Gesture of Lines

Exhibitions
Exhibitions
Gallery 1 & 2

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)

TitleGesture of Lines
PeriodSaturday, 23 April – Sunday, 26 June 2022
Opening Hours11:00 - 19:00
ClosedMondays
VenueTokyo Shibuya Koen-dori Gallery, Galleries 1 and 2
AdmissionFree
ArtistsSAITO Yuichi, SAKAGAMI Chiyuki, NISHIMURA Issei, HIGASHIONNA Tasuku, MATSUURA Shigeru,
Susan JANOW, Dwight MACKINTOSH, Dan MILLER, Tony PEDEMONTE, Judith SCOTT
Organized byTokyo 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.

SAITO Yuichi

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.

SAKAGAMI Chiyuki

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.

NISHIMURA Issei

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.

HIGASHIONNA Tasuku

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).

MATSUURA Shigeru

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.

Susan JANOW

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.

Dwight MACKINTOSH

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. 

Dan MILLER

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.

Tony PEDEMONTE

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.

Judith SCOTT

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

Gallery Talk

Related Events ”Gesture of Lines"

Gallery Talk

Period
Friday, 29 April 2022 14:00〜14:30 / Thursday, 19 May 17:30〜18:00
Venue
Tokyo Shibuya Koen-dori Gallery
Admission
Free
Exhibition
Talks / Symposiums
Gallery 1 & 2
Artist Talk

Related Events ”Gesture of Lines"

Artist Talk

Period
Saturday, 28 May 2022 14:00〜00:00 / Saturday, 18 June 14:00〜00:00
Venue
Tokyo Shibuya Koen-dori Gallery
Admission
Free
Exhibition
Talks / Symposiums
Gallery 1 & 2
Taking the Time to Appreciate Art

Related Events ”Gesture of Lines"

Taking the Time to Appreciate Art

Period
Monday, 6 June 2022 15:30〜17:00
Venue
Tokyo Shibuya Koen-dori Gallery
Admission
Free
Exhibition
Others
Gallery 1 & 2
Talk Event of “Gesture of Lines”

Talk Event of “Gesture of Lines”

Period
From Tuesday, 14 June (about 50 minutes)
Venue
Online streaming on our YouTube Channel
Admission
free
Exhibition
Talks / Symposiums
Online

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.

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