Event

From September 28 to October 12, 2024, GARDE Gallery will host a solo exhibition by contemporary artist Yuqi Shinohara titled “FROZEN SUPERMARKETS.” Given GARDE’s many projects that closely intertwine art and food, we interviewed the artist to gain insight into her thoughts on the works and the origins of her artistic career.

Shinohara creates video and installation works that explore the inner conflict humans face as our lives are sustained by the sacrifice of other living beings, particularly animals used as food. She shared that, from a young age, she has been deeply interested in animals, both as pets and as a source of sustenance, and these experiences have shaped her current body of work.

The title of this solo exhibition, “FROZEN SUPERMARKETS,” symbolizes the “mental freeze” or numbness that people often experience as they navigate a life built on consuming other living beings.

Artworks Born from Familiar Music and Video

The artworks on display in this exhibition are the result of capturing analog and physical creations through photography and video. From an early age, music was something deeply familiar to Shinohara, and the world of video, which she first explored as a hobby and later mastered through self-study, became central to her artistic expression. For Shinohara, these mediums serve as the “languages” of her art, allowing her to convey her recurring theme of “animals.”

Introduction to Selected Artworks

《round and round》
“round and round” is a video artwork, but what makes it unique is its presentation on video cassette tape, offering a fresh perspective. The method was chosen to emphasize the tactile quality and transformation of objects, aligning with the concept of valuing texture and change. This piece beautifully embodies the connection between her music activities and art.

《PRAY FREE》
“PRAY FREE” is a piece that expresses respect for life by recording and preserving what the artist has eaten on paper. Although it is difficult to remember everything one consumes, the food we ingest becomes part of our bodies and sustains us. The Japanese phrase “itadakimasu” often said before meals to express gratitude for food, serves not only as a gesture of respect for the ingredients but also as a reflection of the inner conflict involved in consuming life. This is the interpretation embodied in this artwork.

The Two Faces of Yuqi Shinohara: Vocalist Q.i and Contemporary Artist

Shinohara is also active as the vocalist Q.i of the band Milk Talk. The name Q.i is derived from her English artist name, Yuqi Shinohara, and represents a simpler approach to her relationship with music. However, when working in the visual arts, she uses her real name, aiming to make her identity clearer and convey her artistic vision more directly to those who experience her work.

In this solo exhibition, her first, you can immerse yourself in a unique world of art that only a multi-talented artist like Shinohara can create. We invite you to come and enjoy this exceptional experience.

Yuki Shinohara Solo Exhibition “FROZEN SUPERMARKETS” – Exhibition Overview

• Exhibition Dates: Saturday, September 28, 2024 – Saturday, October 12, 2024 (Closed on Sundays and public holidays)
• Time: 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
• Venue: GARDE Gallery (NBF ALLIANCE Building 4F, 5-2-1 Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo)
• Admission: Free

Yuqi Shinohara

Yuqi Shinohara, born in 1991, graduated from Hiroshima City University (Faculty of Art) in 2014 and moved to the United States. She also works as a musician under the name Q.i. Her own independent band “Milk Talk” released a full-length album in November 2023. Her retro electro-funk style, which reflects the sensibility of the times, is popular beyond the boundaries of countries and genres. She has provided music for the online game “Fortnite” and Maison Kitsuné’s fall/winter collection.

Instagram: @q.imusic

We are pleased to announce the exhibition “Atomic Love – Transience of Life -” by artist Issho Watanabe, which will be held from Sunday, August 18, 2024, to Friday, August 30, 2024. This exhibition showcases works that allow us to rediscover the preciousness and gratitude of everyday life. Nearly 80 years after the war, as narrators of war experiences become rare, this exhibition is structured to help us recognize anew the irreplaceable nature of ordinary life by considering the reality of war in peaceful Reiwa-era Japan. We encourage you to focus on the message of the artist, who, as a young person living in today’s peaceful Japan, practices what can be done to “not repeat mistakes.”

Through objects that are ephemeral and fleeting, Watanabe’s works make us realize the value of a peaceful environment. Is it ignorant or sometimes disrespectful for Watanabe, who belongs to the generation of “children of the children who do not know war,” to speak about war? Despite changes in the international situation, Watanabe’s perspective, which continues to take war seriously as a current issue in a peaceful and orderly Japan, offers many insights, including the genuine reality felt by his generation.

