Saito Hiroyuki Exhibition - Normal Temperature Diary in Marugame -

May 25, 2024 (Sat) to June 16, 2024 (Sun)

Wed to Sun: 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
On the last day of the exhibition: 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Closed: Mon, Tue

Artist will be present: May 25 (Sat), 26 (Sun)
Please feel free to visit.

Saito Hiroyuki Exhibition - "Ordinary Temperature Diary in Marugame."

, We are pleased to announce the solo exhibition of Saito Hiroyuki, which will be held from May 25th to June 16th at Artland Gallery. This exhibition will introduce the world of "Ordinary Temperature Diary" that Mr. Saito depicts through his daily life and surrounding events.

Exhibition Overview:
* Duration: From May 25th, 2024 (Saturday) to June 16th, 2024 (Sunday)
* Opening Hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 11:00 to 17:00 (until 16:00 on the last day)
* Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays
* Artist in Attendance: May 25th (Saturday) and May 26th (Sunday)

Saito Hiroyuki was born in Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1961. After studying at Tokyo University of the Arts, he received a scholarship from the French government to study at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Since then, while continuing his artistic production based in Tokyo, he has exhibited widely. His works express his unique world using familiar materials such as plaster and wire mesh, with everyday landscapes and small events as motifs.

Saito's works are characterized by a delicacy that can be felt beyond words and the universal beauty latent in everyday landscapes. His creative process reflects inspiration drawn from daily life and an exploration of the potential inherent in the materials themselves.

Through the series of works that Saito has continued to depict as "As if maintaining an ordinary temperature. Like a diary...", this exhibition offers an opportunity to rediscover the universality and beauty inherent in our daily lives and familiar landscapes. We invite you to visit this exhibition and experience the world woven by Mr. Saito's works, encountering new discoveries and emotions along the way.

Saito Hiroyuki 　　- About Normal Temperature Diary -

About twenty years ago, my younger brother, a carpenter, built our house. I helped him. A wooden house appeared in a new residential area. At my wife's request, I applied plaster to the wall beside the open staircase. With the leftover plaster, I painted a fresco-like picture on a small piece of wood. Around that time, I stopped looking at art magazines and exhibitions. I avoided using art terminology. Words like contemporary, art, space... I stopped making and depicting, drawing on canvas, and facing large screens. I just wanted to draw pictures on plaster. Since then, I've drawn every morning.

One day, I found an old fly swatter. I cut out the rusty wire mesh, applied plaster, and painted on it. The mesh and plaster supported each other, feeling both fragile and beautiful. It was also interesting that I could cut it with scissors after painting, changing its size and shape. My desk became filled with small, unfinished paintings. I hadn't intended to show them to anyone, but I was persuaded to hold a small solo exhibition. Seeing my paintings, some said they felt nostalgia, others said they were like haiku. I draw the daily life and minor events around me, just as they are, at a normal temperature. Like a diary...

Due to COVID-19, the voices of the children who used to come to paint are no longer here. I made a small model of our house with the leftover clay intended for the children and painted it. Among the houses covered with siding, only our cedar-sided house had a texture close to the ground, weathered over a long time. This paper clay series? I found it quite interesting, so I also made and painted old elementary schools, trains, and a friend's house.

Last year, for the first time after turning sixty, I set foot in Shikoku. Despite being able to see Shikoku from my birthplace on clear days. The islands seen from the bridge over the sea looked different from the Seto Inland Sea I knew. I decided to make and paint an old lighthouse with paper clay.

(February 2024, Saito Hiroyuki)