plus art co., ltd (Location: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Representative: Taku Nitta)—a company built around the theme of enjoying contemporary art—is pleased to announce that it will hold "Exhibition Zero – Creation New Culture," featuring the works of five calligraphers and Japanese-style painters, at +ART GALLERY on the 14th floor of Shibuya Scramble Square.
▼Exhibiting artists
Ryoka Kawauchi, Rinka Kachi, Meiyu, Koho, Yo Terano
*For each artist's gallery-attendance days, please refer to their social media.
Hours: Monday, January 2, 2023 – Sunday, January 15, 2023, 10:00–21:00
*Hours are subject to change due to COVID-19. Please check the official website from time to time.
Admission: Free
Venue: +ART GALLERY
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 Line / Shonan-Shinjuku Line), Tokyo Metro Shibuya Station (Fukutoshin Line / Hanzomon Line / Ginza Line), and Tokyu Shibuya Station (Toyoko Line / Den-en-toshi Line)
Works are available for purchase on-site. They will also be sold online during the exhibition period.
Online Store: https://pls-art-shop.com/
Organized and planned by: plus art co., ltd
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▼PROFILE
川内繚華
A calligrapher and seal-engraver active on the stage of the calligraphy world. Born in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. She began studying calligraphy at the age of six under an officer of the Yomiuri Calligraphy Association, and now studies under Nantei Okano, a member of the Nitten. She also studies calligraphy theory, the history of calligraphy, and paleography, assisting the research of her husband, a Doctor of Calligraphy Studies.
She studied oil painting from childhood and, after graduating from university, went to Germany to study. Strongly aware abroad of her identity as an Easterner, on returning home she set her sights on the path of Eastern art, which has brought her to the present. Captivated by the formal beauty of the kinbun (bronze inscriptions) cast into the bronze vessels of ancient China and of the seal scripts of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, she creates her works based on these characters.
Building on solid skill and deep insight into the written character—recognized through selection for the Nitten (the Japan Fine Arts Exhibition), Japan's most prestigious exhibition descended from the official salons, as well as awards at numerous authoritative exhibitions—she aims to create new work with a uniquely feminine sensibility. Her motto: "As long as it is a 'character,' it must never stray from the history and essence of the kanji itself, or from the beauty of line quality." Pursuing a new beauty in a world of white, black, and vermilion, she also contributes to her local community and devotes herself to nurturing the next generation, running a calligraphy school while holding workshops.
She is a Nitten artist, a Distinguished Selection artist of the Calligraphy Exhibition of Japan, a Director (shikyo) of the Japan Calligraphy Education Society (public-interest foundation), a councilor of the All Japan Seal-Engraving Federation, a councilor of the Yoran Seal Society, an exemption-status (mukansa) member of the Bunkyo Ward Calligraphy Federation, and an administrator of the Shoyu Calligraphy Association.
〈Awards〉
Beyond selection for the Nitten (the Japan Fine Arts Exhibition)—considered the most difficult to enter in calligraphy—she has won prizes at numerous exhibitions, including the highest open-call prize "Tokusen" at the Yomiuri Calligraphy Exhibition, the "Tokusen Kenshin Prize" at the Kenshin Calligraphy Society Exhibition, and Bunkyo Ward's highest honor, the "Mayor's Prize."
〈Exhibitions〉
・November 2019: Yoran Seal Society Selected Ceramic-Seal Exhibition, Xiling Seal Engravers' Society, Museum of Seal Engraving (Hangzhou, China)
・September 2021: Cizong Youth Education & Culture Festival (Hong Kong)
・July 2022: Group exhibition "0," Gallery Concept 21 (Omotesando, Tokyo)
〈Media features & publications〉
・Shoyu Shodo Kyohan (Practical Calligraphy Edition), 2020
・"Sharing the Joy of Seal Engraving with Children," Yomiuri Shimbun, evening edition, p. 2, Ima-fu column, April 16, 2021
Instagram：https://www.instagram.com/ryoka_kawauchi/
可知凛花
Born in 1986. Real name: Sayuri.
She began calligraphy at the age of six and earned her master's (shihan) license at nineteen. At twenty-three she encountered suiboku-ga ink painting in the Nanga (Southern School) tradition. Alongside her calligraphy, she also paints in ink. While deeply attuned to a tradition that prizes formality and refinement, she wields her brush to answer the feelings of others. Beyond every work, there is a "person." Cherishing that belief, she continues today to create works that draw close to people.
