yuichi hirako, galleri christoffer egelund
DESCRIPTION
Antrophomorphic creatures inhabit the sprouting scenes of Yuichi Hirakos paintings and for a while the rooms of Galleri Christoffer Egelund as well when the plant-like beings seem to have crawled from the canvases into the rooms as sculptures. The renaissance artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo painted fantastic portrait heads made out of flowers, vegetables or fruits. In Hirakos paintings it seems like these plant people have been attributed bodies to walk around in a fairytale-like universe. Animated brushwork and pulsating colouring forms a world where the boundaries between culture and nature, man and plant and indoors/outdoors are non-existent. In the large painting Lost in Thought 3 the picture plane is divided into several fragments by a tree that embraces the entirety of the painting’s fictive universe. The paint runs down the bark like resin and mimics the natural deposition of material. Two vases containing stylised flowers are placed in the bottom right corner of the painting. PotteTRANSCRIPT
GALLERI CHRISTOFFER EGELUNDBREDGADE 75DK-1260 COPENHAGEN KDENMARK+45 [email protected]
YUICHI HIRAKO
GALLERI CHRISTOFFER EGELUNDBREDGADE 75DK-1260 COPENHAGEN KDENMARK+45 [email protected]
YUICHI HIRAKO
YUICHI HIRAKOMemories of My Garden / Shitting Man With a Purple Bird, 2010
Acrylic on canvas, 91 x 72,7 cm
“We have various relationships with plants. We live together with house
plants indoors, or we longingly re- create quasi-forests in gardens or
parks. Some of our ancestors also gave special meaning to them. In my
country, Japan, even plants have been given a God-like symbol of wor-
ship called “Shinboku.” Although plants live so close to us and share
our living space with us, we might not be as conscious of their presence
compared to other living beings that coexist with us. We do not share
a bed with plants, nor do we directly communicate with them as we
might do with other living beings. Despite their close presence, there
is a clear boundary between humans and plants in the physical world.
The forests have been identified as both a place of sacredness and
a habitat for devils. They have been viewed as uncivilized, barbaric
objects of hate in Christianity and as holy sanctuaries among Animists in
my country Japan, although such associations might not be as prevalent
today. Nevertheless, these associations have something to do with the
supernatural, something that transcends our human understanding.
If the plants are the children of the forests, they might really be the
incarnations and more easily accessible versions of spirits, the Divine,
or the Devil. Since plants are so unconsciously part of our daily life in our
modern society, I see a lot of instances where the relationship between
the plants and us humans is very ambiguous. The ambiguity stirs up
my imaginations and imageries of various rich contexts between the
human beings and the plants, and it inspires my works a great deal.”
YUICHI HIRAKO
YUICHI HIRAKOMemories of My Garden / Boy 22, 2012
Plaster, wood and lacque, 12 x 35 x 90 cm.
YUICHI HIRAKOMemories of My Garden / Boy 29, 2012
Plaster, wood and lacque, 14 x 30 x 84 cm.
YUICHI HIRAKOHamlet 1, 2012
Acrylic on canvas, 162 x 130,3 cm.
YUICHI HIRAKOHamlet 2, 2012
Acrylic on canvas, 162 x 130,3 cm.
YUICHI HIRAKOInstallation view, 2013
Courtesy Galleri Christoffer Egelund
YUICHI HIRAKOMemories of My Garden / Red Short Sleeves, 2010
Acrylic on canvas, 45,5 x 53 cm.
YUICHI HIRAKOFamiliar Sight, 2012
Acrylic on canvas, 400 x 200 cm.
YUICHI HIRAKOMemories of My Garden / Boy 21, 2012
Plaster, wood and lacque, 22 x 15 x 52 cm.
YUICHI HIRAKOMemories of My Garden / Man 4, 2012
Plaster, wood and lacque, 22 x 15 x 58 cm.
YUICHI HIRAKOYggdrasil 1, 2012
Acrylic on canvas, 130.3 x 162 cm.
YUICHI HIRAKOInstallation view, 2012
Courtesy Galleri Christoffer Egelund
YUICHI HIRAKOTrace the Origin, 2012
Acrylic on canvas, 200 x 400 cm.
YUICHI HIRAKOInstallation view, 2012
Courtesy Galleri Christoffer Egelund
YUICHI HIRAKOTree House 4, 2012
Acrylic on canvas, 130,3 x 162 cm.
