Saya Okubo “We are defenseless. / We are aggressive.”
I visited Saya Okubo’s solo exhibition “We are defenseless. / We are aggressive.” at the Contemporary Gallery of Nihombashi Mitsukoshi.
Contemporary Gallery on the 6th floor of Nihombashi Mitsukoshi Main Building
This is Saya Okubo’s first solo exhibition since “They” in June 2020.
For a look back at the previous show, see below.
The exhibition featured around twenty works, most of which were sold by lottery.
Installation view
A new series in which wooden boards are used as the support made its debut here.
Saya Okubo, therapy / exorcism, 2021, acrylic and oil on wood panel, 121.0 × 200.0 cmSaya Okubo, therapy / exorcism (detail)Installation view — center: Saya Okubo, Man with baton, 2021, acrylic and oil on wood panel, 202.5 × 139.5 cmSaya Okubo, Man with baton (detail). The board is quite thick, and the piece is said to be extremely heavy.Saya Okubo, Man with baton (detail) — the sharply raised edges of the paint have a distinctive character.
The corrugated-iron series that debuted at the last solo show was on view again this time.
Saya Okubo, They, 2021, acrylic and oil on corrugated iron, 130 × 176.5 cmSaya Okubo, They (detail) — the back appears to be reinforced with wooden panels.Saya Okubo, They, 2021, acrylic and oil on corrugated iron, 130 × 176.5 cmInstallation viewInstallation view
Of course, Okubo’s more familiar canvas works were on view as well.
Saya Okubo, stretching (round shape), 2021, acrylic and oil on canvas, 53 × 45.5 cmInstallation viewSaya Okubo, ambush, 2021, acrylic and oil on canvas, 80.3 × 65.2 cmInstallation viewInstallation viewSaya Okubo, stretching, 2021, acrylic and oil on canvas, 45.5 × 38 cmSaya Okubo, Meditation technique, 2021, acrylic and oil on canvas, 53 × 45.5 cmSaya Okubo, Three sticks, three pokes, 2021, acrylic and oil on canvas, 53 × 45.5 cm
The motifs on view fell broadly into two groups: works depicting the artist’s own rehabilitation following a traffic accident, and — in contrast — works featuring “sticks and batons.”
