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• LETTERS　Tangling Unraveling 【Postponed】

Due to the concern regarding the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), we have announced to postponement of opening the  Exhibition "LETTERS Tangling Unravling" . We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and kindly ask for your understanding. (01/08/2021)

Exhibition Overview

Title	Art Brut Then & Now 2021 LETTERS　Tangling Unraveling
Period	Saturday, 23 January – Sunday, 21 March 2021　※ Postponement of opening
Opening Hours	11:00 - 19:00
Closed	Mondays
Venue	Tokyo Shibuya Koen-dori Gallery, Galleries 1 and 2
Admission	Free
Organized by	Tokyo Shibuya Koen-dori Gallery, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture
Artists	KISHABA Moriya, SAKUTA Yuichi, Harald STOFFERS, SHINJO Senna,  TOMIZUKA Yoshimitsu, NISHIKAWA Takumi, NISHIYAMA Tomohiro, MATSUMOTO Kunizo

 Art Brut Then & Now is a series of exhibitions that presents, from a variety of angles, artists who have been active in the Art Brut scene in Japan and overseas for many years, alongside new artists who have been exhibited widely in recent years.
 The first exhibition in the series, LETTERS Tangling Unraveling, presents eight artists who have been captivated and spellbound by letters. Their creative works highlight their fascination with letters, which began with an interest in their sound, meaning, shape, and other aspects. As the letters are built up on the surface, they are released from their sound and meaning to become merely lines and points. However, they soon begin to wear those sounds and meanings again and turn back into letters.
 Letters are repeatedly tangling and unraveling. Welcome to the world they depict.

Artists

KISHABA Moriya

Born in Okinawa Prefecture in 1979, KISHABA began writing at home in the 1990s, before engaging in creative work at “Wakatake Art” in Urasoe City from around 2002. He converts the Japanese kana characters on existing field guides and catalogs into Chinese characters and letters of the alphabet and fills in white space with letters. He has exhibited his works in many shows in Japan and overseas, including at Japon (Collection de l’Art Brut, Lausanne, 2008–09).

SAKUTA Yuichi

Born in Okinawa Prefecture in 1987, SAKUTA has been creating energetically at home since around 2004. He cuts out the words and scenes in his memory, combines them, and glues them down, completely filling the paper. He has exhibited his works frequently in Japan and overseas, including at Art Brut Japonais (Halle Saint Pierre, Paris, 2010–11).

Harald STOFFERS

Born in Hamburg, Germany in 1961, STOFFERS started writing letters to his mother, in 1999, with unique ruled lines and characters, which all begin with the words, “Liebe Mutti (Dear Mummy).” Since 2001, he has been working in the “Atelier der Villa” attached to a vocational facility. His letters, which were at first just small scraps of paper, have become more and more massive every year. Stoffers’ works can be found in the Collection de l’Art Brut in Lausanne.

SHINJO Senna

Born in Okinawa Prefecture in 1990. SHINJO’s strong affinity for numbers as a small child expanded into an interest in letters. Letters formed with lines and long, thin circles link together to form a single shape, sometimes completely filling the surface. Major exhibitions include Art Camp 2017: Naive Cannon (Art Gallery, Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum, 2017).

TOMIZUKA Yoshimitsu

Born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1958, TOMIZUKA has been creating art at the “Suzukake Art Club” in Nishinomiya City since around 1993. He creates stories with pictures from memory and his own imagination on newspaper and washi. The letters are inserted between the lines drawn in single colors, with sketches painted with small strokes of pale and bright pastels. His works can be found in the Collection de l’Art Brut in Lausanne and other collections.

NISHIKAWA Takumi

Born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1986, NISHIKAWA has participated in “atelier panpaki” in Yokohama City since around 2000. With his own technique of dissolving watercolor paints in soapy water, he draws a variety of subjects, such as buildings and sweets, adding meticulous written descriptions of each image. Major exhibitions include POCORART Open Call vol. 9 Awards Exhibition 7: Shapes of Love (Arts Chiyoda 3331, Tokyo, 2020).

NISHIYAMA Tomohiro

Born in Hiroshima Prefecture in 1974, NISHIYAMA lives at the Ayumi-en in Fukuyama City. He draws horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines one on top of the other to create letters that look like patterns. With this technique that he devised himself, he kept a journal of his day-to-day happenings. Major exhibitions include POCORART Declares! 2014 (Arts Chiyoda 3331, Tokyo, 2014).

MATSUMOTO Kunizo

Born in Osaka Prefecture in 1962. While he was helping in his family’s Chinese restaurant near the Tsutenkaku Tower, writing letters became a part of MATSUMOTO’s daily routine from around 1988. He has participated in “Atelier Hiko” in Osaka City since 1995. He chooses words and phrases from the genres he is interested in, such as kabuki, tea ceremony, and boybands, and writes them on any piece of paper nearby. His works can be found in the Collection de l’Art Brut in Lausanne and other collections.

*The images shown may differ from the actual works exhibited.

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