Hokumichi Ichibayashi solo exhibition “Hidden things”

2023.10.07(Sat) – 2023.10.12(Thu)

YUGEN Gallery will be holding Yasumichi Ichibayashi's solo exhibition "Hidden things" from Saturday, October 7th to Thursday, October 12th.

Characters running wild as if they are going to jump out of the screen. They are wrapped in a bubble-like, cloud-like object, and the events that are happening are obscured. Hokuto Ichibayashi is a painter who abstractly draws sequences that resemble slapstick comedy in manga. In this exhibition, "Hidden Things," he will be showcasing about 10 three-dimensional panel works that stimulate the viewer's imagination by focusing on the invisible parts.

Exhibition Information

venue

YUGEN Gallery
Token International Building 3F, 2-12-19 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Dates

October 7th (Sat) - October 12th (Thursday), 2023

Opening hours

13:00-19:00
*Ends at 17:00 on the final day only
*No closing days

Date of presence

October 7th (Saturday) and 12th (Thursday)

Admission fee

free

Notes

*Please note that the dates and opening hours may change without notice depending on the situation.

Exhibited works images

*Please note that some of the exhibited works may be subject to change.

Information on special offers for visitors

We will give away a free original art book to those who fill out the questionnaire upon visiting the exhibition. This original art book, exclusive to this exhibition, compiles the exhibited works and the exhibition statement in one volume.

Yasumichi Ichibayashi Photo Exhibition "Hidden things" Art Book

Artists: Yasumichi Ichibayashi B4 variant / Price: 1,650 yen (tax included)

*Please note that the design of the art book may be subject to change.

Statement

Classics are cutting edge

When he was a high school student, Yasumichi Ichibayashi aspired to be a manga artist, taking his work to publishers. He aimed to go to art school to improve his drawing skills, and since the art school he attended happened to specialize in Japanese painting, he decided to pursue Japanese painting. He majored in Japanese painting at Kyoto Seika University.

In Kyoto, where I was exposed to traditional art on a daily basis, I was enthusiastic about creating Japanese paintings after graduating from university, but I felt limited by the fact that "Japanese paintings take so long to complete, and even though I'm full of ideas, I can't create what I want to create." Images that could not be contained on the support rose up, and my desire to express myself beyond the flat surface grew, and I arrived at my current production style using acrylic paints and three-dimensional panels.

While moving away from the subject matter and materials unique to Japanese painting, Ichibayashi uses traditional techniques as a base, incorporating metropolitan-style colors and digital graphic compositions. He uses modern materials such as saran wrap, masking tape, and packing material, and images collected from the internet as motifs. Video games are a key motif in his work.

"Artworks that remain as classics today must have depicted the cutting edge of their time. Not just the subject matter, but the techniques used as well. Works that tell the story of the era in which you were born and raised can become classics. In my case, that's video games."

He says that video games that he has played since he was a child shape the times, and he incorporates what he feels from the game's storyline, the scenery he sees through the music, and the worldview of the game into his work. Ichibayashi's work, which uses purple and blue as its main colors, is reminiscent of ukiyo-e in that it expresses in a catchy way the universe as seen by people living in that era, and in particular "ai-zuri."

The hidden truth

"Ancient murals and ceramics that depict events and life at the time not only weather over the years, but some have also been intentionally erased by people who were still alive. When part of the material that helps us understand past events is missing, no one can see the whole picture. This stimulates the imagination of the viewer, and all kinds of noise is born."

The work "hidden things", which is also the title of this exhibition, is a homage to the "Mosaic of Alexander the Great", which is considered one of the greatest masterpieces of mosaic. The masterpiece, which began restoration for the first time in about 100 years in 2021 and is still being examined by many researchers, has large areas of peeling on the screen. Based on the concept that there may be hidden facts here that overturn historical awareness and even the values of paintings, the theme of the work is the ambiguity of history and the uncertainty of humanity.

"In a world where the population continues to grow, where people of all races and religions are unsettled and the noise is increasing, it is becoming more difficult to get accurate information, including news. This is making people feel frustrated every day."

Ambiguous Affirmation

Living in uncertain times and with our identity fluctuating, we tend to seek a single, definite answer. However, it is human nature to be confused and unable to find one.

Drawn with clear colors and dot patterns against a smoky, cloud-like background, Ichibayashi's work comically depicts situations where we don't know what someone is fighting against or what is happening, and a cutting-edge, classic human figure emerges.

The works on display this time were created using the "Shop Bot," a tool that processes wood based on digital data, and transformed panels. From two-dimensional to three-dimensional works. "Right now I'm more interested in the shape than the content of what I draw," says Ichibayashi. The theme of the exhibition and the artist's true intentions are hidden, and noise is born.

About sales of artworks

At the same time as the exhibition, the works will be available to view and purchase on the YUGEN Gallery official online store.

Ichibayashi Hokumichi
Ichibayashi Hokumichi
Hokuto Ichibayashi
Ichibayashi Hokuto / Born in Ishikawa, Japan in 1992. Graduated from Kyoto Seika University, Faculty of Art, Department of Art and Design, majoring in Japanese painting. Instead of using traditional Japanese painting paints that use minerals, animals, and plants found in nature as coloring materials, he chooses to use acrylic paints and other materials to express the realistic aesthetic sensibility of a generation born and raised in a society surrounded by manmade things. Making full use of traditional Japanese painting techniques, he creates works that incorporate the visual expressions of games and feature the customs of the 2000s and beyond as motifs.