Kawakami Yoshiro
1993 | Japan
He creates his work with numerous methods including anime, painting and animation- installations. In all of his work, He use the motif of illustrated boys and girls.
When he draw the characters, they always have a big face, small mouth, distorted body and big eyes. This design is influenced by Japanese animation and traditional dolls like the “kokeshi." Probably these dolls will be described as “kawaii” - the now famous Japanese word meaning "It's so cute!" or simply the adjective "cute." He too love things that get the “Kawaii!” praise; He think the sensibilities behind kawaii sum up the Japanese culture and aesthetics.
A kawaii character might have a very subdued expression. For example, when Hello Kitty smiles, her mouth isnʼt shown and only her eyes smile sweetly. A typical character in Japanese art does not always express emotions in an obvious way. And even if something is kawaii, it could be conveying negative feelings. Often in Japanese art, toning down the expression and making it difficult to read the character's emotion are ways to express sadness and sorrow.
He like this Japanese way because the vague and mild expressions free the imagination of the viewer. He can reflect his own interpretation on the character. From the same face, on some days he might read calmness, and on other days sadness or even happiness. He believes dolls remain popular in our cultures because their fixed faces allow us to mirror our own emotions on them. If he is happy, He feel the doll is happy too. If he is sad, he feels the doll is sad too. We feel like the dolls are communicating with us.
This concept underlies my work and he tries to reproduce my inexplicable feelings through my characters.
Solo Exhibition
2023「Unknown Silence」 Contemporary Tokyo (Beijing)
2022「Dear Ambivalence」Contemporary Tokyo (Japan) / Galerie Zberro (Paris) / The
Waluso Gallery (London) / Gallery Irritum (Seoul)
2021「TSUGOMORI - the moonlight eye-」LIGHTHOUSE GALLERY(Tokyo)
2020「KAGEGOTO - Shadow Whisper-」Shinjuku Gaika Gallery(Tokyo)
2019「Falling down sky」Shinjuku Gaika Gallery(Tokyo)
2018「Now, Once and Inferiority complex and so on」TEN to MIRAI design
laboratory(Tokyo)
Group Exhibition
2023
Art Central
Beijing Contemporary
Jingart
Innersect
Art Taipei
Diaf
Art Jakarta
Moodrn Art 2023
2022
「ART BUSAN 2022」BEXCO Exhibition Center 1(Busan / South Korea)
「Art Fair Tokyo 2022」Tokyo International Forum(Japan)
「SUMMER VIBES」Galerie Zberro(Paris)
「Warm Current - Chinese & Japanese & South Korean Invitational Exhibition of
Contemporary Art」Powerlong Museum (Shanghai / China)
「ART TAIPEI」Taipei World Trade Center (Tanpen / Taiwan)
「ART021 SHANGHAI」SHANGHAI EXHIBITION CENTER (Shanghai / China)
「INTERACTION」Galerie Zberro(Paris)
2021
「Overnight Party」MEGURO rusu (Tokyo)
「THE VERY NICE GROUP SHOW」Galerie Zberro(Paris)
「2021 ART021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair」Shanghai Exhibition Center(Shanghai
/ China)
「JAPANESE GROUP SHOW」GALLERY JO YANA（Aix en Provence/France）
「Maison Ozmen second Group Show」MAISON OZMEN（Online）
「KIAF ART SEOUL 2021」COEX HALL A&B（ソウル/韓国）
「ASK? FILM FESTIVAL」art space Kimura ASK?(Tokyo/Japan)
「IF YOU ARE THINKING, WHY」ART WHY GALLERY(Shanghai/ China)
「JING ART 2021」National Agricultural Exhibition Center(Beijing/ China)
「ART BUSAN 2021」 Bexco Busan Korea(Busan/Korea)
「ART BEIJING 2021」National Agricultural Exhibition Center(Beijing/ China)
「STARTING POINT」GALERIE GERALDINE ZBERRO(Paris/France)
「Art Collectors vol.3」MEDEL GALLERY SHU(Tokyo)
XIAOHONGSHU
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