Burart Diary
Bur@rt Diary is published every Monday morning.
This is a diary-style column in which the editor-in-chief of art on jots down thoughts on art, favorite everyday things, and passing reflections. Please read it whenever you have a spare moment.
Just like that, only about a week is left of 2019.
This season — Christmas, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day — is packed with events every year and races by. Even the bustle of the streets sounds like pleasant background music, and I love how the everyday scenery seems to look different.
The Colecole Exhibition also opens this Friday, the 27th. People who have taken an interest have been calling out to me here and there. I’m delighted that so many people are planning to come. I expect to be at the gallery relatively often. Please do say hello.
Shinji Hayashi of Bar Bossa
He is not directly involved in the art world, but I recently had a chance to meet Shinji Hayashi, the master of Bar Bossa in Shibuya, who has a large number of paid subscribers on note, the service that connects creators and readers.
*Shinji Hayashi’s note is here → https://note.com/bar_bossa
Hayashi is a bar master who is also well known for updating his note every single day.
His writing centers on topics such as marriage, romance, and other male-female relationships, as well as the know-how of the food-and-beverage industry — it’s fascinating, and I’m a subscriber myself.
As Hayashi has just published a new book, I was given a chance to talk with him. The book, “Why Do Customers Gather at That Restaurant?”, is a collection of interviews that get to the essence of successful eateries.
The reason I asked for the interview was that I wanted hints about running a gallery. *I’ve been interested in that side of things lately and doing a bit of research…
Among the things Hayashi shared with me, there were some especially interesting points I’d like to introduce here.
Hayashi has long studied the restaurant industry and gives clear, logical explanations of the characteristics that distinguish successful shops from unsuccessful ones. The essence of running a shop is made up of many factors — location, concept, menu, target audience — which all feed into the business, but the most important points, he says, are “originality” and “attention to detail.”
Being distinctive, and having intense energy and drive, is what leads to success.
That way of thinking seems to apply just as much to the art world.
Over the weekend I visited Yuichi Hirako’s solo exhibition. Distinctive motifs, a challenge to a new series, the way the gallery space itself was built — everywhere, as Hayashi said, I could sense originality and attention to detail. I felt his momentum and aura as an artist.
The same was true of the TV program “M-1 Grand Prix” broadcast yesterday.
The winning comedy duo Milkboy must have captivated countless viewers with their original perspective and their thoroughgoing follow-through.
Originality and attention to detail — I’ve taken them to heart.
The Viewing Room
I got word that the framing for a piece I had collected was finished, so I dropped in at Gallery Koyanagi.
The gallery, designed by Ms. Koyanagi’s husband Hiroshi Sugimoto, was completed in 2016. It is still a beautiful and comfortable space.
The viewing room, entered from beside the main gallery space, is spacious and luxurious in a way you’d never expect in prime-location Ginza. The calm space displays works by well-known artists, and I was able to soak in the extravagance.
I love the back space of a gallery.
The air is different from the exhibition room, and there’s a feeling that some hidden treasure might turn up.
By the way, is it just me, or does having a work framed at a gallery feel like a bargain?
The Colecole Exhibition
The Buyable Art Collectors Exhibition “Collectors’ Collective vol.1” (nicknamed the Colecole Exhibition) is fast approaching. On the gallery’s website, some of the pieces on offer from the 15 participating artists have been unveiled.
We are also taking survey responses about framing via the form below. On Saturday, January 11, from 13:00, in the second half of the exhibition run, we plan to host a talk event. We’re inviting a special guest to speak on the topic of framing. Please look forward to it.
See you next week!
