Kaziura Tokuo
July 8 - August 29, 2017
Hours ： 10:00 am ~ 6:30 pm
Tuesday (Open by appointment), Wednesday (closed)
Exhibiting work : Drawing, Sculpture ‥‥abt. 20 pcs
"Where am I ? Who am I ?" Tokuo Kajiura
Date : Sunday, July 16, 11: 00-12: 30
Venue: Artland Gallery
Participation fee : Free
After graduating from Tokyo University of the Arts, he studied at the Sculpture Department of the National Vienna Art School for a year and returned to Japan temporarily. He returned to Vienna four years later, and continues to work as an artist under the theme of "pause". At this tea party, we will ask Mr. Kajiura about his activities with the following three questions.
・ Why did he start his career as an artist in Vienna?
・ How did he establish relationships with local art galleries, museums, and government agencies?
・ What made him sustainable for many years in Vienna-centric activities?
Please enjoy his way of life as an artist and a realistic experience while having a cup of tea according to the three questions.
We look forward to your participation.
Kajiura Norio Biography
Born in Okayama in 1951, Norio Kajiura entered the Craft Department, Design Major, at Tokyo University of the Arts in 1970. In 1975, he continued his studies at the university's Graduate School in the Department of Oil Painting Techniques and Materials. After completing his graduate studies, he remained at the same research lab as a research student. In 1981-1982, he studied sculpture at the University of Applied Arts Vienna in Austria.
During his time in Europe, he was deeply impressed by the art scenes and the close connection between art and society. Inspired by the European art environment, he aspired to pursue activities in the region. He returned to Austria in 1986 and took up residence in Vienna. In 1987, he held his first solo exhibition at a gallery in Vienna. Following this, he conducted presentation activities in various European countries, including Germany, Italy, Spain, Liechtenstein, Belgium, and others.
In 1991, he resumed presenting his works in Japan, with activities spanning cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Okayama, Kumamoto, Marugame, Nagasaki, Kobe, and more. At the end of 2017, he returned to Japan and established his studio in Okayama, where he continues his artistic production. He actively engages in presentation activities across Japan and other locations.
"On the Occasion of My Solo Exhibition" KAJIURA Tokuo
The foundation of my work is the desire to know and feel something about existence, which is a kind of vague matter. Where am I? Who am I? These are simple questions. As my understanding and senses of these questions expand and deepen, I feel I am becoming more aware of myself.
I have taken up "ma" as an important element in my thinking about existence. Ma" is derived from the traditional Japanese concept of "ma," which to me means the relationship between various things. I believe that the characteristics and uniqueness of an "individual" are not fixed, but are established through relationships with oneself and other elements. It is transformed in various ways depending on its relationship with various situations.
Light that always travels in a straight line is distorted by gravity, time that has a constant rhythm changes its rhythm in relation to speed, and so on. The affected party also undergoes some kind of transformation. It is interesting to see how the "individual" is still an "individual," but its form, content, and elements differ depending on the relationship between them.
Through the communication that takes place during the process of creation, they transform each other, growing and retreating repeatedly. And in what is born, we can sense each other's "existence. In other words, I consider "ma" to be a structure that forms the content of "existence.
The style of my expression is never fixed, but inevitably takes various forms depending on the process of creation and the transition of my thoughts. It is born from various factors such as premonition, prediction, necessity, possibility, and impossibility. How sincerely can I deal with them?
The exhibition is also a part of the production process. It is made up of all the relationships between the situation of the space, the materials, and the people involved in it, and some new relationship is created there. Exhibiting works gives us the possibility and pleasure of doing so.
