We visited the group exhibition “Painters and Human Figures” by four artists, held at the artist-run space “Atelier” in Shiinamachi.
Artist-run space “Atelier” in Shiinamachi
Erina Matsui
The artist-run space “Atelier” also functions as the working studio of painter Erina Matsui. This exhibition brought together four artists of the same generation, all close friends who share a strong attachment to human figures (hitogata = dolls/figures).
Live painting demonstration by Erina MatsuiIn the live painting zone, works unrelated to this exhibition were also on display.Work shown at “Painters and Human Figures”: ≪Pumpkin Holic≫, 2019≪Pumpkin Holic≫ (detail)Live painting zone — installation view
Yuichi Hirako
Hirako presented two sculptural works. With a solo exhibition coming up right afterward, he seemed to be in the final push of production, and was not present on the closing day when we visited.
Kai Kumano is a graduate of the Sculpture Department at Tokyo University of the Arts, but has since shifted his practice toward painting. For this exhibition he showed both sculpture and painting.
Installation view of Kai Kumano’s worksKai Kumano, ≪Horizon≫, 2019Kai Kumano, ≪Trance≫, 2019Kai Kumano, ≪Rose Lampshade≫, 2019The paintings were made in acrylic on canvas.Kai Kumano, ≪Bird and Star≫, 2019Installation view
Tomoko Nagai
Tomoko Nagai’s participation overlapped with her solo exhibition at A/D Gallery in Roppongi.
In addition to her paintings, she presented an installation using Licca-chan dolls.
Although the exhibition was held inside Erina Matsui’s studio, visitors kept streaming in and out and the space was full of energy. Three of the four artists (all except Kumano) are represented by galleries, so their works were not for sale; Kai Kumano, the only artist without gallery representation, left an especially strong impression with his paintings.
