“A Gentle Gaze” at HWA’S Gallery (Shanghai)
I visited the group exhibition “A Gentle Gaze,” curated by Sueo Mitsuma, director of Mizuma Art Gallery. The venue is HWA’S Gallery.
Shanghai was blessed with an unusually clear blue sky that day, and the light streaming through the gallery windows was so dazzling that it seemed to brightly illuminate the works.
Ayane Eguchi is an artist who portrays her distinctive character KUMA (bear) in vivid colors and mysterious scenes.
Her fine brushwork in oil paint is striking, and she uses techniques such as scraping away layers of paint to reveal the underlying ground — creating a densely informative surface.
Domestic exhibition opportunities in Japan have been scarce, so this was an artist whose work had long eluded me.
Being able to see her large-scale works in person was a joy — the meticulously rendered details and the thickly applied paint surfaces made the viewing experience truly rewarding.
Eguchi has also been producing and presenting sculptural works featuring KUMA. There is likely to be an opportunity to exhibit her work in Japan in 2020.
There was also a display of works by Ai Madonna, who fetched high prices at last month’s SBI Auction (all works sold out).
*Note: At the time of my visit, the second-floor exhibition space was not accessible.
