The 36th Ueno Royal Museum Grand Prize Exhibition — Painting Grand Prize Winner: Yohei Yashima Exhibition
We visited the solo exhibition of Yohei Yashima, who won the Grand Prize at the 36th Ueno Royal Museum Grand Prize Exhibition. The venue was the Ueno Royal Museum Gallery.
Yohei Yashima seems to express human emotions by casting plastic figurines as protagonists in his work.
“Plastic Woman” and “Plastic Man” were produced by Yohei Yashima after his period of study in Germany, taking as their motif a couple torn apart by the Berlin Wall.
The businessman in a suit painted on the front of “Plastic Man” stands for the East, while the figurine placed on the back represents the West.
Yashima was reportedly shocked to learn that on the East Berlin side people were shot dead for approaching the wall, while on the West side people would sunbathe right beside it.
For all their pop sensibility — figurines and all — Yohei Yashima’s works carry a suggestive depth that rewards close and sustained looking. His concurrent exhibition at Seizan Gallery is also worth checking out.
