PAST EXHIBITION

Midori Kawano solo exhibition「←Left Right→」

Date

9.25 (Sat) 〜 10.10 (Sun)
※ Open on Wednesday 〜 Saturday,Last Sunday

*Please wear a mask, take your temperature and disinfect yourself when you visit the venue.

*Please note that admission may be restricted depending on the congestion of the venue. Thank you for understanding in advance that you may be required to stand in line.

*Please note that the exhibition period and opening hours may be subject to change depending on the situation. Any changes will be announced on the gallery website and Instagram.

Open

13:00 – 19:00

CALM & PUNK GALLERY is pleased to announce the second solo exhibition of Midori Kawano, “← Left Right →”, since “not colored yet” held three and a half years ago.

In “not colored yet” in 2018, she presented “RGB_Light,” a lighting device that creates colored shadows using the principle of the three primary colors of light, from patent acquisition to commercialization. After holding a traveling exhibition in Kyoto in the same year as her solo exhibition, she participated in the large-scale exhibition “PHENOMENON : RGB” at Laforet Museum Harajuku in 2019, and in the summer of 2021, she was selected for the art project “PROJECT ATAMI” to work on a residency in Atami.
Her activities have not only been limited to exhibitions, but she has also provided artwork and directed music videos for legends such as BOREDOMS/SHOCK CITY and Yuzo Kayama, created advertising visuals for Laforet Harajuku, and collaborated with apparel brands such as PUMA x SLY and Lululemon. In addition, her cross-genre approach – graphic design, product design, video, and visual art – is reflected in the fact that she has been working under the title of “visual director” since her creation went beyond the realm of art director.

In this exhibition, she tries to capture the “phenomena” contained in the scenery she has seen so far through her works. The natural trees and mountains, the horizon stretching out to the sea, and the colors shining in these spaces will be expressed in a 3.6 meter long lenticular work. The colors that change as the viewer’s vision shifts are like a “phenomenon” of the natural world that spreads unchangingly, and at the same time, they depict things that cannot be shared with the inner world through the vision of each person in the exhibition.

The scenery that seems to change each time you view it, may in fact be something that stands quietly and changes depending on your own vision and inner world. Please come and experi- ence the visible “phenomenon” as many times as you like, while cooperating with anti-infection measures.

Artist’s statement

At daybreak, a glimmer of light splits the sky and ocean.
Color changes with every passing second; the horizon unfolds left and right.

The skyline, an illusion that “I” exist at the center of the world.
I focus my awareness on this universal line.

Light ←→ Dark
Old ←→ New
Soft ←→ Hard
Static ←→ Dynamic

We all move to and fro among various axes, always situated at a unique position within the universe.
Here I attempt to share this beautiful phenomenon­––where each point offers a different view.

–– Midori Kawano

On Midori Kawano’s solo exhibition

Throughout her career, Midori Kawano has created works based on her fascination with phenomena. The new works that comprise this exhibition use lenticular printing, where colors change depending on the angle at which they are viewed. In the artist’s eyes, colors as a phenomenon result from the compatibility between light and the retina.

Kawano is a cross-disciplinary creator, traversing graphic design, product design, video, and visual art. Her axis remains constant while her gaze moves across––as if looking east to west, north to south––when weighing ideas for each field. She dedicates hours to digital media, utilizing Adobe software. As she considers multiple patterns while adjusting the levels on display, the colors create gradations and transform. Her new works are filled with distinct ideas that exude how naturally they developed in her practice.

In her large-scale work, a horizon created from repeated vanishing points stretches from left to right and vice versa. It was inspired by the view she witnessed in Atami, where she did a residency shortly before this exhibition. Although it depicts trees and mountains, they’re not the theme of the work. She attempts to capture light filling space and the phenomenon it triggers, which encompasses changing colors.

Each audience member takes in the view by witnessing this work via their retina, but none can share in the actual experience. The human eye is forever alone. However, it is possible to share the horizon, the brilliant light, and the phenomenon they cause. With today’s social distancing requirements, it has become increasingly difficult to enjoy views communally. Kawano’s work shows us how, despite the distance, we all encounter the phenomena.

–– Noriyuki Abe
CALM & PUNK GALLERY