An exhibition that lets you time-travel through 15 years of change and transition in the still-active "Around 2010s" generation of Tokyo University of the Arts artists
plus art co., ltd. (registered office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Representative: Taku Nitta), a company built around the theme of enjoying contemporary art, will present "TIME SLIP Around 2010s - Tokyo University of the Arts Edition -," an exhibition that studies how artists' work has evolved by comparing old and new pieces and invites you to enjoy discovering what has changed and what has stayed the same, from February 5, 2024 at +ART GALLERY on the 3rd floor of Tokyu Plaza Shibuya.
Having run a gallery for three years on the 14th floor of Shibuya Scramble Square in the heart of Shibuya, +ART GALLERY now begins a new chapter on the 3rd floor of Tokyu Plaza Shibuya within Shibuya Fukuras, Shibuya's new commercial complex. +ART GALLERY will continue to hold exhibitions aimed at growing the community of people who enjoy collecting art and at supporting artists' careers.
Knowing an artist's past to truly judge the value of their work today
The artists taking part this time are all graduates of Tokyo University of the Arts who remain active today, selling their work in a variety of ways. With the recent surge in the art market, many people have entered this world only recently. While we often look at an artist's work by focusing on their "now," we hope that by exhibiting past works alongside current ones, this show will let you see how each artist's work has changed - or what they have continued unchanged - and that this will convey their appeal all the more.
The marks left by past struggles and deep reflection form the foundation of their work today; even their way of living comes through in the work, and we hope you will view it with this in mind.
Participating Artists
中津川翔太 / 山田勇魚 / 佐野藍 / 板垣 夏樹 / 今井 完眞 / 金井麻央
中津川翔太
Captivated by traditional crafts, he taught himself nihonga and successfully incorporated the imagery of graffiti. By adopting the silkscreen technique - rare in the world of nihonga - he produces works that resonate internationally. He has won tremendous support from many quarters for creating work suited to the present age, weaving contemporary art into a Japanese culture whose traditional crafts are gradually being lost.
Recently he has successfully exhibited at two leading museums - the Ueno Royal Museum and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa - and in October 2019 he also held a successful showing at the Louvre in Paris.
2013: Graduated from the Department of Crafts (Lacquer Art), Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts
佐野 藍
Born in Tokyo in 1989. Using the texture and the commanding presence of marble's mass, she gives form to the unseen - dragons and mythical beasts. In her Python series, which unfolds as if reveling fully in marble's potential of color, pattern, and texture, she continues to pursue a primitive beauty.
2016: Completed the Master's program in Sculpture, Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts
板垣夏樹
Born in Argentina in 1990, she was raised in Tokyo from the age of one. As her parents were veterinarians, she grew up feeling close to animals from an early age. She has loved drawing animals since childhood and still creates works featuring animals and living creatures as her motifs. She also depicts a world of fantasy rather than reality, striving to express the preciousness and sanctity of life. Having once created picture books, that influence leads her to weave stories into her work, evoking a mystical fantasy world or a single scene from a tale. She mainly uses natural materials such as Japanese painting pigments, washi paper, natural mineral pigments, and gold leaf. She believes the texture of the paint and the leaf heightens the sanctity of her work.
2016: Graduated from the Nihonga Course, Department of Painting, Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts
2018: Completed the Master's program in Nihonga, Department of Painting, Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts
山田勇魚
Since beginning my career as an artist in 2009, I have continued to work around the theme of "tsukumogami."
Tsukumogami is a uniquely Japanese idea that a spirit dwells in objects that have endured for many long years.
While there are many famous tsukumogami that appear in scrolls of yokai - such as the lantern ghost, the nurikabe, and the ittan-momen - I continue to create works that shift this concept away from being merely old yokai spoken of in legend, toward something we can feel close to, living right beside us even today.
2016: Completed the Master's program in Design, Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts
金井麻央
Taking mainly plants and animals as her subjects - creatures encountered while traveling, the flowers and small birds close at hand, animal fables, and more - she pursues decorative expression while working in a variety of traditional lacquer-art techniques such as maki-e, raden (mother-of-pearl inlay), and hyomon.
2013: Graduated from the Department of Crafts (Lacquer Art), Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts
2015: Completed the Lacquer Art program, Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts
今井完眞
Born in Kyoto in 1989 as the eldest son of ceramic artist Masamasa Imai. His grandfather is Masayuki Imai, a foremost master of the inlay (zogan) technique in ceramics. He majored in sculpture during high school. Based in Kyoto and Hiroshima, he began his career as an artist in earnest. Imai Sadamasa creates refined ceramic works by blending tradition and contemporary influences in a unique way. His creations are the fruit of ceramic making that demands enormous time and effort, and each piece tells of the immense hours poured into thorough planning and execution. The works born of this are testament to his unwavering devotion to detail and craftsmanship.
2015: Completed the Master's program in Crafts, Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts
Gallery Attendance Days / Press
Artists are generally expected to be present at the gallery on weekends and public holidays.
For details, please refer to each artist's social media.
Exhibition Details
- Venue: +ART GALLERY (3F, Tokyu Plaza, Shibuya Fukuras)
- Exhibition Title: TIME SLIP Around 2010s – Tokyo University of the Arts Edition –
- Dates: Monday, February 5 - Sunday, February 11, 2024; open 11:00 - 20:00
- Location: Tokyu Plaza Shibuya 3F (3F Tokyu Plaza Shibuya, within Shibuya Fukuras, 1-2-3 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0043)
- Access: Directly connected via the "Shibuya Fukuras Pedestrian Deck" from the West Exit passageway of Shibuya Station (JR lines)
About a 3-minute walk from "Shibuya" Station on the Tokyu Toyoko Line, Den-en-toshi Line, Keio Inokashira Line, and Tokyo Metro Hanzomon, Ginza, and Fukutoshin Lines
- Admission: Free
- URL: https://pls-art-shop.com/
- Organizer: plus art co., ltd.
