HARA Hiroshi Exhibition

January 10 (Sat) – February 1 (Sun), 2026

＜1st Floor — Special Exhibition Room＞
Wednesday–Sunday: 11:00–17:00
Final day of the exhibition: 11:00–16:00

Closed: Monday, Tuesday

■ Artist in the Gallery: Saturday, January 10, and Sunday, January 11, 13:00–17:00
■ Gallery Talk: Sunday, January 11, 14:00–
　　　　We will hold a gallery talk on the theme “Possibilities of Two-Dimensional Works.”
　　　　Please feel free to join us.


Placing “life (inochi)” at the core of creation, the work pares back chance-born forms produced by soot to generate energy that resonates with the rhythms of nature. Amid the resonance between the unconscious and the conscious, in 2025 a new inquiry began—using paint as a material medium to depict, in even more layered ways, the generative structures of life.

【 On Technique】　　：　　Hiroshi Hara

Since 2015, I have been developing a unique method of expression by capturing the soot that rises from oil smoke—the very material used to make ink—directly onto Japanese paper and canvas.
Through this process, I am able to depict the deepest black at its most delicate, particulate state. The soot reveals forms as if flames themselves had been imprinted upon the surface.

Since 2022, the underlying theme of my work has been *Life (inochi)*.
In these works, the accidental forms created by soot are erased through fine strokes, producing organic, layered structures brimming with energy—forms that seem to have emerged from nature itself. Within a single surface, the conscious and the unconscious coexist, resonating in subtle harmony.
In 2025, my practice evolved further as I began to incorporate color into this process, adding new dimensions to the living energy that animates my works.

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【On Creation】

For me, *creation* arises from the depths of chaos, and *art* is akin to noise—a subtle disturbance that transforms perception.

For the past four years, I have continued to explore “Life” as the foundation of my artistic inquiry.
Each work begins with a series of sketches in which I shape an initial vision. Yet, when I employ my original technique—burning soot directly onto the surface with fire to inscribe the essence of darkness—the flickering flame generates unexpected forms, leading the work toward unforeseen realms.

Guided by chance, I then scrape away the layers of black using various tools, searching for traces of life within the surface.
Through this process, the initial image often vanishes, transforming into entirely new forms or reemerging after a deepened evolution. Immersed in this labyrinth of chaos, I dwell for long periods in exploration, until new shapes rise to the surface as revelations.

When art seeks to expand the boundaries of perception within society, it is often perceived as something alien—sometimes even rejected as dissonance.
Yet when individuality is embraced and recognized as a source of new values, even the smallest discovery by an artist can carry the potential to open new horizons for the future.
For this reason, I perceive art metaphorically as *noise*.

In 2025, after a decade of working with flame and soot, I feel that my practice has reached a point of culmination.
The act of mixing pigments directly on the canvas embodies the same intertwining of *chance and necessity*, *unconscious and conscious*, that has always existed in my soot-based works.

Through my art, I wish for viewers to contemplate the profound relationship between humankind and the cosmos—to rediscover the miraculous significance of their own existence, to feel the sanctity of *Life (inochi)*, and to recognize the vital importance of maintaining harmony between daily life and the natural world.