YUICHI HIRAKOThe Leaf Vein VII, 2012
Ink on paper, 31 x 22 cm.
YUICHI HIRAKOThe Leaf Vein II, 2012
Ink on paper, 31 x 22 cm.
YUICHI HIRAKO1982 Born in Okayama, Japan
2006: B.F.A., Wimbledon College of Art, BA (Hons) Fine Art.
Lives and works in Tokyo
[Solo exhibitions]
2012: The Wooden Clapper, The Drawing Room, Manila, The Philippines
2012: Selected Forest, Satellite, Okayama, Japan
2012: Advanced Plants, WALL/H.P.FRANCE, Tokyo, Japan
2012: The Green Pieces, GALLERY MoMo Ryogoku, Tokyo, Japan
2012: Memories of My Garden : Hidden Forest, INAX Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2012: Memories of My Garden : Mistletoe, Tokyo Wonder Site Art Cafe kurage,
Tokyo, Japan
2012: Sleeping in the Pine Forest, Galleri Christoffer Egelund, Copenhagen,
Denmark
2011: Yuichi Hirako Art Works, SATELLITE, Okayama, Japan
2011: Memories of My Garden : Song, Tokyo Wonder Site Hongo, Tokyo, Japan
2011: Tokyo Wonder Wall 2011 at Tocho, Skywalk Exhibition Space at Tokyo
Metropolitan Government, Tokyo, Japan
2010: Yuichi Hirako : Memories of My Garden, GALLERY MoMo Ryogoku, Tokyo,
Japan
[Group exhibitions]
2012: XMAS’12, Galleri Christoffer Egelund, Copenhagen, Denmark
2012: SUMMERTIME 12, Galleri Christoffer Egelund, Copenhagen, Denmark
2012: Back to the Nature, Fuma Contemporary Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
2011: Mr,I Prize, Okayama Tenjinyama Plaza, Okayama, Japan
2011: XAS’11, Galleri Christoffer Egelund, Copenhagen, Denmark
2011: D Art Biennale Art Award 2011, Y++ Gallery Triwizart, Beijing, China
2011: D Art Biennale, Daitec, Aichi, Japan
2011: Arts Challenge 2011, Aichi Arts Center, Aichi, Japan
2011: Regenerate- Part.1, GALLERY MoMo Ryogoku, Tokyo, Japan
2010: The 10th Gunma Biennale for Young Artists 2010, The Museum of Mod-
ern Art, Gunma, Japan
2010: Tokyo Wonder Wall 2010, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
2009: Amuse Art Jam 09, The Museum of Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan
2009: Shell Art Award 2009, Daikanyama Hill Side Forum, Tokyo, Japan
2009: TOKYO WONDER SEEDS 2009, WONDER SITE Sibuya, Tokyo, Japan
2008: GEISAI 11, Tokyo Big Site, Tokyo, Japan
2006: Amuse Art Jam 06, The Museum of Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan
2006: Stepsiblings, Temporary Contemporary, London, UK
2005: Cocktail, Nolia’s Gallery, London, UK
2005: Free Range, G3 Gallery, London, UK
2005: ’05Degree show, Wimbledon School of Art, London, UK
[Others]
2012-2013: Permanent Exhibition, Tokyo Wonder Site Hongo, Tokyo, Japan
[Art Fairs]
2012: Art Taipei
2012: Art Copenhagen
2012: Art Gyeongju
2012: ArtMrkt San Francisco
2012: Young Art Taipei
2012: Art Herning
2010: ULTRA 03
2010: Art Fair Kyoto
[Awards]
2011: D Art Biennale, Outstanding Performance Award
2011: Arts Challenge 2011, Finalist Nominated
2010: The 10th Gunma Biennale for Young Artists 2010, Finalist Nominated
2010: Tokyo Wonder Wall 2010, Tokyo Wonder Wall Prize
2009: Shell Art Award 2009, Finalist Nominated
YUICHI HIRAKOGreen Ax 3, 2012
Modified Ax, wood and acrylic, 100 x 18 x 5 cm.
GALLERI CHRISTOFFER EGELUNDBREDGADE 75DK-1260 COPENHAGEN KDENMARK+45 [email protected]
GALLERI CHRISTOFFER EGELUNDBREDGADE 75DK-1260 COPENHAGEN KDENMARK+45 33939200MON-FRI 11AM-6PMSAT. 12PM-4PM