〈Calligraphy〉
Kenshin Calligraphy Society Exhibition: "Shuitsu" (Excellence) Award
Yomiuri Calligraphy Exhibition: Selected; studied under Donushi Uwagago
〈Ink painting〉
Solo exhibition (Shibuya)
Ena City Art Exhibition: City Exhibition Prize (Gifu)
Nakatsugawa Citizens' Exhibition: Chairperson's Prize (Gifu)
Solo exhibition (Nagoya Sakae Mitsukoshi)
Online-lesson instructor (Tokyo, London)
Artwork provided to Hotel Shio-no-Yu Onsen Rengetsu (Nasushiobara, Tochigi)
9th Maeda Seison Memorial Grand Prize Exhibition: Encouragement Award
・Instagram
〈Calligraphy〉https://www.instagram.com/kachi_linka/
〈Ink painting〉https://www.instagram.com/linka316/
明游
Excelling at works that are at once delicate and dynamic, she writes across a wide range of scripts, from the basic standard (kaisho) style to ancient characters dating back 3,000 years. Grounded in classical, traditional calligraphy, she pursues the beauty of blank space and composition, expressing Japan's distinctive sense of "ma" (interval) through the interplay of stillness and movement. To spread the appeal of calligraphy around the world, she has provided her works to many countries.
82nd Kenshin Calligraphy Society Exhibition: "Tokusen Kenshin Prize" (and twice thereafter)
83rd Kenshin Calligraphy Society Exhibition: "Recommended Advisor's Prize"
37th Yomiuri Calligraphy Exhibition: "Shuitsu" (Excellence) Award (and twice thereafter)
2022: Promoted to Standing Director of the Saikan Calligraphy Academy
instagram：https://www.instagram.com/nya.ktmr/
香寳
Calligrapher. Born in 1996. First took up the brush at the age of five. Majored in calligraphy in both high school and university, studying the fundamentals, history, and modern practice of calligraphy for seven years. A master of the clerical (reisho) script, she handles a wide range of styles. While honoring the classics, she pays close attention to her supports and to the colors of her work, creating pieces that feel at home in contemporary spaces.
"I want to share 'sho'—the calligraphy that is part of Japan's traditional culture—with the world."
To realize this vision, she continues today to explore new possibilities for calligraphy that reach beyond its conventional bounds.
＜Biography＞
Distinguished Selection artist, Calligraphy Exhibition of Japan
2021
Calligrapher Koho "EXHIBITION vol.1," debut solo show (TOKYO)
Yusuke Hamamoto × Koho, Bonsai × Calligraphy joint exhibition (TOKYO)
2022
Appearance at NEWoMan Shinjuku event (TOKYO)
NFT art-toy collaboration (TOKYO)
"0 Exhibition" group show (TOKYO)
Alongside creating works such as NFT art-toy collaborations and body painting, she also provides works to restaurants, beauty salons, and other venues.
WEBSITE：http://koho-calligrapher.com/
寺野葉
Born in Osaka in 1997. Graduated in 2021 from the Japanese Painting course of the Graduate School of Art and Design, Musashino Art University. Received the Excellence Award for her graduation works at both Musashino Art University and its graduate school. Has taken part in numerous group exhibitions, mainly in Tokyo. She creates Japanese-style paintings using everyday objects around her as motifs.
＜Biography＞
〇2018
18th Fukuchiyama City Sato Taisei Prize Open-Call Art Exhibition: Sato Taisei Prize
〇2019
FACE 2019 Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Art Award: Selected
Seed Yamatane Museum of Art Japanese Painting Award 2019: Selected
Sato International Cultural Scholarship Foundation, 29th-term scholarship
Graduated from Musashino Art University
〇2020
Solo exhibition "Hikidashi (Drawer)" (Hachiken-do / Tokyo)
〇2021
Solo exhibition "mass" (Ishikawa Gallery / Tokyo)
〇2022
Two simultaneous solo exhibitions: "◎ (Nijumaru / Double Circle)" (Art Space Rashinban / Tokyo) and "◯ (Maru / Circle)" (REIJINSHA GALLERY / Tokyo)
Instagram：https://www.instagram.com/yo.yo.leaf.1997
▼Merchandise Info
Zero Exhibition Original Long-Sleeve T-Shirt ¥8,800 (tax included)
An original T-shirt featuring one character picked from each artist's exhibited works.
〈Limited quantity〉Comes with a 2023 original tag
[Event Overview]
Event title: Exhibition Zero – Creation New Culture
Dates: Monday, January 2, 2023 – Friday, January 15, 2023, 10:00–21:00 (until 20:00 on the final day)
Venue: +ART GALLERY, Shibuya Scramble Square Shops & Restaurants 14F (2-24-12 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0002)
Online Store: https://pls-art-shop.com/ (Works are available for purchase, and will also be sold online during the period!)
Participating artists: Ryoka Kawauchi, Rinka Kachi, Meiyu, Koho, Yo Terano
■About +ART GALLERY
+ART GALLERY (hereafter "the Gallery") is a pop-up gallery rolled out at commercial facilities, department stores, and other venues across Japan. Last year it was open for six months from March 1, 2021, presenting around ten projects that let visitors experience art from a variety of angles—not only with contemporary artists such as Nanae Mitobe, but also through exhibitions casting figures from other fields, such as Ai Niina. With an emphasis on an open, welcoming atmosphere, the Gallery will continue to plan and produce exhibition-and-sale events—collaborating not only on its own but with people from a wide range of industries—with the aim of discovering and nurturing artists and collectors.
