2019 Kaikai Kiki Summer Show
We visited the group exhibition “2019 Kaikai Kiki Summer Show,” featuring artists represented by Kaikai Kiki Gallery. The venue was, of course, Kaikai Kiki Gallery.
We visited on the opening day for the opening party. The atmosphere was lively, with many collectors and artists gathered together.
Chiho Aoshima
At her debut, Aoshima was primarily known for chromogenic printout works made using Adobe Illustrator. She later moved through digital animation and sculpture before shifting to handmade works. Recent output has centered on ceramics.
Yuji Ueda
Born in Shiga Prefecture in 1975. He grew up in a tea-farming family in Shigaraki, a region famed for its pottery, and currently lives and works in Kamiasamiya, Shigaraki, Shiga Prefecture. Through repeated firing experiments, he has developed original techniques such as using feldspar as raw chunks or coating clay over the surface and firing in an anagama kiln. He incorporates cracks, fissures, and even breakage – normally considered failures in ceramics – into his works as beauty created by the earth itself.
Otani Workshop
Born in Shiga Prefecture in 1980.
Since 2005, he has been active under the studio name “Otani Workshop,” based in Shigaraki, Shiga Prefecture, producing vessels and objects using various materials including ceramics, wood, and iron. His works, fired while preserving the character of coarse clay, radiate a distinctive sculptural presence together with their outwardly endearing appearance.
In 2015 and 2016, he participated in ceramic group exhibitions curated by Takashi Murakami at Blum&Poe in Los Angeles and New York. In his 2016 solo exhibition at Kaikai Kiki Gallery, “When I Was 17, I Heard the Story of Giacometti from My Art Teacher, Longed to Be a Sculptor, and Now I Make Sculpture,” he presented works that questioned the relationship between ceramics and sculpture.
ob
Born in 1992. In 2010, there was a phenomenon in which Japan’s SNS-generation artists burst onto the scene all at once. Among them, the most important artist was ob. As a university student, she was based mainly in Kyoto (where her school was located), connecting with same-generation artists through the illustration communication service pixiv, and producing and holding several curated exhibitions. In 2013, she collaborated with shu uemura. In recent years, she has exhibited at many overseas art fairs.
ob is a new-generation artist who grew up close to games and SNS. She depicts delicate, fantastical worlds themed around girls with large eyes.
KYNE
KYNE, who is represented by Gallery TARGET, was making his Kaikai Kiki debut.
This is his signature portrait work, but it is an unusual original piece in which the hands are also depicted.
Emi Kuraya
Emi Kuraya, who has also held solo exhibitions at Shinjuku Ophthalmologist Gallery. According to Kuraya, the prices at that time were unimaginably low compared to today.
Numerous drawings were on display.
groovisions
groovisions is a design collective producing a wide range of designs across graphics, video, products, and more.
James Jean
James Jean, also well known for his collaborations with Prada. When I heard the price of this work, I was stunned – $300,000! Even now, I feel like I must have misheard.
Aya Takano
Aya Takano has been rapidly rising in acclaim recently. In proportion, her prices are also astonishingly high.
TENGAone
TENGAone (born 1977) is a street artist based in Tokyo. His artist name comes from the phrase “painting is my heavenly calling (tenga).”
Growing up near a U.S. military base, he was surrounded by American-style graffiti such as tagging and throw-ups – the art movement brought from home by stationed soldiers.
His work spans a wide range of genres, including street graffiti, huge murals for commercial and public facilities, sculpture, and graphic design, and can be seen in galleries and at art fairs.
FUTURA
A three-dimensional work by Futura, a legendary artist in the graffiti world who has been active since the 1970s. It sparkled and looked really cool.
Ben Edmunds
Ben Edmunds was born in 1994 in Norwich, UK, and currently lives and works in London.
In 2016, he received a BA in Fine Art Painting from Wimbledon College of Arts, and in 2018 he received an MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art.
He was awarded the 2018 Hine Painting Prize. He has participated in numerous exhibitions and art fairs across London, Milan, Belgium, Hong Kong, and New York, including exhibitions organized by Tatjana Pieters, Galleria Patricia Armocida, Mall Galleries London, and Rizzuto Gallery.
A young artist aged 24. Although the work was quite large, the price was relatively restrained.
MADSAKI
Born in Osaka in 1974. Graduated from the Fine Arts department of Parsons School of Design in the U.S.
Having moved to New York, that great melting pot, at an early age, MADSAKI worked after college as a member of the international artist collective Barnstormers, later basing himself in Tokyo and New York. His practice ranges widely from finely detailed drawings to vast installations. In recent years, he has been producing works that use provocative language and quotations of historical masterpieces, ironically questioning the meaning of art and the value of artworks.
Takashi Murakami
A collaborative work by three artists – Takashi Murakami, Mr., and MADSAKI. This was one of the most attention-grabbing works of the show.
Virgil Abloh
Virgil Abloh was born in Rockford, Illinois in 1980.
He has worn many hats: artist, architect, engineer, creative director, and designer.
After receiving a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he earned a Master’s degree in Architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
There, he learned not only the principles of design but also the concept of collaborative work.
At the Illinois Institute of Technology, he also gained the experience of studying a curriculum devised by Mies van der Rohe on a campus designed by van der Rohe himself.
Sparkling wine and other drinks were served at the venue. It was memorable to see an acquaintance collector, captivated by the works, struggling desperately with the wallet strings that had been loosened by the effect of alcohol.
Opening events have their own unique atmosphere, so careful judgment is required. Approach them with a steady mind.
At Kaikai Kiki, following custom, you check the prices of individual works of interest by catching a staff member holding the price list. The same system is used at art fairs like Basel and at Tokyo galleries. At high-threshold galleries, even confirming a price can be difficult. A young female acquaintance was grumbling that she just couldn’t get anyone to tell her.
It was a wonderful group exhibition that showcased the potential of Kaikai Kiki Gallery.