For Watanabe, the reality of war means that the irreplaceable, ordinary happiness of everyday life can disappear in an instant. This is not limited to war; natural disasters, conflicts, and epidemics constantly threaten our peaceful order. Disasters can transform the humanistic achievements that humanity has built over time into shapeless, irretrievable losses in an instant.

The exhibited work “Le baiser (The Kiss)” is a symbolic piece that captures a moment of everyday happiness. Using Rodin’s sculpture as a motif, it conveys the dual process of the blissful moment between a man and a woman, as well as the sculpture representing that moment, being lost due to disaster.

Watanabe believes that songs filled with love, which estrange our ordinary daily lives and allow us to prominently re-recognize moments full of meaning, are invaluable. Music enriches people, and songs that use human affection as their motif are among the highest forms of art. What made Watanabe realize the irreplaceable nature of everyday life was not a grand and solemn symphony but a single chanson. This work symbolizes the eternal, irreplaceable moments of life, embodied by the life and songs of the chanson singer Édith Piaf.

Many of us lose our minds to busyness and tend to neglect our daily lives. Watanabe strongly feels that a calm everyday life is the greatest happiness and, for example, time spent watching a mother and child is a supreme joy. This sentiment is captured in his work “Madonna.”

His art pieces revive the traditional Japanese blue-green color (aoiro) through patina, evoking even the aesthetics of wabi-sabi. The motifs and essence of his sculptures, based on drawing, originate from Western art, while the expressive techniques related to wabi-sabi derive from Japanese culture. Watanabe also boldly challenges the fusion of Eastern and Western civilizations as a new form of artistic expression.

The title of this exhibition eloquently conveys the artist’s profound message. Our bodies, composed of atoms subject to beta decay, are ephemeral and fleeting. Watanabe hopes that we do not become assimilated into the quotidian reality of conflicts that can reduce beloved individuals and precious cultural treasures to ashes in an instant, like atomic bombs. Instead, he urges us to recognize our existence at the atomic level, to love one another, and to cherish our beautiful daily lives. Admission to this exhibition is free, so if you are in the area, we warmly invite you to visit and experience these thought-provoking works.

Issho Watanabe( 渡邊一翔 ) Profile

Born in 1988 in Kyoto City, Issho Watanabe employs a 3D pen as his medium, crafting sculptures that juxtapose fragile transience with enduring durability. Under the guidance of his father, who operated a drawing studio, he honed his artistic expression. Encounters with human malice, such as burglary and arson in his former residence, prompted him to delve deeper into the nature of humanity. These experiences led him to re-examine the essence of human existence through the depiction of the human body, a journey that he continues to pursue to this day.

Biography:

1988: Born in Kyoto City, Japan
2011: BFA in Sculpture, Kanazawa College of Art
2014: Completed Master’s program in Art Education, Department of Art Studies, Tokyo University of the Arts
2015: The Power of Drawing: Human Body Drawing Exhibition, Nagoya, Japan
2016-2019: Leader of Sculpture Seminar “Rojue Modeling
2019: Art Education Forest “Artists in the Laboratory of Art Education”, The University Art Museum, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music
2020: Research note published in Journal of Art Anatomy (Japan Society of Art Anatomy) A method of creating human skeletal models using 3D pens – from the creation of stencils for sculpture production and teaching materials.From the creation of a paper pattern
2022: Nihonbashi N11 Gallery, “Affirmation of Go” by Kenta Ichinose and Kazusho Watanabe
2023: Gallery Tei “Succeeding Lines – The beauty of the human body drawn by lines from two-dimensional to three-dimensional” (Gallery Tei) Kazumasa Watanabe (human body painting) × Kazusho Watanabe (sculpture)
Geidai Art Plaza Exhibition “Geidai Mythology – GEISHIN
2024: “The Art of Tea,” an exhibition organized by Geidai Art Plaza

Atomic Love – Transience of Life – Exhibition Outline

Date: August 18 (Sun.) to 30 (Fri.), 2024
Opening hours: 10:00 ～ 18:00
Venue: GARDE Gallery (ALLIANCE Building 4F, 5-2-1 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo)
Admission: Free

Moderator: Kenta Ichinose
Main Speaker: Kazusho Watanabe
Guest Speaker: Ryo Kimoto

The “Tabiico Photo Contest 2024 Spring” represents a collaborative effort between “tabiico,” a tourism resource search site operated by NPO Aoyama Design Forum (ADF), and Iide Town in Yamagata Prefecture. This initiative aims to showcase the captivating charm of Iide Town through the lens of photography.

