Saki Fujikawa “Esquisses for the Unknown”
I visited Saki Fujikawa’s solo exhibition “Esquisses for the Unknown.” The venue is ondo STAY&EXHIBITION in Kiyosumi-Shirakawa. Every time I visit this gallery, I bump my head near the entrance stairs. Please be careful.
I have seen Saki Fujikawa in various group exhibitions before, but at this solo show she was releasing a huge number of works all at once — a great many pieces lined the walls.
Upon entering the venue, the eye is drawn to a large No. 80 canvas. Among all the small works, it stood out remarkably.
Apart from the No. 80 piece, everything was small format, sold at modest prices of 10,000 to 15,000 yen.
Many of the works use women as a motif, and each is narrative in nature.
ondo’s original frames are quite nice. They hold the paper sandwiched inside, but since the art materials come into direct contact with the frame, I wonder — doesn’t the work end up sticking to it?
What is it that draws you in to Saki Fujikawa’s works? What is impressive is the atmosphere — as if a video has been paused and you can step into that suspended moment in time.
A live painting event was also being held at the venue.
There were also several monochrome works, which I had not often seen before. Truly wonderful pieces.
Personally I prefer her oil paintings — with their denser sense of atmosphere — to the lighter drawings done in acrylics, but the range of her work is broad, and she is an artist whose future activities I look forward to.
