eyes, his sculptures are physical realizations of his peculiar worldview. His activities include solo and group exhibitions and participations in art toy fairs in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, USA, Thailand, South Korea, and Shanghai. He has received high acclaim internationally for his numerous art toys featuring original characters.
Exhibitions
2021 「UNSETTLE」The Little Hut Gallery(Taipei)
2018 「ARTIFACT」DOTDOTDOT GALLERY(Hong Kong)
Shoko Nakazawa
1972 Born in Tokyo
Shoko Nakazawa has been deeply influenced by insects and living organisms in general, as well as monsters since her youth. After years working as a graphic designer and illustrator, she has more recently shifted to painting, and in addition has been designing and modeling soft vinyl kaijū figures since 2014. She has exhibited her cute monster-themed works primarily in Japan and throughout Asia, and has also held solo exhibitions and participated in events in Europe and America. Her collaborations with apparel brands BEAMS and MILKBOY as well as her development of limited release merchandise have earned her much popularity. Her most notable works include Salamander Monster Byron, Seedlas, and her collaboration with modeler T9G on Rangeron.
Exhibitions
2022 「TBC」Hidari Zingaro(Tokyo)
2019「CAMBRIAN」Dot Dot Dot Gallery (Hong Kong)
2019「BEASTS IN THE LOWEREAST」MYPLASTICHEART (NY)
Takashi Murakami
Born in Tokyo in 1962
The originator and proponent of Superflat theory, which reconstructs Japanese traditional paintings and the origin of Japanese contemporary art through visual premises of anime and manga. Murakami has created numerous characters including Miss Ko2 and Mr. DOB that reflect the otaku culture and presents them in the forms of intentionally kitsch sculptures and acutely two-dimensional paintings antithetical to the Western perspective techniques. Murakami’s cultural theory based on subcultures not only deconstructs the highbrow/lowbrow hierarchy but critically illustrates the post-World War II Japanese psychology, establishing a discourse unique to Japan in the increasingly globalizing art scene. The artist continues to attract a wide-ranging audience beyond contemporary art through his multifaceted activities including his collaboration with Louis Vuitton, Kanye West and Drake, among others, as well as his focuses on street culture and contemporary ceramics. The final installment of his Superflat trilogy of curated exhibitions, Little Boy: The Arts of Japan’s Exploding Subculture (New York, 2005), was awarded The Best Thematic Museum Show in New York by AICA that year. His first retrospective, ©MURAKAMI (2007 – 2009) toured four cities in North America and Europe, starting with the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. He has since been holding major solo exhibitions around the world, including at the Palace of Versailles (2010), Al Riwaq Exhibition Hall (Doha, 2012), the Mori Art Museum (Tokyo, 2015), the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art (Moscow, 2017), and Tai Kwun Contemporary (Hong Kong, 2019). In recent years, Murakami has taken on NFTs, releasing his “Murakami.Flowers” as well as “CLONE X,” a collaborative project with RTFKT. He received a Special Achievement award at the Webby Awards in 2022. He has recently held his solo exhibition, An Arrow through History, at Gagosian in New York, with the two worlds of digital and the real as its theme.
As precautionary measures to help contain the further spread of COVID-19, visitors are asked to wear masks and sanitize their hands before entering the gallery.
(Hand sanitizer is available at the entrance. Visitors without masks will be refused entry.)
Please refrain from visiting the gallery if you have any symptoms such as fever or cough.
Our staff will also adopt frequent hand sanitation and wear masks. The gallery will be routinely ventilated and high-touch areas will be regularly disinfected.
*Please check our website or Instagram for the latest information regarding opening hours, as the gallery schedule is subject to abrupt change due to unpredictable circumstances.
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.