"SYNESTHESIA" — introducing artist Sawada Moko
Sawada Moko
Born in 1990. From and based in Osaka.
Working under the theme of "the made," she paints characters in oils that incorporate the "glitches" of image files and 3D objects. In recent years, exploring the relationship between created beings and space, she has expanded beyond character paintings to landscapes drawn from map applications.
2022
"Escape and Reward" (Art Gallery Shirokane 6c / Tokyo)
2021
"coexistence with collapse" (LIGHTHOUSE GALLERY / Tokyo)
2020
"LEFTOVERS" (Miura Jiro Gallery bis / Tokyo)
"Virtual Paradise Project" (SUNABA Gallery / Osaka)
2018
"🔴🔵REC." (Salon Mosaic / Osaka)
2017
"Breaking FIREWALL" (Art Complex Center / Tokyo)
2016
"FIREWALL TO PROTECT ME" (SUNABA Gallery / Osaka)
2015
"METAGRAMED" (Shinjuku Ganka Gallery / Tokyo)
"assaisonnement" (Aruka→Aruka / Osaka)
2014
"Re: Install" (Shinjuku Ganka Gallery / Tokyo)
■Group Exhibition
2022
"Washin Art Exhibition" (GALLERY JO YANA / France)
"Nijigen-ha" (Daikanyama Hillside Forum, N&A art SITE / Tokyo)
Contemporary Tokyo group exhibition (Contemporary Tokyo / Tokyo)
Contemporary Tokyo Beijing group exhibition (Contemporary Tokyo Beijing / Beijing, China)
"Post-kawaii Ⅳ" (SUNABA Gallery / Osaka)
"BEYOND" (333 Gallery Taipei / Taiwan)
"Shirokane February" (Art Gallery Shirokane 6c / Tokyo)
"SHOWCASE:comic & ART 2022" (Atelier Sangatsu / Osaka)
2021
"Atelier Sangatsu Year-End Exhibition 2021" (Atelier Sangatsu / Osaka)
"Winter Small Works Exhibition" (SUNABA Gallery / Osaka)
"Japan Group Show" (GALLERY JO YANA / France)
"Ura-kawaii" (SUNABA Gallery / Osaka)
2019
"Umaibo × CREATORS Exhibition" (Theater 1010, Gallery B.C / Tokyo)
"Discovery of Landscape" (SUNABA Gallery / Osaka)
2018
"Pure Character Critique" (SUNABA Gallery / Osaka)
"FLAG" (Atelier Sangatsu / Osaka)
TEAM-TAN 5th Anniversary Exhibition (Art Complex Center / Tokyo)
Touring exhibition (Sawagi ni Joujite / Osaka)
2017
"CandyBox" (SUNABA Gallery / Osaka)
Soujirou 2nd Anniversary Exhibition "#2" Phase 1 (Soujirou / Hyogo)
"FROM KAWAII ART - Overturn The Stereotypes. -" (GALLERY FREAK OUT / Tokyo)
"Switch - Singularity / Relationality -" (SUNABA Gallery / Osaka)
2016
"Art Competition Tatsukon" (Gallery Tatsuya / Aichi)
"CUTE AND SWEET, BUT..." (MASATAKA CONTEMPORARY / Tokyo)
"ZEROTEN" (Gallery Tatsuya / Aichi)
"199x⁵ (q-x 5)" (Art Complex Center / Tokyo)
"PARIS CHIC ROOM" (MASON D'ART Paris / Paris, France)
"SUNABA POP" (SUNABA Gallery / Osaka)
"UTOPIA 3" (Art Complex Center / Tokyo)
2015
"Art Stream 2015" (Daimaru Shinsaibashi / Osaka)
2014
"Ten Years Passed Without Thinking About Anything..." Exhibition (Shinjuku Ganka Gallery / Tokyo)
Yosano Akiko Birth Art Festival, work exhibited (Hotel Sunroute Sakai, Sanyu Toshi Kaihatsu Lobby / Osaka)
"Trans-effusion 03 (First Half)" (Shinjuku Ganka Gallery / Tokyo)
2013
"Miracle Meme" (Shinjuku Ganka Gallery / Tokyo)
"Trans-effusion 02 Drawing Exhibition" (Shinjuku Ganka Gallery / Tokyo)
2012
Group exhibition "Colorful" (Otori Christ Grace Church / Osaka)
2011
Three-person exhibition "Colorful" (Otori Christ Grace Church / Osaka)
pixkiki Analog Exhibition Vol.3 "Analog Room" (Hidari Zingaro, Kaikiki Zingaro / Tokyo)
"Hatsune Miku pixiv × Kaikaikiki Gallery Exhibition" (within "SNOW MIKU for SAPPORO 2011" / Hokkaido)
2010
"Oil Shock! (within 0000Fest)" (Hidari Zingaro / Tokyo)
"wassyoi#" (0000Gallery / Kyoto)
"¥2010Exhibition Final at Daimaru Shinsaibashi" (Daimaru Shinsaibashi / Osaka)
■Art Fair
2022
KIAF SEOUL (presented by Gallery Irritum Tokyo) (Korea)
ART TAICHUNG (presented by 333Gallery) (Taiwan)
ART BUSAN (presented by Gallery Irritum Tokyo) (Korea)
