Lido Rico Exhibition: ENVIROSPHERES

Thru Oct 17th

Lido Rico is one of the most progressive contem-porary artists in Spain and his works have been regarded highly throughout the European art scene in recent years. Though having had a diverse range of media for expression in his artistic career, his recent works are chiefly characterized by "self-involvement" in which he attempts to use his own body-copy as a medium through which to exert his self-boundary to the outer environment.

The Spanish art scene, suppressed under the Franco regime till the mid 70s, has since seen a burgeoning of new expressive opportunities to a degree often unrivalled by its European counter-parts. Just as the history of mankind has witness-ed over an over again, the harder you trample on a spring, the harder it bounces back. The new breed of artists has indeed grown to add an entirely new depth to contemporary art as a whole, where it has seemingly succeeded in bypassing all the political complexity or “-ology-based” underpinnings. What we have here is nothing but “fundamental humanism”.

Lido Rico's works are a prime example of such a human-based artistic structure, whereby the artist merely points to both the “struggle” as well as “joy” of overwhelmingly self-centered perspectives of the world. There is no political preference, no ideological difference in his pieces, but instead there is only an artistic coherence with which to emphasize the present.

Mssohkan
Nearest stn: Hankyu Oji-Koen Stn.
Open: 1pm-6pm, closed Wed.
Admission: Free
Tel: 078-802-8822

Yagi Kazuo Exhibition

Thru Oct. 31

Retrospective exhibition: commemorating the 25th Anniversary of his death Yagi Kazuo (1918-79), a pioneer of avant-garde ceramics, was born in Kyoto. He entered the sculpture course at the Kyoto Municipal School of Arts and Crafts in 1931 and after graduation studied under Numata Ichiga at the Kyoto Municipal Laboratory for Ceramics. Yagi formed a group, Seinen Sakutoka Shudan (young ceramic artists group) in 1946, aiming at creating a new ceramics but it was dissolved two years later. Then he formed Sodeisha with Suzuki Osamu, Yamada Hikaru and others. The role Sodei-sha played in postwar ceramics was significant especially in establishing a field of avant garde ceramics. Particularly Yagi's monumental work, The Walk of Mr. Samsa in 1954, changed the concept of ceramics. His black ware works also earned acclaim both from admirers and critics. The retrospective exhibition, with works from the early period to the final years, together with materials shown for the first time, the result of researches on his works, marks the 25th anniversary of his death.

THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, KYOTO
Nearest stn: Keihan Sanjo stn. Okazaki Park
Open: 9:30am-5pm, closed Mondays • Admission: ¥1200/¥800/¥600
Tel: 075-761-4111

Tokyo Trilogy by Katrin Paul

Oct.6- Nov.5

Katrin Paul is a German photographer living in Tokyo whose works focus on the image of women in Japanese society. At the Flanders Center photographic gallery, she will exhibit three bodies of work in her Tokyo Trilogy: grandmothers (titled Even at 88,
I Enjoy Putting Color on my Lips Every Morning in Front of the Mirror), ganguro (titled Playing Summer) and a confrontation between Japanese woman and their image in the advertising pictures (titled Skindeep) are just some of the examples of her work. Her artworks are usually created by juxtaposing two or more photographs of the same woman taken in a short time. This exhibition will showcase how all Japanese women are concerned with their appearance no matter what their age and the audience will be pulled in by their beauty and their changes.

Flanders Center
3F Osaka International House, Osaka
Getting there: 7 min walk from Tanimachi 9 chome / Shitennoji mae
Open: 11am-12:30pm / 1:30-4:30pm
(close on Sat, Sun, Nat. holiday)
Admission: Free • Tel: 06-6773-8850

Gareth Jones Exhibition
La Galeria de Artelibre. Monolith Inc.

Oct. 9-30

This will be the sixth exhibition in the series by Gareth Jones. Born in Wales, Gareth has done his Bachelors of Fine Arts in Scotland and Masters in the USA. His work brings an experimental expression of cross-culture out of his living experiences over three different continents. Most recently Mexican folk-art, Japanese television and Western Expressionist paintings have provided cues to his imagery, materials and method of production. The resulting drawings and sculptural objects are often combined with written text in his work.

As each art piece of this exhibition was made independ-ently, the way in they are presented in the gallery allows them to be seen collectively forming non-linear narratives alluding to personal experience, identity, and providing a contemporary cultural commentary. The exhibition includes over 18 framed drawings old and new as well as a brand new sculptural wall installation.

Sarajevo Project Division
K2 Bldg. 7F, 2-9-7 Higashinoda-cho, Osaka
Getting there: Keihan Kyobahshi stn. or 5-min walk from JR Kyobashi stn.
Open: 11am-7pm • Tel: 06-6356-5370

Kansai Art Listings

ART section compiled by Maki Nibayashi