HIROKO SAIGUSA: WABI SABI IN ACTION

HIROKO SAIGUSA: WABI SABI IN ACTION
Curated by Kyoko Sato

Opening Reception: June 6, 2024, 6-8pm
Live painting with DJ Kibachan

In her youth Hiroko Saigusa, was nurtured in the Urasenke tea ceremony which she now includes in her work. Being so close to this ceremony she intimately understands the profound impact of the tea room on the human psyche and brings this influence into her artwork which contains both the energy of turmoil and also evokes a sense of tranquility—wabi-sabi—through strategic employment of blank spaces, offering solace and healing to all who engage with it. To immerse oneself in Saigusa’s art is almost like stepping back in time to the Sengoku (Warring States) period (AD1467-1590), where amidst in intense fighting, the tea ceremony held a special place for its ability to soothe tensions and bring peace to the land.

In a tea ceremony, the concept of wabi-sabi is experienced through all five senses, engaging sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. While experiencing it we admire the scroll in the alcove, the tea bowl, and utensils, listen to the chirping of birds and the rustling of trees in the wind, smell the scent of tea and tatami, and taste sweet confections. Hiroko Saigusa translates this sensory experience into her art by immersing herself in a similar process. She intuitively selects colors, shapes, and textures for her paintings while being attuned to the sounds of her hands or brush on the canvas, the mixing of colors, and pays attention to silence. She feels the texture of the brush, paint, and canvas, smells the paint and canvas, and even tastes edible paint to infuse its flavor into her artwork. This holistic approach allows Saigusa to capture the essence of wabi-sabi in her creations by incorporating sensory elements that resonate with the tranquility and imperfection celebrated in this Japanese aesthetic philosophy.

HIROKO SAIGUSA

Born 1978 in Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture, Tokyo-based artist and fortune teller.

Her solo exhibitions were held at ARTIFFACT Gallery (New York, 2019), G&J Gallery (Contemporary ART Korea & JAPAN Exhibition, Seoul, 2019), and Bar Foxy in Shibuya (Tokyo, 2016).

The group exhibitions she participated in include: Japan Contemporaries Series 3 Stepping Into A World (Motoichi Adachi and Kyoko Sato, Gallery Max, New York, 2023), Neo-Japonism in Vienna (Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, 2019), 44th Japan Week 2019 (International Friendship Association, Athens, 2019), Creators - Artists of the Era Beyond Heisei (QUALIART, Kanazawa 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, 2019), SPECTRUM (Agora Gallery, Miami, 2018), 12th Gwangju Biennale, Boundary of Imagination (Gwangju, South Korea, 2018), SURFACES (SPACES - Palazzo Ca’ Zanardi, Venice, 2018), 24th Contemporary Art Japan-Korea Exhibition (Japan-Korea Contemporary Art Association, Tokyo, 2018), Current Exhibition (National Art Center, Tokyo, 2016, 2017, 2018), Japan-China-Korea Art Exhibition (Japan-China-Korea Art Exhibition Executive Committee, Tsukuba Museum of Art, Ibaraki, 2017, 2018), ARTRATES JAPAN (Hive Gallery, Los Angeles, 2015), PARK OF THE FUTURE (Netherlands Amsterdam International Museum, 1999), and the Kobi Art League Exhibition (Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art, 1999).

Her design work includes stage costumes and flyers for PLANET MAYA, commissioned by musician and yoga charisma Maya Fiennes in 2007 while in London, and founding the fashion brand HIROCO Japan in 2017.

She began drawing at the age of three and was taught the Urasenke tea ceremony by his father. In 2000, graduated at the top of her class from the Visual Communication Design Department of the Toyo Institute of Art and Design. In 2003, she entered the Graphic Design Department of Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, University of the Arts London. She appeared in BS Fuji’s TV program “The Night Before Brake” in 2020.

June 5 - 29, 2024
Gallery 60 NYC | 208 E 60th St, New York, NY 10022
(347) 601-4323

Open 7 days | 10am-5pm
Admission Free
You will receive one free professional fortune-telling session with Hiroko(aka rose eye) if you purchase artworks.
You could schedule an appointment for her fortune-telling session ($80) at k@kyokosato.me.