baanai “DOUBLE BED GALLERY”
I visited baanai’s solo exhibition “DOUBLE BED GALLERY.”
The venue is the BOOK GALLERY at Roppongi Tsutaya Books.
baanai is an artist based in Kugenuma.
In 2015, he sent his portfolio to Rei Kawakubo of COMME des GARCONS, who recognized his talent.
Ever since the product collaborations began, his practice has gained momentum, culminating in this solo exhibition.
Establishing a graphical style built around the words “ARIGATOUGOZAIMASU” (meaning “thank you”), baanai has rapidly emerged as a painter championed by many creators.
For this solo exhibition, more than 60 works were prepared, most of which are new pieces being shown for the first time.
The exhibition’s title, “DOUBLE BED GALLERY,” derives from a line in Oasis’s famous song “Don’t Look Back In Anger” — “I start a revolution from my bed” — and reflects baanai’s own conviction that his own challenges also begin from “a small place (= a double bed).”
All of baanai’s works are titled 《ARIGATOUGOZAIMASU》, but depending on the way the letters are rendered and positioned, symbolic codenames such as “BWF” or “BBF” are assigned to each work.
Due to space limitations, many works could not be exhibited, but sales appeared to be going well.
The exhibition is a long run of approximately three months.
It was a solo exhibition that conveyed the momentum of baanai, an artist who single-mindedly pursues “ARIGATOUGOZAIMASU.”
