Kanto Iwamura "A Means to Eat"
Momoko Shimoda Gallery
Starts 2/13
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Artists
Kanto Iwamura
MOMOKO SHIMODA GALLERY is pleased to present "A Means to Eat," a solo exhibition by Kanto Iwamura.
The exhibition explores the inner emotions and values inherent in the urban construction site—a community where the gap between ideals and reality swirls, and where discipline, solidarity, and the stark urgency of survival intersect. Iwamura approaches these themes with a consistent, measured distance, observing the complex layers of human experience within these spaces.
While practicing as an artist, Iwamura also works as an architect, engaging daily with construction sites and manual labor. The perspectives driving this exhibition are rooted in the people he has encountered and the specific "atmosphere" shared within the interior of the city’s construction "scenes."
Shared forms and language—such as morning briefings, safety slogans, blueprints, and site decorations—gradually take on a unique aesthetic and humor as labor is repeated as a "means to eat." Iwamura’s work captures a worldview born from daily routines and the struggle for survival: an "excessive and clumsy passion" (often held up as jotou or "superior") and a sense of closed solidarity.
His gaze is neither one of preaching ideals and correctness nor one of condemning reality. Instead, he presents a multi-layered reality that emerges through the quiet repetition of labor—a reality that might even appear comical to an outsider. Iwamura quietly visualizes the layers of atmosphere and emotion that exist just before our eyes.
This exhibition presents the state of the city’s"A Means to Eat"at a point just before labor is consumed as a simplified, heartwarming narrative. We invite you to experience this work.
The exhibition explores the inner emotions and values inherent in the urban construction site—a community where the gap between ideals and reality swirls, and where discipline, solidarity, and the stark urgency of survival intersect. Iwamura approaches these themes with a consistent, measured distance, observing the complex layers of human experience within these spaces.
While practicing as an artist, Iwamura also works as an architect, engaging daily with construction sites and manual labor. The perspectives driving this exhibition are rooted in the people he has encountered and the specific "atmosphere" shared within the interior of the city’s construction "scenes."
Shared forms and language—such as morning briefings, safety slogans, blueprints, and site decorations—gradually take on a unique aesthetic and humor as labor is repeated as a "means to eat." Iwamura’s work captures a worldview born from daily routines and the struggle for survival: an "excessive and clumsy passion" (often held up as jotou or "superior") and a sense of closed solidarity.
His gaze is neither one of preaching ideals and correctness nor one of condemning reality. Instead, he presents a multi-layered reality that emerges through the quiet repetition of labor—a reality that might even appear comical to an outsider. Iwamura quietly visualizes the layers of atmosphere and emotion that exist just before our eyes.
This exhibition presents the state of the city’s"A Means to Eat"at a point just before labor is consumed as a simplified, heartwarming narrative. We invite you to experience this work.
Schedule | Feb 13 (Fri) 2026-Mar 31 (Tue) 2026 Opening Hours Information
Opening Reception Feb 13 (Fri) 2026 19:00 - 21:30 ※Meals are by reservation only. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fee | Free | ||||
| Website | https://momokoshimodagallery.jp/exhibitions/kantoiwamura2026 | ||||
| Venue | Momoko Shimoda Gallery https://momokoshimodagallery.jp/ | ||||
| Location | 5-67-2 Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo 111-0032 | ||||
| Access | 7 minute walk from exit A at Asakusa Station on the Tsukuba Express line, 10 minute walk from exit 1 at Asakusa Station on the Ginza line. | ||||
| Phone | 03-6820-6541 | ||||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it |
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