Metasequoia Kyomachibori Art Fair (Osaka)
2021
Guangzhou Art Fair (presented by Contemporary Tokyo) (China)
ART TAICHUNG (presented by 333Gallery) (Taiwan)
2017
ART OSAKA 2017 (presented by Soujirou) (Osaka)
[Works]
What inspired this series was watching videos in the genres of "cheat-bugs" and "corruption" — where rewriting the information inside a game's program or system, physically disrupting the connection of the software, or bugs within the program itself cause characters and backgrounds to shift into unpredictable movements, forms, and colors.
A bug in a game is something the in-game character itself can do nothing about. It probably doesn't even notice. Each is made to "exist" within the game screen, frozen in its strange movement or shape.
In recent years, using 3D technology in games and anime has become routine, and with the boom in social games and VTubers over the past few years, young people scarcely pass a day without seeing a 3D character.
As VR technology advances, 3D characters that carry mass within the space of the screen lend us a sense of reality, making them feel closer to real existence than the flat worlds of manga and 2D anime.
And yet a character is nothing more than programmed data — something that someone can create, break, and erase. As if to confront us with that fact, the characters in her works exist while "broken." Sharply pointed hair and arms, deformed and distorted clothing and faces. On a flat surface, in oil paint, these become planes of color with their own texture.
See all works by Sawada Moko ▽
[Installation View]
The near-future feel pairs beautifully with the Shibuya sky in the background!
The sight of a character singing on, distorted as it is, is fascinating.
A refreshing work, painted on cardboard.
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[Staff Comment]
The characters who entertain us in the online world look perfect to us, yet this work gives form to the emptiness of their being "merely data."
At the same time, the depicted characters are charming, and you can enjoy that very imbalance. (Kawahara)
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[Exhibition Information]
"SYNESTHESIA"
For this exhibition we have gathered ten up-and-coming artists of wide-ranging sensibilities, in the hope that art might help each visitor refresh their senses and nurture new perspectives. The title "SYNESTHESIA" refers to a blending of the senses — perceiving color in letters or sounds, or form in taste or scent. Through the diverse expressions these ten artists weave together, we hope you will encounter something that resonates with what lies within you.
▼ Participating Artists
neuronoa｜buggy｜Sugimoto Kenichi｜Shimizu Tomohiro｜IKU→
Ota Kiyoo｜Adachi Masaki｜Nakamura Toru｜Sawada Moko ｜Suzuki Jun
※ For each artist's gallery attendance dates, please refer to their social media.
Hours: October 31 (Mon) – November 13 (Sun), 2022, 10:00 - 21:00
※ Hours may change due to COVID-19. Please check our official website for the latest information.
Admission: Free
Venue: ＋ART GALLERY
Event details: https://neuronoa.com/exhibition/synesthesia4/
Address: Shibuya Scramble Square, Shops & Restaurants, 14F
(2-24-12 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0002)
Access: About 30 seconds to 1 minute from JR Shibuya Station (Yamanote / Shonan-Shinjuku Lines), Tokyo Metro Shibuya Station (Fukutoshin / Hanzomon / Ginza Lines), or Tokyu Shibuya Station (Toyoko / Den-en-toshi Lines)
Works are available for purchase, and also sold online during the exhibition!
＋ART Online Store：https://pls-art-shop.com/
