[Ota Fine Arts Singapore] Some of the Many Things That I Want to Remember: Tomoko Kashiki

2 Jul - 15 Aug 2020

  • Ota Fine Arts Singapore is delighted to present “Some of the Many Things That I Want to Remember”, a solo exhibition by Japanese artist, Tomoko Kashiki. This exhibition marks Kashiki’s second solo presentation in Singapore, and will feature seven recent paintings as well as a selection of drawings. 

     

    Kashiki’s paintings pulsate between reality and imagination, and the imagery created is weaved from her daily encounters with different sceneries and figures. She observes beauty and wonder in the minute details in life, and she focuses on reflecting this in her paintings through the postures and facial expressions of the figures as well as their surroundings. Although Kashiki’s approaches may vary and the eventual appearance of each individual work may be different, they often share the same origin – “something” that she constantly attempts to capture, and which gives her a strong impetus to paint. 

  • Installation Views

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  • In the painting Soup of Memories Served with Smiling Sunflowers and Bones(2020), she portrays the figure’s body in a curled-up...

    Detail image of Soup of Memories Served with Smiling Sunflowers and Bones (2020).

    In the painting Soup of Memories Served with Smiling Sunflowers and Bones(2020), she portrays the figure’s body in a curled-up position. The overlay of multiple elements creates an impression that the character could be lying at the far end of a room, or possibly floating in a pond or sky partially covered with patterned clouds. The idea behind this painting was developed from a combination of two earlier drawings — the composition of one where a person is looking down into a room from outside of a window, and the concept of another where the sunset pours into a room, turning the floor orange. While Kashiki was painting this piece, it started to look like a puddle of soup with red bloody flesh, which made her think of the title ‘Soup of Memories’.

  • Kashiki’s unique style and intricate details are reminiscent of the aesthetic of Buddhist paintings during the Heian period and Bijinga, pictures of beautiful women. The artist focuses her attention on details such as fingers, limbs, nails and clothes’ wrinkles which are realized through her unique technique that creates a flat, sanded-down surface on which she makes fluid drawing lines that appear as if they were imprinted by a pencil. 

  • The characters in Kashiki’s paintings are often singular and perhaps she prefers not to define the gender of these characters...

    Detail image of His Favorite Green Dress (2018-2019).

    The characters in Kashiki’s paintings are often singular and perhaps she prefers not to define the gender of these characters in her work. In another large painting in the exhibition, His Favorite Green Dress (2018 - 2019), Kashiki wanted to paint three motifs: the corner of the garden, bushes of trees, and a person standing there. The person in this painting is standing confidently in a highly exposed green dress. In this work, Kashiki paints the self-expression and pleasure of a person who proudly believes that their favourite green dress looks great on them.

  • Kashiki’s works are personal, dream-like, yet often verging on the ironic by combining both real and imaginative elements. We invite you to experience Kashiki's intimate world that suspends her subjects between dreams and desires. 

    • Tomoko Kashiki Counting the Numbers of Forgotten Things, 2020 Acrylic, linen, wooden panel 93 x 33 cm
      Tomoko Kashiki
      Counting the Numbers of Forgotten Things, 2020
      Acrylic, linen, wooden panel
      93 x 33 cm
    • Tomoko Kashiki The Hanged Man, 2019 Acrylic, silica sand, linen, wooden panel 180 x 79 cm
      Tomoko Kashiki
      The Hanged Man, 2019
      Acrylic, silica sand, linen, wooden panel
      180 x 79 cm
      USD 32,000.-
      Enquire
    • Tomoko Kashiki I Want To Eat Legs, 2019 Acrylic, linen, wooden panel 97 x 130 cm
      Tomoko Kashiki
      I Want To Eat Legs, 2019
      Acrylic, linen, wooden panel
      97 x 130 cm
      Enquire
    • Tomoko Kashiki Whispering, 2017 Pencil, coloured pencil, paper 21 x 29.7 cm
      Tomoko Kashiki
      Whispering, 2017
      Pencil, coloured pencil, paper
      21 x 29.7 cm
      Enquire
  • ABOUT THE ARTIST Tomoko Kashiki (b. 1982, Kyoto, Japan) completed her M.F.A. and Ph.D. in Painting at the Graduate School...

    ABOUT THE ARTIST

    Tomoko Kashiki (b. 1982, Kyoto, Japan) completed her M.F.A. and Ph.D. in Painting at the Graduate School of Kyoto City University of Arts. Solo exhibitions include "Stories Told Tomorrow", Ota Fine Arts, Shanghai, "Tomoko Kashiki", 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (2016) and "Tomoko Kashiki", Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris, (2015). Group exhibitions include "Rituals of Signs and Metamorphosis", Red Brick Museum, Beijing (2018), "Dreamers Awake", White Cube Bermondsey, London (2017), "7th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art", Brisbane (2012), "Yokohama Triennale", Yokohama (2011), and "Bye Bye Kitty!!!", Japan Society Gallery, New York (2011). Her works are in the collections of Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art (Brisbane, Australia), Toyota Art Collection and 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa.