Like seeing this world for the first time

Kenji Sakai Solo Exhibition "Like seeing this world for the first time

〈Overview 〉

Kenji Sakai Solo Exhibition "Like seeing this world for the first time" -As if seeing this world for the first time-

At AUTO VISION in Hokuto City, Yamanashi Prefecture, artist Kenji Sakai's solo exhibition "Like seeing this world for the first time" will be held from Saturday, October 19, 2024 to Sunday, December 1, 2024.

-Depicting the gap between collapse and generation, a perfect landscape composed of geometric forms-

Born in 1996, Kenji Sakai is an artist who works in a variety of media, including oil painting, printmaking/silkscreen, and three-dimensional works. Starting from the artist's own experiences, he has created works that question perceptions of time, space, and invisible dimensions from the perspective of overlooking the relationship between the collective and the self in contemporary society, and the inorganic structure of the city.

In recent years, he has developed works that suggest the distortions hidden in the beauty of developed modern society and the collapse of the system. Works reminiscent of the end of the world, with structures and fragments of near-future cities perfectly controlled by artificially constructed systems, are formed by minimal elements such as dots, lines, and planes, and are geometric figures that have been left behind for a long time since ancient times. It is a work that depicts the "world" used and also suggests its precariousness.

In addition, Sakai also served as the director of the art space "MATTER" for about two years from 2022 to 2023, with the desire to create a place where artists can realize new challenges, and planned exhibitions that made use of the perspective of an artist as a creator. He has also focused on communication with viewers.

In this exhibition, which will be held at the exhibition hall, which is also an abandoned factory in Yamanashi, Sakai will develop new works as the second chapter of the "world" he has worked on so far. From the method of "stacking and flattening", we will set up in space the structure of a society that has been created and destroyed, repeating generation and destruction.

〈Artist Statement〉

Like seeing this world for the first time

When the "world" was born, There was nothing there, And everything existed.

The pristine "world" where no one exists Was the darkness itself and was filled with light. All sounds pierced the silence. The perfect and incomplete "world" with no beginning and no end had no name. (Omission) Like stacking building blocks one by one, I stack colors and shapes to build a "world." I layer and paint over with paints, stack and flatten. Creation and destruction, destruction and creation repeated on the canvas. The work of adding light and darkness Adds to the "world" where there is nothing, and erases the "world" where there is everything without a trace. In this way, I expose fragments of the "world" that may collapse at any moment. —Excerpt from Statement

〈About Kenji Sakai〉

Born in 1996, Kenji Sakai is an artist based in Tokyo. Aiming for slow and time-release art in today's fast-paced society, he aims to archive his works as something unchanging amidst his own changes, as well as changes in society and the environment.

He utilizes a variety of techniques, including oil painting, silkscreen printing, and three-dimensional works, pursuing a wide range of expressions, from graffiti works that create a 3D illusion to paintings that evoke a sense of deep depth. By picking up and connecting fragments of everyday life through limited colors and precise control of techniques, he presents a "new place for communication and symbiosis" in contemporary society.

He is also expanding his activities to include providing murals for restaurants and commercial facilities.

His major solo exhibitions include "Like seeing this world for the first time" (OIL by Bijutsu Techo) in 2024, "Claire Who Fell from the Sky" (HIRO OKAMOTO GALLERY) in 2023, "BUID・BREAK" (ygion / Kyoto) and "CELL" (MATTER / Tokyo) in 2022, "Limited" (YUGEN / Tokyo) in 2020, and "front liner" (ANAGRA / Tokyo). Major group exhibitions include "Minabia Art Collection Exhibition -visionary-" in 2024.

Visual design by Heijiro Yagi