Yuji HONBORI 《Ragaraja (Aizen-Myo-o)》 Painting on cardboard 2018 11×24×h24 cmGallery Yamaki Fine Art is pleased to present an exhibition of recent works by Yuji HONBORI from Friday, April 1 to Saturday, May 12.
Hombori has created a variety of buddist statues and structures with ordinary materials such as cardboards and wrapping papers, sometimes exhibited as large-scaled installations. His first solo show at our gallery will gather lively works such as Aizen Myouou, a dharmapala who presides over love and leads us to awakening, under the theme of “Passion.”
Yuji Hombori was born in Kobe in 1958. Having finished the graduate school in the Department of Sculpture of Aichi University of the Arts, he has energetically engaged in his creative activities while teaching art in his hometown. His turning point was an opportunity to create works with waste woods from a shrine, which led him to face with Buddhist statues. As a result, he thought of the recent series of works with cardboard, which are exhibited in Kobe Biennale in 2009 and in a solo show at INAX Gallery in 2010, gaining a huge attraction from the world’s art scene.
Constructed by sticking pieces of second-hand cardboards, they look transparent from the front as if filled with the light of grace. Meanwhile, seen from the side, they turn into masses consisting of complex layers and sections. This gap between the lightness of the material and the volume as a statue gives his work peculiarity as well as peacefulness.Through his creation, Hombori’s works make us aware that it is important to “reborn” items consumed in our daily lives. However, it does not mean that he is just engaging in recycling or environmental movement, but that his creation is based on the idea of “metempsychosis.”This idea derives partly from his experience of a huge earthquake in Kobe in 1995, which made him feel reluctant to use first-hand materials. His statues reutilizing disposable cardboards looks as if to model the wishes of those who underwent the terrible disaster.
He has turned garbage into the deities as objects of worship, advocating “a paper (kami, 紙) thrown away, a god (kami, 神) picked up” (parodying a Japanese proverb “while a god thrown away, another picked up” meaning “when one door shuts, another opens.”) Not only the surprise but also the dignity of his work cannot help but attract us. This exhibition will show his recent works including a monumental work more than 2 meters in height. Please do not miss this opportunity.
We will hold a reception party with the author at 17:00-19:00 on Friday, April 6. We are very happy to have you at the gallery.
【Selected solo Exhibitions】
1987City Gallery, Hyogo, Japan
1988Amano Gallery, Osaka, Japan
1989Amano Gallery, Osaka, Japan
1992Amano Gallery, Osaka, Japan
1993Gallery NAITO, Aichi, Japan
2002TOR ROAD GALLERY, Hyogo, Japan
2006Gallery Kitanosaka, Hyogo, Japan
2008Gallery HAKU, Osaka, Japan
2009Gallery HAKU, Osaka, Japan
2010Gallery HAKU, Osaka, Japan
2010INAX Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2010"BUTSU", Hase Temple, Kanagawa, Japan
2011ART FAIR TOKYO2011（NANZUKA booth）
2011Gallery HAKU, Osaka, Japan
2011"BUTSU", Hase Temple, Kanagawa, Japan
2013"Fujin Raijin", NANZUKA, Tokyo, Japan
2014"New works", AISHONANZUKA, Hong Kong
2017"Yakushido", NANZUKA, Tokyo, Japan
2018"Passion-Mihotoke" Gallery Yamaki Fine Art, Hyogo,Japan
【Selected Group Exhibitions】
1988Festival of Contemporary Wood Sculptures, Gifu, Japan
1989Kyoto Art Exhibition, Kyoto, Japan
1989Ten Exhibition, Nara, Japan
1989Japanese Contemporary Art Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan
1989Contemporary Art Fair in Osaka '89, Osaka, Japan
1990Artists in Hyogo Exhibition, Hyogo, Japan
1990Festival of Contemporary Wood Sculptures, Gifu, Japan
1991Tenri Biennale'91, Nara, Japan
1992Artists in Hyogo Exhibition, Hyogo, Japan
1992"The Surface of Dotted Line1992", Gallery NAITO, Aichi, Japan
2009"LEXHIBITION", L Gallery,F-1, Aichi, Japan
2009Kobe Biennale 2009, Hyogo, Japan
2011"Shuffle", NANZUKA UNDERGOUND, Tokyo, Japan
2011Kobe Biennale 2011, Hyogo, Japan
2012"Shuffle II", Art Fair Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
2014PRUDENTIAL EYE AWARDS, Singapore
2018”Recycle Art Exhibition 2018", Sapporo,Japan
2019"The 22nd Exhibition of the Taro Okamoto Award for Contemporary Art" Taro Okamoto Museum of Art,Kawasaki, Kanagawa
【Awards】
2019"The 22nd Exhibition of the Taro Okamoto Award for Contemporary Art" Taro Okamoto Museum of Art,Kawasaki, Kanagawa
【Artist Information】
Yuji Honbori
SessionFri. Apr 6, 2018 - Sat. May 12, 2018 Closed on Sundays and Mondays
Hours11:00－13:00 / 14:00－19:00 [-16:00 on the last day]
PlaceGallery Yamaki Fine Art
Venue3-9-5-2F Motomachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0022
ContactTEL: 078-391-1666 FAX : 078-391-1667 MAIL: info@gyfa.co.jp
AccessOne minute walk from Motomachi Station, West exit (JR/ Hanshin Line)
ChargeFree