One of Iide Town’s standout attractions is the “submerged forest of Lake Shirakawa” renowned for its stunning photogenic vistas. Visitors are treated to a breathtaking sight, especially during the blooming season of Sakura, which occurs from April to May each year.

Application Methods
1. Follow the official tabiico SNS
2. Post one photo per post with the following hashtag:
#タビイコフォトコン飯豊町 # Name of the spot in the photo (e.g., #Submerged forest of Shirakawa Lake).

Application period
March 23, 2024 – May 19, 2024

Prizes include Yonezawa beef produced in Iide Town, Tsuya-Hime, Shirakawa Lake canoeing experience, and other delightful rewards that showcase the charm of Iide Town.
For detailed application instructions, please click here.

GARDE actively supports the exploration and promotion of local tourism resources in collaboration with community development initiatives.

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“Tabiico” is a web media platform dedicated to discovering, nurturing, and sharing local tourism gems in partnership with affiliated municipalities. With over 150 member municipalities across Japan, our mission is to foster regional development through tourism by showcasing the distinctive attractions of each region on a national scale, while incorporating local insights and perspectives.

Explore more at:
https://www.tabiico.com/
https://www.instagram.com/tabiico_adf/

Stay tuned for upcoming international versions of Instagram, which will serve as a platform to highlight Japan’s captivating allure to a global audience.

Our Metaverse Division at GARDE exhibited a booth at the “2nd Metaverse Expo Tokyo Autumn” held at Makuhari Messe from October 25th to the 27th. This exhibition provided a valuable opportunity to experience the latest technology and services offered by various companies and organizations in the metaverse business, as well as to engage in business negotiations. Many visitors came to our booth right from the beginning of the first day, and a total of 29,593 people visited the exhibition over the three-day period, making it a great success.

At this year’s booth, which was a consecutive exhibit since the previous 1st Metaverse Expo 2023, visitors had the chance to enjoy “COCO WARP”’ a metaverse museum planned, designed, and produced by GARDE, within the metaverse space of the online game Fortnite.

Visitors also had the opportunity to experience the “AI fitting service,” expected to be utilized in the fashion e-commerce business.

For nearly 40 years, GARDE has worked closely with our clients, cultivating cutting-edge information and achievements in consulting, design, and coordination, which are now being applied in the metaverse space as well.

Please continue to look forward to GARDE’s further evolution in the field of DX in the future.

GARDE is committed to sharing the client’s vision and providing support in brand building and value enhancement through the three pillars of “consulting,” “design,” and “coordination.”

We are excited to announce the “Regional Revitalization Design Award,” a project planned and produced by GARDE to celebrate the 140th anniversary of Tobishima Corporation’s establishment.

As part of Tobishima’s 140th-anniversary commemorative project, known as the “Project to Energize Local Regions,” we are calling for innovative ideas to promote the transformation of local regions through LX (Local Transformation). Our aim is to turn these regions into stages for new challenges, including local revitalization, problem-solving, efficiency improvement, and convenience enhancement.

■Award Concept Movie

■Award Overview
Title: Regional Revitalization Design Award
– Tobishima’s 140th Anniversary –

Theme: Design for Regional Revitalization
*Any idea that addresses this social issue is welcome, regardless of its form of expression.

Application period: August 1, 2023 – January 31, 2024

Application Method: Please submit your ideas using the entry form at https://tobishima-award.com/

Eligibility: Applicants must be individuals or groups aged 16-35 as of April 1, 2023, and residing in Japan. In the case of a group application, all members must meet the eligibility requirements, and the consent of all members is required.

Number of Entries: Each applicant is allowed to submit one entry as an individual or as part of a group. Individual applicants cannot submit duplicate entries as group members.

Application Requirements: Entrants must agree to and abide by the “Regional Revitalization Design Award Application Guidelines” when applying for the award.

Composition of Awards:
– Grand Prize (1 winner): 3 million yen
– Outstanding Performance (3 winners): 1,000,000 yen each
– Honorable Mention (3 winners): 300,000 yen each
– Encouragement Prize (5 winners): 100,000 yen each
In addition to these prizes, there will be special awards to further recognize outstanding contributions.

For more details, terms, and conditions, please visit the following link: https://tobishima-award.com/

■Press Release
For additional information, please refer to the press release:
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000001.000123109.html