Satoru Aoyama
I went to Satoru Aoyama’s solo exhibition “News From Nowhere,” held at Mizuma Art Gallery in Ichigaya. Satoru Aoyama is a textile artist, and this time the works blend embroidery sewn on an industrial sewing machine and drawing over vintage prints — a lineup with a very distinctive, idiosyncratic character.
Satoru Aoyama Exhibition “News From Nowhere”
2017/09/20 - 2017/10/21
…In this exhibition we present 30 new works that apply collage, drawing, and machine-sewn embroidery to vintage prints from the Victorian era of the 19th century. In these pieces, modern women who move fluidly across fashion and pop culture appear within the prints as if they had time-slipped back to the 19th century. For Aoyama, who studied textile art with its aspect as gender studies*, the portrait of a woman is one of the themes he has long nurtured.
The exhibition’s title, “News From Nowhere,” derives from a novel written in 1890 by the artist and poet William Morris. This novel, in which a 19th-century “I” time-slips to the 22nd century, may at first glance look like a fantastical work of speculative fiction brimming with pastoral ideals, yet it was imbued with the criticism that Morris — who was also active as a socialist — leveled at a modernization transforming into a capitalist society.
Aoyama says he has recently “come to feel that the trajectory heading toward the future we once envisioned may be veering off course.” “At the end of the distorted trajectory of a reality far removed from any ideal — the natural environment, society, politics, conflict — might it lead to a future that extols the medieval age as a utopia, just as Morris depicted in ‘News From Nowhere’? But is that not a dystopia only a hair’s breadth from utopia? And might the present day, which seems to be regressing rather than advancing toward the future, already be in the very midst of dystopia?” he asks.
At the root of these alluring portraits of pop icons lies Aoyama’s such awareness of the problems facing the present and the future beyond it.At the concurrently running “Yokohama Triennale 2017,” he is also showing “News From Nowhere,” which incorporates more political imagery, alongside a personal-history work that features paintings by his grandfather, who was a painter. We would be delighted if you would view that exhibition — which stands in a complementary relationship with this one — together as well.
* An academic field concerning gender in society. Because it developed with the aim of improving the status of women, it is sometimes also called women’s studies.
The method of crossing over women active in the present day with prints of an older era, coupled with its warning about contemporary social phenomena, struck me as an interesting perspective and mode of expression.
Solo Exhibition “News From Nowhere”
Inside the gallery the works were displayed in order of creation (Work list PDF), with the first piece in the series displayed starting near the entrance.
He apparently plans to continue this series going forward. I’m curious — who will he take as his motif next?
Impressions
When vivid embroidery, gold leaf, and Swarovski crystals are layered over the dark tones of the vintage prints, Aoyama’s intent to interweave old and new comes through clearly.
The modern women appearing as motifs this time and the old-time women existing in the prints may, at their core, share the same unchanging universality as human beings. As textile art, he skillfully reproduces his own intent — really well done, I thought.
On the back of the framing, a photograph of the original print is apparently left in place. As a treat for the buyer, it’s a fun little device.
The work I wanted was already sold, out of my reach. What a shame!
Price Range
As for the price range you’re wondering about, the central price is 400,000 yen, with a range of roughly 350,000 to 600,000 yen.
I visited in the latter half of the run, and the vividly colored works that caught my eye were sold out across the board. He really is a popular artist!
