Gesture of Lines
Graphic Design: KOBAYASHI Ikki
Exhibition Overview
A line at times divides a plane and at times connects distant things.
Having two contrary functions, lines transform themselves endlessly in a
space, create shapes, and sometimes express things having no shape.
Lines in “Art Brut” are often viewed as a spontaneous or coincidental
departure from plan or intention. Yet, the lines are strongly tied to the
artist’s irrepressible impulses and emotional attachments and the
pleasure afforded by the physical movement involved. Therefore, when
the artist’s physical and emotional being fills the lines, gesture is
manifest. This exhibition examines gesture of lines in the work of ten
artists.
The exhibition Gesture of Lines features Japanese artists along with
artists of California’s Creative Growth Art Center (CGAC), which since
1974 has actively served artists with disabilities and fostered numerous
high-quality artists.
Installation view of the exhibition "Gesture of Lines" (Video)
| Title | Gesture of Lines |
|---|---|
| Period | Saturday, 23 April – Sunday, 26 June 2022 |
| Opening Hours | 11:00 - 19:00 |
| Closed | Mondays |
| Venue | Tokyo Shibuya Koen-dori Gallery, Galleries 1 and 2 |
| Admission | Free |
| Artists | SAITO Yuichi, SAKAGAMI Chiyuki, NISHIMURA Issei, HIGASHIONNA Tasuku, MATSUURA Shigeru, Susan JANOW, Dwight MACKINTOSH, Dan MILLER, Tony PEDEMONTE, Judith SCOTT |
| Organized by | Tokyo Shibuya Koen-dori Gallery, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture |
| Specially cooperated by | Creative Growth Art Center |
| Supported by | Embassy of the United States of America |
Artists
SAITO Yuichi, Untitled (Doraemon), 2005, Private collection. Courtesy of Yukiko Koide Presents. Photo: HIRATA Kai.
Born in Saitama Prefecture in 1983. Has practiced at “KOBO-SYU” in Kawaguchi City since 2002. Inspired by his discovery of writing characters, SAITO Yuichi developed it into drawings that densely overlay the titles of his favorite TV programs and such. In many cases, he selects a particular character and writes it repeatedly to form dense layers and masses while maintaining visual tension through his lines’ endless rivalry with the margins. Last year, Saito’s works were collected by the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
SAKAGAMI Chiyuki, Father Is a Bird, Mother Is a Fish (Hometown, Papua New Guinea), 1980s, Collection of MEM.
©SAKAGAMI Chiyuki. Courtesy of MEM.
Born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1961 and died in 2017. Absorbing ideas from many culture’s myths and legends, SAKAGAMI Chiyuki frequently depicted creatures inhabiting the earth since ancient times, particularly birds, which she loved deeply. Drawing and interlacing gossamer-fine lines, as if delineating breath, Sakagami created numerous drawings of basic blue or light blue tone. Her works are in the collections of the Collection de l'Art Brut in Lausanne and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, among many others.
NISHIMURA Issei, no title no. 1 (20191217), 2019, Collection of the artist. Courtesy of Galerie Miyawaki.
Born in Aichi Prefecture in 1978. Besides paintings radiating intense vitality, NISHIMURA Issei creates drawings that intertangle lines infused with a sensation of speed and depict his subject from bold angles. Inspired by his love for music and seized by animal instincts in his responses to the greater world around him, he captures images instantly as if spinning them from his hand or extracting them from the depths of his being. His works are in the Collection de l'Art Brut in Lausanne and Kyoto City Museum of Art.
HIGASHIONNA Tasuku, Untitled, ca. 2005, Collection of the artist. Courtesy of Art Camp 2001 Organizing Committee.
Born in Okinawa Prefecture in 1987. Based on his practice with clay, HIGASHIONNA Tasuku began working with wire to capture forms in three-dimensions. His artworks give play to the wire’s wavy bends in depicting motifs such as locomotives and robots, employing buttons and other everyday objects to express their components. Higashionna shows works in Okinawa often. Main exhibitions include Art Camp 2006: Naive Cannon (Urasoe Art Museum, Okinawa, 2006).
MATSUURA Shigeru, Guardian God, 2008, Collection of the artist. Photo: MIURA Haruko. Courtesy of Support Center for Arts and Culture Activities of Persons with Disabilities in Miyagi (SOUP).
