2022/8/27 ~ 9/18
Hey, River Snake C’mon.
KINJO
at: parcel
東京都中央区日本橋馬喰町 2-2-14 まるかビル2階
Maruka bldg 2F, 2-2-14 Nihonbashi-Bakurocho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Open :
Wed ~ Sun 14:00-19:00
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Closed : Mon, Tue
parcel is pleased to announce KINJO’s solo exhibition “Hey, River Snake C’mon” starting from August 27. This will be the gallery’s second solo exhibition of the artist.
This exhibition will feature an installation of canvases of various sizes, including KINJO’s “One’s Eyes”, which is a series where the artist depicts eyes glowing in the dark. The exhibition will also include a series based on animals and cartoon scenes, as well as patchwork canvases of these motifs.
KINJO’s renowned series of works depicting character-like eyes glowing in the dark, has its origins in the artist’s own childhood uneasiness with the eyes of others and the way their gaze was directed at him. Although his fear toward the gaze diminished with age, the awareness remained with him, leading to the series of eye motifs. The eyes in the paintings appear to be peering towards something on the viewer’s side, but the entire image on the canvas remains hidden in the darkness. There is a distance between the viewer and the subject, leaving the viewer to imagine what is beyond the canvas without knowing what the subject depicted looks like or where his or her eyes are directed.
In addition, the motif of the series featuring living creatures is one of familiarity, as Kinjo’s brother in law breeds many animals of various kinds. There is a cycle in which pets are welcomed into homes, die, and give birth to new ones, all of which have a shorter lifespan than human life. At the same time, there is also an argument surrounding the very idea of keeping pets. However, these debates remain somewhat distant from the artist’s feelings which are intimately connected to the pet’s existence, and such debates are not directed to the artist, as he is not the pet’s owner but rather an occasional helper in its care. This position enables KINJO to develop a personal awareness regarding pets, creating a gap of perception between himself and others.
Likewise with the works depicting cartoon scenes, the seemingly catchy motifs that KINJO depicts are not symbolic, but rather an expression and documentation of personal events that could be recognized as the artist’s own roots. These motifs are painted and erased repeatedly on the canvas, and at times patched together. The artist repeats the act of painting anonymous eyes, the social aspect of keeping a living creature as a pet, and the relationship between fiction and reality, while he portrays the emotional discrepancies and distortions that arise in communication with others, as well as objectively reflecting on himself in the midst of such differences.
Kinjo
Born in Tokyo, currently based and works in Tokyo. With roots in Okinawa, KINJO has been creating paintings, sculptures, and performances based on American pop culture, which has deep ties to Okinawa, and in Japan. In the process of repeatedly drawing and erasing motifs such as eyes glowing in the dark, cereal packages, and snakes, the outlining context becomes blurred and ambiguous, and like the artist’s own portraits, they are transformed into something personal with a charming appearance. His works can be seen as a self portrait, or a documentation of exploring his own roots.