Face Exhibition
We visited the group exhibition “Face” held at Tomio Koyama Gallery.
This exhibition began when, due to the impact of COVID-19, we could no longer hold the show for Cambodian artist Khvay Samnang.
Under the pandemic, everyone wears a mask. We cannot see faces. If we never meet again someone we have just met for the first time, we will never see their face; even for people we know, all we can do is picture the face we once saw. Of course, if we could share a meal, things would be different.In the midst of all this, the idea for “Face” came to me while I was talking with Yoshikazu Shiga of Sprout Curation, who is currently curating the exhibition “I Wanted to See Your ‘Face'” at CADAN Yurakucho. There are many artists at Tomio Koyama Gallery who take the face as their subject. Artists who keep drawing faces. What kind of appeal, what kind of meaning, does the face carry? As guest artists, we welcomed Kaoru Arima through MISAKO & ROSEN, and with the cooperation of Gallery Art Morimoto we added watercolors by Katsuzo Satomi — an artist known for his landscapes but who I have always thought captured faces with a raw, contemporary edge — provided by his surviving family.
Several of the artists have contributed comments about the face.
To all of you who will now view the exhibition wearing masks, I would like you to look at these unmasked faces in the works.
Tomio Koyama
Under the pandemic, many galleries have made mask-wearing and temperature checks mandatory, and many operate on an advance-reservation basis. Held in such an environment, this became an exhibition of faces viewed by mask-wearing visitors.
Right: Koji Nakazono Untitled oil pastel on wood panel
Right: Satoshi Ohno Self portrait, funny smile. 2017 oil and spray on canvas 61.4 x 51.2 cm
Right: Masahiko Kuwahara New Species 2001 oil on canvas 72.7×72.7cm