Born in Miyagi Prefecture in 1971. MATSUURA Shigeru began carving wood sculptures in 1994 at “Atelier So” in Sendai City. His sculptures are distinguished by the light and tender colors he applies to them with fingers or a palm in finishing the work. While contrasting with the sharp lines he cuts mainly with a saw, the soft color tones produce a rich expression. Matsuura’s exhibitions include Life of Trees (MOB Museum of Alternative Art, Tochigi, 2017). Received the Miyagi Prefecture Art Award for New Artists in 2017.
Susan JANOW, Untitled, 2017, Creative Growth Art Center, Oakland.
©︎ Creative Growth Art Center.
Born in San Francisco, California, in 1980. Has practiced at CGAC since 2003. To create her drawings, Susan JANOW begins with a hand-drawn grid, which she meticulously fills in with fine crosshatching. In recent years, she has come to vary the size and arrangement of her squares and application of color in them. Janow is also widely recognized for her video pieces. Her works are in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum in New York and Centre Pompidou in Paris.
Dwight MACKINTOSH, Untitled, 1995, Creative Growth Art Center, Oakland.
©︎ Creative Growth Art Center.
Born in Hayward, California, in 1906 and died in 1999. Joined CGAC in 1979 when in his early seventies. Dwight MACKINTOSH’s work is characterized by motifs of people, vehicles, and personal experiences, captured in drawings suggestive of X-ray images. His lines propagate in varying densities on the paper in a rhythmic manner evoking the movement of his hand. His works are in the permanent collections of the Centre Pompidou in Paris and Collection de l’Art Brut in Lausanne among many others.
Dan MILLER, Untitled, 2014, Private collection. Courtesy of Yukiko Koide Presents. ©︎ Creative Growth Art Center.
Born in Castro Valley, California, in 1961. Has practiced at CGAC since 1992. Dan MILLER overlays shapes, words, and numbers related to themes capturing his interest. A legible word sometimes appears on his layers of fine pen lines and dynamic paint lines but only as a group of lines divorced from any meaning. Miller’s works are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and Centre Pompidou in Paris among many others.
Tony PEDEMONTE, Untitled, 2018, Creative Growth Art Center, Oakland.
©︎ Creative Growth Art Center.
Born in Oakland, California, in 1954. Has practiced at CGAC since 2009. Tony PEDEMONTE’s unique method of collecting and employing things found in his environment dates from his early drawing period. Constructing frameworks of wood and recycled materials, he single-mindedly wraps them with thread or yarn. The layers of fine thread yield smooth textures and unexpected geometric forms. Pedemonte received the 2020 Wynn Newhouse Award.
Judith SCOTT, Untitled, 1993, Creative Growth Art Center, Oakland.
©︎ Creative Growth Art Center.
Born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1943 and died in 2005. Began practicing at CGAC in 1987. Judith SCOTT is known for her cocoon-like sculptures intently wound with thread, yarn, and cloth fragments, often incorporating materials she found in the studio. By varying her material and the strength with which she wraps it, Scott came to obtain new textures and freer contours. Her works are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and Centre Pompidou in Paris among many others.
*The images shown may differ from the actual works exhibited.
Related Events
Planned events include talks, guided tours and other events. We will inform you on this website later.
Related Event
Related Events ”Gesture of Lines"
Gallery Talk
- Period
- Friday, 29 April 2022 / Thursday, 19 May
- Venue
- Tokyo Shibuya Koen-dori Gallery
- Admission
- Free
Related Events ”Gesture of Lines"
Artist Talk
- Period
- Saturday, 28 May 2022 / Saturday, 18 June
- Venue
- Tokyo Shibuya Koen-dori Gallery
- Admission
- Free
Related Events ”Gesture of Lines"
Taking the Time to Appreciate Art
- Period
- Monday, 6 June 2022
- Venue
- Tokyo Shibuya Koen-dori Gallery
- Admission
- Free
Talk Event of “Gesture of Lines”
- Period
- From Tuesday, 14 June （about 50 minutes）
- Venue
- Online streaming on our YouTube Channel
- Admission
- free
With the artists of California’s Creative Growth Art Center (CGAC) and their exhibited works as a departure point, Tom DI MARIA who has worked as its director for a long time, will talk about their characteristics as well as the similarities and differences between them.
