Favorites

Taizo Yoshinaka

Yae Asano

Katsuaki Shigeno

Kengo Nakamura

From the gallery collection, this exhibition features the early works of our representative artists, as well as works by deceased artists who have been exhibited here in the past, in order to interpret the experimental spirits in them.

MEGUMI OGITA GALLERY is pleased to present the group exhibition “Favorites”. This exhibition features the early works of our representative artists, as well as works by deceased artists who have been exhibited here in the past. The artists’ early works record the attempts to create their own expression based on the diverse experiences as art students. Meanwhile, the works of the artists who lived through the rapidly changing 20th century show their pursuit as Japanese artists, in the wake of European and post-war American art. The works above may appear cool at first glance, but they have in common the fact that the artists’ inner conflicts are undeniably marked, therefore leave vivid impressions on the viewer. We hope you enjoy the group exhibition in the current space, including monochrome oil paintings through experiments by Taizo Yoshinaka, scratch paintings by Yae Asano, and works from university years by Katsuaki Shigeno and Kengo Nakamura, before the relocation in March 2025.

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Taizo Yoshinaka was born in Kyoto, Japan in 1928, and entered the Painting Department of Kohdo Bijutsu Kyoto Institute in 1946. Yoshinaka continued to exhibit from the same year, starting with the first Kohdo Art Exhibition at Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, and was awarded in 1953. Yoshinaka moved to Tokyo in 1952, and he exhibited in the Nika Association in 1955 by the invitation of Taro Okamoto, who was trying to create a new art trend through avant-garde works. Yoshinaka painted living things and machines in primary colors and moving compositions in the 1950s. He produced the “Heritage” series, a collage of diverse commodities such as stock and property columns of newspaper, buttons, razor blades, rubber plates and nails in Japan’s high-growth period of the 1960s. After a period of colorful, photorealistic oil paintings, he produced the “Disease and Fake Medicine” series, in which he used silkscreens for still life and other images in the 1970s, while suffering from depression. Later, he finished a series of apocalyptic white “Colorless Paintings” in which he stripped away unnecessary elements as a completion of his career, and died in 1985 at the age of 56. Yoshinaka boldly changed his styles with criticism and humor, reflecting post-war Japanese society, and continued to attract attention even after his death, with major retrospective exhibitions at museums.

Dates

January 17-February 1, 2025

Noon-6pm

Closed on Sunday and Monday

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MEGUMI OGITA GALLERY

B1 2-16-12 Ginza Chuo-ku Tokyo 104-0061 Japan

info@megumiogita.com