KM01
A Lighthouse Called Kanata
（Tokyo）
Kanata will proudly present 6 contemporary artists deeply entwined in the aesthetic traditions of the eternal capital of Kyoto. Widely considered to be the leading Japanese ceramic artist of his generation, emblematic of Kyoto and collected by over 80 museums throughout the world, Kanata is honored to represent the pinnacle of Japanese contemporary ceramics, Sueharu Fukami. The first woman to ever be commissioned by the Metropolitan Museum to create a glass sculpture for its collection in 2019, Niyoko Ikuta is also widely considered to be the leading glass artist in not only Kyoto, but all of Japan. And Eiko Kishi is a trailblazer who is the pioneer of woman ceramists in abstraction, and is the recipient of the 2024 Kyoto Art and Culture Award. Together with these 3 living legends of Japanese artists in Kyoto are the younger generation of Kyoto artists represented by Kanata: Shoko Taruma in lacquer (recipient of the Kyoto City New Artist Award in 2021), Shogo Watari in wood (who studied under celebrated wood artist Joseph Walsh), and Keisuke Matsuda in abstract oil painting (hailing from the south of Kyoto).
Gallery Information
A Lighthouse called Kanata is dedicated to the reevaluation of contemporary Japanese art in the 21st century. By challenging the parameters of what contemporary art can be through the rediscovery of aesthetic traditions, the gallery wishes to expand the possibilities of contemporary art from a uniquely Japanese perspective, expressed through an emphasis on the concept of beauty within material and technique. Focusing on abstract sculpture and painting influenced by precedents within post-war Japan, Kanata holds 6 solo and/or group exhibitions per year, while also participating in 8 international art fairs annually.
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