KANSAI VOICE Vol.2

Installation >>

Venue: nca | nichido contemporary art
Date: 8.25 (Fri.) – 9.22 (Sat.), 2023
Opening reception: 8.25 (Fri.) 17:00 –
Gallery hours: tue. – sat. / 11:00 – 19:00 （closed on sun., mon., and on national holidays）
Artist: Inoue Ami / Inoue Nanami / Imanishi Shinya / Kawamura Mana / Yonemura Yuto
Kindly supported by: KOTARO NUKAGA

nca | nichido contemporary art is pleased to present the group exhibition Kansai Voice Vol.2 under the curation of the gallery represented artist Shinya Imanishi.
Coming to its second instalment with the purpose of introducing emerging artists who built their artistic practice in Kansai, the exhibition presents the work of five artists who share similar backgrounds in terms of education and everyday environment but who have each developed their own perspective on the world.
Through the bold expressions of their art which span a wide range of media, such as video, painting and sculpture, each artist is investigating how their stories are intertwined with the history and social context by which they are surrounded. The exhibition presents a selection of new works made especially for the occasion.

Inoue Ami
b. 1991, Miyagi Prefecture; M.A., Graduate School of Film and New Media, Tokyo University of the Arts, 2016.
Inoue has been carrying on her artistic practice in Kyoto from the city of Yamazato, where she relocated in 2018, and through her work that comprises installation, video art and photography, she has been investigating the idea of a nature-inclusive society trying to envision what this could mean nowadays by analyzing from different angles the relation between humans and nature through the activities of hunting and bee-keeping.
Main solo shows: The Garden, Kyoto Art Center, 2023; The piercing eyes, Amado Art Space, Seoul, 2019.
Main group shows: The 21st Biennale of Sydney, 2018.
Main awards and scholarships: Kumagai Masatoshi Culture Foundation, 2023; ULTRA AWARD Finalist award, 2016.

Inoue Nanami
b. 1996, Aichi Prefecture; M.F.A. in oil painting, Kyoto University of the Arts, 2021.
The foundation for Inoue’s paintings can be found in the artist’s approach where, drawing lines over and over again, she leaves behind, visible on the surface, traces of her touch in the shape of tiny imperfections, crooked lines and pools of paint, which represent the natural result of that very physical, repetitive action. The discrepancy, accidentally generated by this process, seems to be questioning the essence of our very own life system.
Main solo shows: Achilles and the Tortoise, M5 GALLERY, 2023; Maybe so, maybe not, KOTARO NUKAGA, 2022.
Main group shows: POLYPHONY, Arario Gallery, 2022; young okazaki vol.1, MtK Contemporary Art, 2021.
Main awards: NONIO ART WAVE AWARD 2021, Jury’s Special Award.

Imanishi Shinya
b. 1990, Nara Prefecture; M.A. in oil painting, Kyoto University of the Arts, 2015.
Exploring through his work the realm of “the visible and the invisible”, as well as the relation between material and imagery, perspective and distance, Imanishi wants to address the ambiguity and uncertainty that scatter, nonetheless, from those things we deem familiar.
Main solo shows: GLIMMERING, THE BRIDGE, 2023; caw wac caw, nca | nichido contemporary art, 2021.
Main group shows: young okazaki vol.2, MtK Contemporary Art, 2022; Shell Art Award Exhibition, The National Art Center Tokyo, 2020.
Main awards: Shell Art Award 2020.

Kawamura Mana
b. 1995, Hyogo Prefecture; M.A. in oil painting, Kyoto University of the Arts, 2023
The imagery of Kawamura’s paintings is constructed on texts, patterns and scenes that derive from Japan’s modern literature. With a background in literature, Kawamura is fascinated with how words, for their very own nature, can take on different meanings depending on the context or on who is on the receiving end, and through her practice she has been showing how meanings can change if we play around with the shape of letters.
Main shows: conversation, haku Kyoto, 2023; MITSUKOSHI Art Selection, Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store, 2023; ARTISTS’ FAIR KYOTO, The Museum of Kyoto, 2023; 3331 ART FAIR, 3331 Arts Chiyoda, 2022.
Upcoming Solo Show, haku Kyoto, 9.15‒10.1/2023.

Yonemura Yuto
b. 1996, Osaka Prefecture; B.F.A. mixed media, Kyoto University of the Arts, 2019.
Fascinated with and inspired by the idea of the existence of beings that are powerful beyond imagination, like gods and heroes in mythology, Yonemura creates his “superhuman statues”, to borrow the artist’s words, using a variety of materials ranging from clay to stone and FRP.
By intentionally leaving visible the traces of his actions, process and mistakes, it seems as if Yonemura has been exposing the real essence of sculpture as a medium which simultaneously lies in its frailty and imperfection, hidden right behind its elegant nature, and in its masculine strength.
Main solo shows: BAROM and/or several long stories, The Triangle, Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art, 2023; The Agaruman Universe, Rohm Teather Kyoto, 2022.
Main group shows: NSFS / Endless Lorelei, EUKARYOTE, 2023; Symbolizing Problems: Sculpture, Body, Masculinity, Hotel Anteroom Kyoto, Gallery 9.5, 2022.