Composed of four solo exhibitions, this show is also a collaboration among the four artists taken as a whole, an attempt to bridge differences in media in order to explore joint possibilities for expression of “mono” and the soul. For an artist, materials and media are the starting point of any artistic production. Once thoroughly at home with the particular characteristics of a given material, the artist can then breathe life into it and mould it expressively.
Niyoko Ikuta works with transparent glass. Even with "cold" glassware, a sense of warmth and gentleness is palpable.
Hironori Katagiri's work resembles a rock that has been lying dormant under the ground, woken up from its slumber. His work communicates a kind of eruptive geological energy.
Kate Thomson's works are like Celtic fairies, but also strong Vikings, their delicate sensibility protected from the brutality of nature by their deep roots in the earth.
Yui Higashibata's work is based on the traditional lacquer craft techniques used in Kyoto, but also incorporates influences from modern lifestyles today.
Although these disparate materials seem incompatible, they somehow echo each other. This exhibition gives not so much the impression of artwork laid out in an interior space, but makes rather a more visceral, concrete impact on the viewer, one that balances harmony and strength.