On the Eve of a Breakthrough — The Next-Generation Artists —
I visited the special exhibition “On the Eve of a Breakthrough — The Next-Generation Artists —,” being held at Bunkamura Gallery.
“On the Eve of a Breakthrough — The Next-Generation Artists —” is a five-minute TV program broadcast on BS Fuji every Tuesday from 21:55. Each week it introduces one artist who will carry the next generation, and the number featured so far has reached about 100.
From among the young artists introduced on the program to date, some 60-plus who are drawing attention both at home and abroad are shown across two terms, first and second. My article on the first term is below.
https://art-on.jp/break-zenya-part1/
Ryo Kawada of the Tokyo University of the Arts also showed work that was very much his own.
https://art-on.jp/ryo-kawada-figment
Saki Fujikawa’s works look illustration-like but seem to have painterly tricks built into them, and they left quite a strong impression.
The most impressive work of the day was Kihara’s. You can feel the power of using her fingers in place of a brush. The cats are cool and stylish, too.
https://art-on.jp/chiharukihara-2017/
Summary
This was a project that brought together artists on the verge of breaking out, and with exhibitions like this it’s a joy to make new discoveries. A few of the artists gave me an “oh!” moment, but I wasn’t able to find any standout artist who truly caught my attention, so I was left feeling a little unsatisfied. Even so, my honest impression is that this second term was perhaps better than the first.
Since these are artists on the eve of a breakthrough, I hope they break out and surprise us!
