Shinya Sakurai Exhibition
June 3 - June 25, 2023
Wednesday-Sunday: 11:00-17:00
Last day of exhibition: 11:00-16:00
Closed: Mondays, Tuesdays
Artist in the gallery: Saturday, June 3rd and Sunday, June 4th
SHINYA Sakurai Exhibition — Press Release
ARTLAND Gallery will present a solo exhibition by SHINYA Sakurai, an artist based in Japan and Turin, Italy, from Saturday, June 3, to Sunday, June 25, 2023. The exhibition will focus on his new series, Symbol, which emerged from the COVID-19 lockdown he experienced in Italy in 2020.
The new Symbol series explores the themes of hope and prayer amid difficult circumstances. In developing these works, Sakurai sought to create paintings with a clearer message by emphasizing icons as symbols. Executed in two-tone colors, the works pursue simplicity through the use of a limited palette and a small number of icons. His aim is to create paintings that evoke a wide range of thoughts, memories, and images in viewers through the symbols they encounter.
By contrast, the Delicious Colors series was a defining feature of his previous solo exhibition in 2021. The series was described as featuring “colorful polka dots that are playful and charming, with translucent paint shining glossily to catch the viewer’s eye. Mixing resin into the paint creates a distinctive texture. The traces of spoons and forks are striking, and the works contain abundant visual elements that evoke sweets” (Note 1). In contrast to these works, the current Symbol series pursues a simpler, more refined form of expression, bringing the strong messages conveyed through its icons to the forefront.
This exhibition offers a valuable opportunity to appreciate the differences and evolution in Sakurai’s work, while gaining insight into the artist’s growth and transformation. The distinctive aesthetic that emerged under the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic is sure to leave a strong impression on viewers. Through this exhibition, we hope visitors will experience the new forms of expression that have evolved since his previous solo show and discover messages of hope and prayer that bring comfort to the heart. We warmly invite you not to miss this opportunity to encounter an artist who continues to pursue new challenges and transformations.
(Note 1) Sakiko Yoshikawa (Curator, Fukuyama Museum of Art), “SHINYA Sakurai: Delicious Colors / Symbol,” June 5, 2021
Shinya Sakurai
1981 Born in Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan
2004 Graduated from Art Planning Department, Osaka University of Arts, Japan
2004 Entered Accademia Albertina delle Belle Arti di Torino, Italy
Lives and works in Turin
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2003 "SHINYA SAKURAI SOLO EXHIBITON" The Museum Of Arts & Crafts, Itami / Itami, Japa
2004 "SHINYA SAKURAI SOLO EXHIBITON" SHIBUYA MuseumOf ART / Fukuyama, Japan
2005 "NEW TYPE" Consolato dell'Giappone / Milan, Italy
2006 "LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL" Gallery CATARTICA / Turin, Italy
2007 "LOVE from HIROSHIMA" Galleria Arte Giovane / Asti, Italy
2008 "LOVE COMUNICATION" Accademia Delle Belle Arti Macerata / Macerata, Italy
2008 "POSITIVE HAPPY LOVE" Galerie Paris/ Yokohama, Japan
2009 "INTELLIGENCE SURFACE" CRAC / Cremona, Italy
2010 "ONE" Artmark Gallery / Viena, Austria
2010 "Cuore" Giorgio Marosi Gallery / Turin, Italy
2010 "LOVE SONG" Galerie Paris / Yokohama, Japan
2011 "FLY The FLAG" The White Gallery / Milan, Italy
2012 "Shinya Sakurai2007-2012" Palazzo Mistrot / Turin, Italy
2012 "LOVE POOL" Galleria Albanese Arte / Matera, Italy
2012 "LOVE POOL" Galerie Paris / Yokohama, Japan
2013 "UNITED COLORS" Base Gallery / Tokyo, Japan
2013 "LOVE POOL" Maeda Hiromi Art Gallery / Kyoto, Japan
2013 "LOVE POOL" YAMAKI Fine Art Gallery / Kobe, Japan
2014 "Atomic Heart" Maria Cilena Gallery / Milano, Italy
2014 "My Favorite Colors" Galerie Paris / Yokohama, Japan
2014 "My Favorite Colors" HEIS Gallery / Fukuoka, Japan
2015 "UNITED COLORS" Maeda Hiromi Art Gallery / Kyoto, Japan
2015 "e intanto fioriscono i ciliegi" Eidos Immagini Contemporanee / Asti, Italy
2015 "My Favorite Colors" HEIS Gallery / Fukuoka, Japan
2015 "United Colors" ART LAND Gallery / Marugame, Japan
2016 "United Colors" Galerie Paris / Yokohama, Japan
2016 "COLORS" CONTEMPORARY HEIS ART / Tokyo, Japan
2017 "Unite Colors" Galerie Lattemann / Darmstadt, Germany
2017 "WAKE UP THE COLOR" Maeda Hiromi Art Gallery / Kyoto, Japan
2017 "Azzuri" ART LAND Gallery / Marugame, Japan
2017 "My Favorite Colors" Fondazione San Domenico / Crema, Italy
2018 "My Favorite Colors" CARUSO GALLERY/ Messina, Italy
2018 "Colors" Galerie Paris / Yokohama, Japan
2018 "Delicious Colors" CONTEMPORARY HEIS ART / Tokyo, Japan
2019 "Delicious Colors” Galleria Il Castello / Milano,Italy
2019 "Delicious Colors" Maeda Hiromi Art Gallery / Kyoto, Japan
2019 "Delicious Colors" ART LAND Gallery / Marugame, Japan
2019 "Delicious Colors" Kaki Gallery / Toyama, Japan
2020 "Delicious Colors" Galerie Paris / Yokohama, Japan
2020 "Symbol" CONTEMPORARY HEIS ART / Tokyo, Japan
Awards
2003 President of Japan Mint Award in Osaka Arts and Crafts Exhibition
2003, ATC Design Museum, Osaka
2004 President of NHK Broadcasting Centre Award in Osaka Arts and Crafts Exhibition 2004, ATC Design Museum, Osaka
2005 Merit Award in International Young Men Fine Arts Conpetition, Carosso City Exhibition Hall, Carosso, Italy
2006 Finalista, Matteo Olibero Conpetition, / Matteo Olivero Competition, / Amulet Beltoni Foundation, Salzzo
2006 Premio, /Borgo Piazza Painting Competition, Oratory of Gonfalone, Fossano
2008 Finalista in Roma International Youth Art Competition, Roma Federal Office for Culture, Roma
Collection
Roberto Bilotti Museum of Contemporary Art, Rende, Italy
Artists Society in Turin, Turin, Italy
The City Hall of Castorano, Italy
Rest Villa Hiroshima Hikarigaoka, Hiroshima
ACCADEMIA DI BELLE ARTI di MACERATA, Macerata, Italy
Cremona Contemporary Art Centre, Cremona, Italy
